Win it! Two winners will get a Kraft Foods prize package — check out all the prizes and find out how to enter at the end of this post!
Here at Breezy Mama, we are often sent products to try out (and you only read about those we love). As much as I am generally all for being a guinea pig, I’m now pregnant with twins and need to be a little more cautious about what I put on or in my body. When Ascenta sent me a bottle of Omega-3 gel caps, I took them straight to my OB to get her thoughts first and she said, “Absolutely! We are recommending to all of our prenatal patience now.” But, listen, I know many of you are not only not preggers, but have closed that chapter, so I had to know if you graduates got any benefits, too, and the answer is: yes! Ascenta’s Hailey Thompson breaks down the benefits — from beauty, metabolism and more — for all of us women and RN Tania Tod who runs Trying to Conceive, also writes about the benefits for fertility as well as while pregnant. (Note: Always discuss with your own doctor first of course.)
From Hailey Thompson
Omega-3 can reduce heart risk in menopausal women and improve the symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) — a condition that involves the excess production of androgens. It affects up to 10% of all American women and can lead to the development of acne, hirsutism, and infertility. It has also been associated with coronary heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Over half of the women who are diagnosed with PCOS are overweight or obese.
In regards to beauty, omega-3 has been proven to enhance the appearance of skin, reduce the aging of skin and improve the metabolism.
Omega-3 is a fatty acid and fish oil is one source of omega-3.
Other benefits:
1. Fish oil reduces inflammation: A reduction in inflammation led to a 28 to 45% increase in implantation rate.
2. Fish oil diminishes post-partum depression.
3. Fish oil reduces menstrual pain.
4. Fish oil reduces the likelihood of postmenopausal hot flushes.
5. Twenty to Twenty-Five percent of the adult brain is omega fatty acids.
6. Fish oil increases gestation length.
7. Fish oil increases birth rate.
8. Fish oil improves eye hand co-ordination and visual development.
9. Fish oil leads to higher novelty preference on visual recognition memory and higher scores of verbal intelligence quotient.
10. An increase in maternal omega-3 led to higher scores on child standardized intelligence.
11. Higher placental cord DHA concentration led to better visual, cognitive, and motor development.
12. Fish oil supplementation reduces blood pressure and modulates cardiovascular risk.
13. Maternal fish oil decreased the risk of metabolic disorders such as type I diabetes in the developing offspring.
14. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can help prevent allergic disease in children at risk.
For more in depth information on each of the above, click here.
From Tania Tod, RN
Never is the diet a woman observes more important than when trying to conceive a baby and during pregnancy. A developing infant depends on the mother for the nutrients, vitamins and calories needed for healthy development and research has proven that folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids rich foods can be highly beneficial. Before even becoming pregnant, a woman should take good care of her body and eat a healthy diet, it is not only going to result in healthy conception, but also helps prevent neural tube defects which can occur during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Folic acid and omega-3 fatty foods for fertility not only increase the chances of conceiving, but are also necessary for a woman’s health and well-being during pregnancy. There are three main types of omega-3 essential fatty acids which are used by the body, which include:
• Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA): found in seeds, leafy green vegetables and vegetable oils and the acid converts EPA to DHA in the female body.
• Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): found mostly in fish and fish oils.
• Docosahexanoic acid (DHA): very important to the female body and primarily found in fish.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are two important essential fatty acids needed for health reasons; the body cannot manufacture these fats, so it must come from a food source. An omega-3 and omega-6 imbalance can be responsible for chronic heart conditions and can lead to a variety of health issues including fertility issues. The average American diet contains more than ten times the recommended amount of omega-6 fatty acids because it is commonly found in processed foods which many people consume in large amounts.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found mostly in marine sources which includes; albacore tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines, lake trout and herring. Researchers recommend the following ratio varying from 5:1 to 10:1, for omega-6 to omega-3. The current ration of the American diet is estimated to be around 14:1 to 20:1, which means people need to seek out traditional food sources when trying to find a healthy counterbalance.
When trying to get pregnant , the right balance omega-3 fatty acid foods for fertility can help improve the chances a woman has of becoming pregnant. Natural sources of omega-3 foods found in traditional food sources are much more easily digested and tolerated better by the body. Vegetable sources of omega-3 foods are not ideal because of not being rich in fat, whereas fish and other marine sources are better because of having intact sources of EPA and DHA.
There are many reasons why a woman might experience difficulty when trying to have a baby, one of the main reasons is a disease called endometriosis. The condition can cause tubal blockage, adhesions and other complications which can make conceiving very hard. Studies have shown that women consuming a diet rich in omega-3 fatty foods can experience a 22% less likely chance of developing endometriosis and are able to get pregnant easier.
Millions of women suffer from infertility due to endometriosis, PCOS, hormonal imbalance, nutritional deficiencies and a variety of other reasons. By incorporating omega-3 rich foods into the daily diet a woman not only improves her overall quality of health, but also increases her chances of conceiving. When trying to become pregnant, it is important that a woman follows a healthy diet, engages in regular exercise and follows any advice provided by her doctor to yield the best results.
Win it! Country star Rodney Atkins teamed up with Velveeta Shells & Cheese on a 12-week, nationwide “Best Side of Dinner Tour” that’s traveling the country this summer. TWO Breezy Mama readers will win a Kraft Foods prize package including: Free coupons for Velveeta Shells & Cheese, One apron, One oven mitt, One Deluxe Serving Bowl, One 13″ Solid and Slotted Nylon Spoon Set and One $25 grocery store gift card! To enter, tell us in the comments what’s your favorite family dinnertime memory! (Psst… want to double your chances? Tell us on Facebook, too — click here!)
About Tania
Tania Tod is a RN, working as certified Personal Fitness and Aerobic Trainer for the past 9 years. She has entered the road of trying to conceive a baby, and her newest blog is Trying To Conceive where she shares her thoughts and experiences with the world.
To learn more about Ascenta, click here.
Note on the contest: Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to Breezy Mama. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Breezy Mama.
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Bring out the glamor with
Favorite Family Dinnertime memory is just talking about our day!
My fave family dinnertime memory from when I was a child was when my younger brother grabbed the butter from the table, dug his hands in it and started consuming it by the fistfuls! It was hillarious!
My mom tried to get my cousin to eat peas when he was little and he said that peas made him tired. We still tease him about it to this day!
my faviort memory was simply sitting at the table with my mom,dad, 2 older brothers and younger sister… we always ate as a family talking about ours days and what ever else
as a wife and mother of 2 I plan to help my children make the same memories
My favorite memomories are when we turn on the music during dinner and a sing comes on that the kids love. It always turns into a dance party in the middle of dinner! It always brightens the mood.
I remember as a child, my sister and I having dinner with my folks and my sister “flying” at the dinner table…her elbows were so far out while cutting her food that she could have hit someone with them. After my Dad, Mr. European Primm and Proper, reminded her a few times to keep them in, he went and got 2 books to have her hold under her arm pits! It was funny and I was so glad it wasnt me!
Favorite Family Dinnertime memory is listening to my kids tell me about their day and make up stories
Big Fan of the Omega 3, everyone should do it lol
My favorite dinner memories consist of me helping my mother make a nice meal and then sitting down with my sister and dad. They always asked us about our day
(school, etc) and we talked about everything under the sun. I learned a lot from our meals. Can’t wait to make great dinner time memories for my son with my husband!
Our family camped every summer, and we would grill the fish we caught every night!
I have a tie for fave memory – 1st was when my sister was taking her plate of spaghetti to the table & stopped suddenly….but the spaghetti didn’t! We all sort of froze, then the dog went over & slurped the noodles ala Lady & the Tramp!
#2 would be my dad & his ‘silly’ prayers we’d giggle and my mom would feign disapproval. Good/fun times!
hearing about my daughter’s day at summer camp – she’s full of FUN stories. And watching my twins devour watermelon: their absolute summer favorite!
My fav memory would be sitting at the table in my grandmother’s small kitchen with a huge meal spread out before us. At home, my working mother rarely had time to prepare large meals, but visits to my grandparents always involved lots of homemade, delicious food.
My favorite family dinnertime memory would have to be sitting around the table, talking to my dad about his day at work, my mom about her volunteer work and my day at school or going to my ‘sisters’ and laughing with her family about all the crazy antics that her kids pull.
Fav would be when my recently deceased husband grilled our 4th of July spread and all his nurses joined us in gorging ourselves as we chatted and joked with the kids! Rest in peace my darling
I have a zillion funny and wonderful memories with my parents- grandparents- husband and my babies!!! I could make you laugh- I could make you cry and I could even make you gag! However I think that #15 Brenda who wrote in on July 22 aat 2:28am should win hands down!! I honestly was touched by your post and if anyone deserves a little comfort right now it is you Brenda!! I am wishing YOU peace and great memories and love and all of the wonderful things a person can have!
If you want to lower the risks of getting cancer, it may be important you take in consideration the following. Eating fish has no problems, if you don’t do it too often. But if you want to supplement your diet with the proper amounts of omega 3 by just eating fish, it could be a health risk. You would have to eat fish almost every day and that could mean dangerous amounts of mercury in your nervous system.
It is important to have in mind that there are certain conditions to get the benefits fish oil can bring.
You need to take a good quality fish oil, free from mercury and other contaminants. That is a molecularly distilled fish oil.
Then, you need to take a minimum amount of fish oil, krill oil or cod liver oil at a certain frequency.
There is not an establish amount of omega 3 for any health benefit but I recommend to take at least 900 mg per day of omega 3 fats (close to 3.000 mg of fish oil), EPA plus DHA, per day. You should increase these amounts if you are overweight or you have degenerative disorders, like hypertension or high triglycerides.
Also, you should lower your intake of omega 6 fats (mostly grains and grain oils) since omega 3 and omega 6 counteract each other in the body. The best way to reduce omega 6 fats is to eliminate all starches from your diet, that is all grains and grain oils.
Please read more at http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.com/fish-oil-benefits.html
Best wishes,
Alfredoe
I think having breakfast foods for dinner was a big excitement when I was growing up. As a mom now, I realize that is was probably for convenience or food-stretching needs, but it felt like we were getting away with something to have french toast or fried eggs for dinner.
Please stop pushing the fish oils. You know where fish get all those lovely fatty acids from? Algae. Algae-derived fatty acid supplements are great. They’re also vegan.
I’ve also had great results with adding chia seed meal to my morning smoothie. Plant sources of Omega-3s are NOT lacking in fat. Most of them are from seeds (flax, chia, etc) and nuts (walnuts etc), which have quite a bit of fat.
@Karla: Ascenta has introduced the World’s first only veg Omega 3 supplement that is algae based that is the omega 3 equivalent of fish oil. I’m not veg but i take this version because I love the orange flavour.
My fav would be when my bird Sprout would eat (at the table with us). He was also so funny and made a really cute noise when he’d eat something he really liked. His favorites were mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.
Thank you to everyone for sharing your stories! FYI — the two Kraft Prize Package winners have been selected. All of Breezy Mama’s contest winners are chosen at random using:
http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/random/
Thank you again and keep the comments coming — we love hearing from you!
@Karla Please stop pushing hexane-extracted DHA pills. The algae-derived fatty acid supplements that are vegan are not great. They come with a heavy price. Those fatty acids are processed using hexane- a nuerotoxin. These vegan DHA pills have only been around since about 2002 and we have no idea what their long term effects are on babies or mothers.