If the
level of Omega-3 fatty acids in your red blood cells is at 8 percent, there is
an 80 to 90 percent risk reduction of sudden cardiac death than someone whose
Omega-3 level is around 2 to 3 percent.
Omega-3
fatty acids are key to good health. However, of the more than 300 people who
tested in October at the Church Health Center, 64 percent were in the low 2 to
3 percentile.
The grim report is an indication
that Memphians do not eat enough seafood that contains the necessary amount of
Omega-3 fatty acids to ward off a number of serious diseases and reduce the
risk of heart attacks.
“Memphis has the highest incidents
of heart disease,” said Linda Cornish, executive director of the Seafood
Nutrition Partnership (SNP), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which
raises awareness about the essential nutritional benefits of eating seafood.
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| Joan Franks, a member of the Church Health Center, gets her blood tested for its percentage of Omega-3 fatty acids. |
SNP chose Memphis and Indianapolis
as pilot cities to launch its public health education campaign to encourage
more people to eat at least two servings of seafood each week as recommended by
the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines.
Participants also were encouraged to
take the Healthy Heart Pledge for four months and given samples of salmon, tuna
and Omega-3 capsules.
Antionette Marmon had never liked
salmon and certainly didn’t like the way it looked until she decided to make a
meal of it for she and her husband.
“It was really, really good,” said
Marmon, 57, a health fair recruiter, who took the pledge and tested to
determine the percentage of Omega-3 fatty acids in her red blood cells.
“People take their health for
granted,” she said. “Anytime you can take a test for free, there is no reason
not to do it.”
Vickie Johnson, an event management
consultant, took the test as well to ascertain her percentage of Omega-3 fatty
acids, but wasn’t too enthusiastic when she got the results.
“It showed I needed an increase,”
said Johnson. “It was about 3 percent.”
“Most Americans have 2 to 3 percent
of Omega-3 fatty acids in their red blood cells,” said Cornish. “Eighty percent
of Americans don’t follow the USDA guidelines and 20 percent of them eat
seafood at least twice a week.”
Those who were tested in October and
pledged to eat more seafood are scheduled to be retested Thursday (March 5) at
the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“We’re inviting people who were
tested in October to come back to be retested,” said Cornish. “It’s an
indicator of whether you’re eating enough seafood or not.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity to
get retested to find out what’s going on in my body,” said Marmon.
Studies have been conducted to
determine the benefits of increasing one’s Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood to
reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other maladies. Memphis, however,
is not foreign to studies of one kind or another.
In 2012, for example, one third of
the population in Memphis was considered obese, according to Newsweek magazine,
which listed Memphis as the fattest city in the nation. High blood pressure and
diabetes are also prevalent among Mid-Southerners.
Johnson was previously diagnosed
with high blood pressure and is taking the prescribed medication for it. “I’m
no longer taking the medication,” she said.
Johnson had concerns about her
health prior to participating in the seafood campaign; however, she felt it
necessary to take the pledge. She’d been eating seafood at least 3 to 4 times a
month, but increased her consumption after receiving her score.
“I was eating fish and shrimp,” she
said. “Now I eat more tilapia, and I increased my tuna intake as well. I either
grill it bake it or put it in the oven.”
A divorcee, Johnson has two adult
daughters. She encourages them to eat healthy as well. “My younger daughter,
who is in college, is more aware of Omega-3,” she said. “We’ve had discussions
about it.”
Marmon said eating healthy and
increasing the percentage of Omega-3 in her blood is an important step – not
just for herself, but for women in particular. “It is extremely important for
females. As you get older, you have to maintain your body.”
Early detection is everything, she
added.
Cornish said help is available for
women who want to learn more about heart health and eating healthy. “We want to
make every day heart healthy,” she said. “ We want more people to sign up for
the healthy heart pledge by going to the website www.seafoodnutrition.org.”
Because there has been a good
reception in Memphis and Indianapolis, Cornish said the SNP would launch a
3-year national campaign in October and add six more cities to encourage more
people to eat more seafood.
Marmon said she and her husband have
eaten fish at least once a week before Memphis was chosen as a pilot for SNP’s
public heath campaign.
“I don’t have a problem with
increasing it to twice a week,” said Marmon, who is also using the Omega-3
capsules as a supplement.
“I’m taking 1,000 milligrams and I
will continue to take them,” she said.
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