This terrific new way to wrap up lunch takes no time at all and never compromises taste.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cooked, flaked farmed salmon fillets or portions
• 2 tablespoons grated carrot
• ¼ cup ranch salad dressing or your favorite dressing
• Fresh lettuce or fresh spinach
• 2 whole wheat flour tortillas (7 inches in diameter)

Directions:

• Gently stir salmon and carrot into ranch dressing.
• Spread half of salmon mixture on each tortilla, almost to edge add lettuce or spinach leaves.
• Roll up tightly to make a “wrap.”
• Refrigerate until chilled. If desired, slice each wrap diagonally into several pieces.

Salmon of the America’s has been promoting the term Salmon is Brain Food™ for quite some time. More studies are being completed showing a link between omega 3 fatty acids and promoting a healthy brain. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fatty fish (like salmon and sardines), appear to have many health benefits. New research shows they may even build the brain’s gray matter. In one study, healthy adults who ate the most omega-3 fatty acids had the most gray matter in three brain areas that regulate mood. How do omega-3 fatty acids help the brain? Scientists are still studying the connection. But they do know this: The omega-3 fatty acid DHA, is the major polyunsaturated fatty acid found in the brain, and is important for brain development and function. Take a few minutes to complete Web MD’s brain food test. Click here to access the test.

Fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which, when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as those in meat, may lower your cholesterol. But the main beneficial nutrient appears to be omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fatty acid that’s thought to reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Omega-3 fatty acids are also believed to improve learning ability in children, decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, enhance immune function and improve arthritis symptoms. Consuming one to two servings a week of fish, particularly fish that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac death. Click to read the entire article, or visit www.mayoclinic.com.

Ingredients:

• 2 (6 ounce) farmed salmon portions (skin on or skinless)
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a spice grinder, grind the peppercorns, chopped garlic, lime zest, and salt until the peppercorns are finely ground. Rub farmed salmon fillets with olive oil, then place onto the prepared pan, skin side down. Rub spice mixture onto top of the salmon.

Broil until the salmon is flaky and no longer pink in the center, 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with soy sauce and ENJOY!

If you’re worried about heart disease — whether you want to avoid it, or you already have it and want to get healthier — eating one to two servings of fish a week could reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by a third or more.

Doctors have long recognized that the unsaturated fats in fish, called omega-3 fatty acids, appear to reduce your risk of dying of heart disease. For many years, the American Heart Association has recommended that people eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week. But some people are still concerned about mercury or other contaminants in fish outweighing its heart-healthy benefits. However, when it comes to a healthier heart, the benefits of eating fish usually outweigh the possible risks of exposure to contaminants. Find out how to balance these concerns with adding a healthy amount of fish to your diet.

The month long observances for March include:

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

National Kidney Month
National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month
National Nutrition Month
Save Your Vision Month
Workplace Eye Health and Safety Month

Neural cancer (neuroblastoma) in young children is the most common solid tumor form in this age group. The prognosis is very poor and some 40 per cent of patients die of the disease. However, it is known that fatty acids can protect healthy nerve cells from dying, and at the same time kill several types of cancer cells. In the current study, the scientists were interested in exploring what happens to DHA, an Omega-3 fatty acid found mainly in oily fish (e.g. salmon and mackerel), inside the cancer cell. Click to read the entire story.

Normally, inflammation is the body’s response to damage and can be a very good thing. Bang your thumb with a hammer, your immune system sends white blood cells and other, hormone-like substances to kick-start the healing process. As a result, your thumb swells and becomes painful, then heals.

Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells which are present at the site of inflammation and is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process. Improper diet is the most common cause of chronic inflammation.

Omega-3 Oil: A Fish Story

There are other methods to reduce inflammation besides medication. A balanced diet and the proper supplementation can be of great benefit. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids top the list for effective control of inflammation. These compounds are found in fish oils, especially in cold water fish such as salmon. Click to read the entire article.

Telomeres, structures at the end of chromosomes that are involved in the stability and replication of chromosomes, are markers of biological aging. Genetic factors, exposure to certain chemicals and environmental stressors shorten the length of telomeres and are believed to contribute to the aging process. New research just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that omega-3s slow down the shortening of telomeres — this means omega-3 fatty acids may protect against aging on a cellular level.

Previous studies have shown that people with established cardiovascular disease who have a high dietary intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids live longer than others with the same health problems who do not have adequate omega-3s in their diet. Click to read the entire article.

Although pancreatic cancer is highly lethal, we don’t know much about its etiology except that smoking has been linked to increased risk of the disease.

Now a study published Jan 26 2010 in the International Journal of Cancer has found evidence suggesting that high intake of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins C and E may reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Gong Z and colleagues from the School of Medicine University of California in San Francisco analyzed data from a large population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay area and found high intake of vitamin C and E and omega 3 fatty acids was associated with low risk of pancreatic cancer. Click to read the entire story.