OmegaMatters

EPISODE #17 - Seafood Nutrition Partnership 

Recording date: August 2, 2022

Broadcast date: August 17, 2022 

Host: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

Guest: Linda Cornish

Background and key takeaways: Linda Cornish is the president of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP). She received her MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has had many management and leadership positions throughout career, but she's also always retained a passion for public health. Seafood Nutrition Partnership is a non-profit organization that inspires a healthier America through a balanced diet that includes seafood. And she's launched public health awareness campaigns during Seafood Nutrition Month, which is in October. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, SNP launched the Eat Seafood America campaign so Americans could be healthier and have a stronger immune system through seafood nutrition. In this episode, she talks about how SNP works to create more public awareness for all things seafood and the studies the organization has commissioned to get relevant health authorities to recognize the importance of seafood in overall health.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #16 - NEW RESEARCH ALERT: DHA and Alzheimer’s 

Recording date: June 20, 2022 

Broadcast date: July 7, 2022                                                                    

 Host: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

Guest: Dr. Aleix Sala-Vila

Background and Key Takeaways: 

Dr. Sala-Vila received his PhD in biomedicine from the University of Barcelona in 2004, and his research has involved the role of bioactive compounds in reducing the incidence of chronic disease, with a particular focus on Omega-3s. He's completed four post-doctoral fellowships, including one with Dr. Phil Calder, has published 45 papers on fatty acids, and he's one of the primary scientists at the Fatty Acid Research Institute. 

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #14 - Translating Nutrition Science into Practice

Recording date: April 12, 2022

Broadcast date: May 5, 2022                                                                   

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

Guest: Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian

Background and Key Takeaways: 

Dr. Mozaffarian received his MD at Columbia University in New York City. And he did his Internal Medicine residency at Stanford and a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Washington. It was there that he became interested in public health, receiving an MPH and later a doctorate in Public Health from Harvard. In 2006 he joined the faculty at the Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health. Eight years later moved across town to Tufts University where he's currently the Dean of the Freedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. He’s also a Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and a Professor of Medicine at Tufts. Almost 20 years ago he published his first paper on omega-3 fatty acids and heart disease. In this episode, Dr. Mozaffarian discusses how he stumbled across omega-3s, the epidemic of poor nutrition, and the potential creation of a National Institute of Nutrition at the NIH.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #13 - Dr. Jing Kang – How the Fat-1 Mouse Creates Omega-3 from Omega-6

Recording date: February 25, 2022

Broadcast date: March 23, 2022                                                             

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson 

Guest: Dr. Jing Kang, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard & Director of the Laboratory for Lipid Medicine and Technology at Mass General Hospital

Background and Key Takeaways: Dr. Jing Kang is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard University and he's also the director of the Laboratory for Lipid Medicine and Technology at Mass General Hospital. He received his MD degree in China and then got his PhD at the University of Alberta. He then went on to do post-doctoral work with Alex Leaf at Harvard University where he remains to this day. Several years ago, Dr. Kang created Fat-1 transgenic mice, which are capable of producing omega-3 fatty acids from omega-6 fatty acids, leading to abundant omega-3 fatty acids with reduced levels of omega-6 fatty acids in their organs and tissues, and without the need of getting omega-3 from the diet. In this episode, Dr. Kang talks about the implications of using Fat-1 technology in both research studies and to increase the fatty acid content of the food supply naturally.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #12b - Dr. Norman Salem – Part 2: How the Brain Gets DHA 

Recording date: December 20, 2021

Broadcast date: January 20, 2022                                                           

 Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson 

Guest: Dr. Norman Salem

Background and Key Takeaways: Dr. Norman Salem is a prolific omega-3 researcher whose career has focused primarily on omega-3 DHA and the brain. Dr. Salem obtained his PhD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Neurobiology. For 30 years, Dr. Salem worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he led the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics. And after retiring from NIH, he worked at Martek, the first algal DHA company, and then for DSM when they acquired Martek. In this episode, Dr. Salem gets very deep on DHA’s mechanism of action and specifically how it influences the brain and nerves. He also talks about how crucial DHA is for pregnant women and why it should be considered an essential nutrient, much like a vitamin. Last but not least, he ponders why a dietary reference intake has yet to be established for DHA and that the time has come to get this underway.  

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #12a - Dr. Norm Salem – Part 1: How the Brain Gets DHA

Recording date: December 20, 2021

Broadcast date: January 12, 2022                                                            

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

Guest: Dr. Norman Salem

Background and Key Takeaways: Dr. Norman Salem is a prolific omega-3 researcher whose career has focused primarily on omega-3 DHA and the brain. Dr. Salem obtained his PhD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Neurobiology. For 30 years, Dr. Salem worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he led the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics. And after retiring from NIH, he worked at Martek, the first algal DHA company, and then for DSM when they acquired Martek. In this episode, he explain how inefficient the body is at converting ALA into DHA. And how, when the situation calls for it, the brain steals any DHA it can from other organs in the body. The only way to feed the body what it needs is to get DHA preformed — such as that found in fish or omega-3 supplements. 

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #11 - Dr. Michael Crawford: DHA and the Brain

Recording date: November 22, 2021

Broadcast date: December 17, 2021                                                       

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

Guest: Dr. Michael Crawford

Background and Key Takeaways: Dr. Michael Crawford has several decades of experience researching omega-3s, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In this episode, Dr. Crawford talks about how long DHA has been roaming the earth, why the placenta prefers DHA more than any other omega-3, how the brain recycles DHA, and how Dr. Crawford fortuitously met another great legend, Dr. Bang, in the 1960s, just prior to putting omega-3s on the map.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #10 - Ask Dr. Sears

Recording date: October 28, 2021

Broadcast date: November 4, 2021                                                         

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

 Guest: Dr. Bill Sears

Background and Key Takeaways:  

William Sears, M.D., has been advising busy parents on how to raise healthier families for over 40 years, and now focuses much of his attention to the specialty of lifestyle medicine. He has served as a voluntary professor at the University of Toronto, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and University of California: Irvine.  A father of 8 children, he and his wife Martha have written more than 45 books on parenting, nutrition, and healthy aging.  He serves as a consultant for TV, magazines, radio and other media, and is the co-founder of AskDrSears.com and the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, which has certified over 11,000 Health Coaches around the world. Dr. Sears and his contribution to family health were featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in May 2012. He is noted for his science-made-simple-and-fun approach to family health.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/ 

EPISODE #9 - Fish Oil Quality

 Recording date: May 25, 2021

 Broadcast date: October 1, 2021                                                             

 Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson

 Guest: Gonzalo Caceres, Commercial Director at TASA

Background and Key Takeaways: 

Gonzalo Caceres is the Commercial Director for TASA, a Peruvian fishing company that provides ingredients and seafood of high quality and added value in harmony with the community and the environment. TASA was founded in 2002 and is the largest producer and exporter of fishmeal and fish oil in the world. In addition, it is one of the leading suppliers of refined and concentrated omega-3 fish oil.

In this episode, Drs. Harris and Jackson have a deep conversation about how fish oil is made and how it is used to support both human health and aquaculture. Mr. Caceres walks them both through the complex process of making fish oil and how ordinary fish oil becomes a concentrate. Did you know around 30% of the fish oil that goes into supplements comes from the Peruvian anchovy fishery? Learn about this and more in this fascinating conversation.  

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/

EPISODE #8 - Part 2: Interviewing an Omega-3 Legend – Dr. Jørn Dyerberg 

Recording date: Jul 22, 2021

Broadcast date: Aug 16, 2021                                                                  

Hosts: Drs. Bill Harris & Kristina Harris Jackson 

Guest: Dr. Jørn Dyerberg

Background and Key Takeaways: 

Dr. Jørn Dyerberg is a pioneer in the omega-3 fatty acid world, having made the discovery of their important heart health benefits more than four decades ago while researching the native Greenland Inuit. Along with his colleague, Dr. Hans Olaf Bang, the two embarked on an adventure that started in the late 1960s and trickled well into the 1970s. It started with their curiosity about the Inuit’s high fat diet and their very low incidence of heart disease. Their goal was to examine their blood and their diet. At the time, the Inuit subsisted mainly on a diet of high-fat seal and fish, however, the rates of heart disease were staggeringly low compared to Americans eating a much different diet but had much high rates of heart disease. Their first publication appeared in the Lancet in 1971. What this research showed is that the Inuit actually had favorable lipid levels despite their high-fat diet. It was in a subsequent publication in 1975 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that they detailed the specific omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA, which led to several landmark publications during the following decades and a stream of interest in these newly discovered molecules. 

In part 2 of this series, Dr. Dyerberg discusses the rollercoaster of omega-3 research of the past 40 years with Dr. Bill Harris. They discuss each landmark study that had a heavy impact, either positive or negative. It’s been a wild ride.

To watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.

To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.

To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/