Jerry the Blogger

It happened again last week. I heard another news story calling into question a habit I thought was healthy -- and making me wonder if I've actually been poisoning myself instead of helping my heart.

I'm talking about the news story of a new lawsuit claiming that fish oil supplements are contaminated with cancer-causing PCBs. Not one brand or type of fish oil supplement, either. All of them. At least, according to the people behind the lawsuit, who tested samples from 10 popular brands and manufacturers.

I'm concerned because I take fish oil supplements daily to help promote heart health. My doctor recommended them after learning I had high cholesterol with a family history of heart disease. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have been found to help reduce the risk of heart disease.

And while I do enjoy eating fish regularly, my wife isn't so crazy about it. We don't have it for meals as much as I'd like. The supplements seemed like the perfect solution -- but not if they contain dangerous compounds that could cause cancer!

After I watched the Good Morning America story about this, I felt a little better about taking the supplements. GMA's health expert said more testing and oversight needs to be done of dietary supplements in general, but the pros outweigh the cons of fish oil for people like me. I think I will try to get a little more fish into my diet, though, even if I keep taking the capsules.

You probably heard some buzz last week about First Lady Michelle Obama's new campaign to fight childhood obesity. I was glad to see such a major focus on this problem, because it threatens the healthy future of one third of American children.  

We as a society could do a lot more to help set a healthy example for kids and nurture nutritious habits now for a better future. Some of the efforts Mrs. Obama's campaign includes are:

• Encouraging kids to exercise an hour a day (parents would benefit from joining in, too!)
• Asking Congress for $10 billion over the next 10 years to help schools serve more nutritious food to students
• Working with food manufacturers to improve food labels and make them more customer-friendly (such as soda cans showing the calorie information on the front)
• Getting pediatricians to pay more attention to kids' body mass index (which helps measure body fat)
• Providing $400 million in tax breaks to grocery stores that move into areas lacking access to nutritious food
• Launching a new website, LetsMove.gov, to provide parents with healthy eating information, tools and ideas.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this new presidential initiative makes an impact across the country. I truly hope it makes a difference and gets more kids on the right track to better health.

As complicated as healthy eating and living can seem these days, I was happy to be reminded this week that some simple habits can do a lot of good for our health.

A new study in Pediatrics magazine reassured me that my wife and I are setting our kids up for a healthier life with the basics: eating more evening meals as a family, limiting their time watching TV, and getting enough sleep. These types of activities can reduce preschoolers' risk of obesity by nearly 40%.

We may not be perfect parents (who is?) and our meals aren't always 100% nutritionist-approved. But at least by eating together, and sharing our food as we talk about our days, we might be instilling some healthy values and habits in our children.

And while we don't completely ban TV in our house, the kids don't get to watch until their eyes bug out. TV is a fun treat, and we turn it off when it's time to do something else, such as play hide-n-seek or read a book.

We also prioritize sleep for our kids (though not always for ourselves), making sure they have the right environment and schedule for naps (they're still young) and getting to bed at a reasonable hour.

Knowing that we're doing some of the right things to reduce our children's risk of obesity is a good feeling. Now I'm thinking of what more we can do to help our kids be healthy and happy.