Go fish.
To be specific, go eat fish and all manner of seafood. That was the message of a new national public health campaign that includes the city of Charleston, announced yesterday at Charleston Town Center with celebrity chefs, state officials, blood screenings and a local chef whipping up a dish of shrimp and quinoa that filled the mall's center court with aromatic smells.
"I really invite all of you to take the Healthy Heart Pledge - which really is to eat seafood twice a week," said Linda Cornish, executive director of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership.
Charleston is one of nine cities chosen nationally for a three-year public health campaign by the Partnership announced last Week in Washington, D.C., to encourage healthier diets through consumption of more seafood, said Cornish.
More immediately, West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin have designated October as Seafood Nutrition Partnership Month. Also, the week of Oct. 17 to 23 features multiple events at Charleston area restaurants as part of Restaurant Seafood Week, showcasing seafood dishes and specials.
Seafood is known as a good source of protein but is also a main source for Omega-3 acids that aid in the healthy development of muscles and tissues. Omega-3 testing was offered at the event by student nurses from BridgeValley Community and Technical College and will be offered at other events this month.
The screening is recommended, said Cornish, because an Omega-3 level above eight percent in a person's red blood system is recommended, while most Americans have only about a two to three percent level. "The significance is if you get your Omega-3's up to about eight percent, you help reduce your risk of heart disease and sudden cardiac death by 80 to 90 percent.
"What's exciting is you can see a change in your Omega-3 score in about four months. So this is an empowering campaign," she said.
Charleston cardiologist Tania Babar said the message could not be more timely for West Virginia, which ranks so low on so many important health indicators. "According to the West Virginia Health Statistics Center, nearly 14 percent of West Virginia adults have cardiovascular disease, making it the least heart-healthy state in the nation. The SNP campaign can make a significant difference here," said Babar, who practices at the Charleston Area Medical Center and teaches at the West Virginia University Health Sciences Charleston Division.
USDA Dietary guidelines recommend at least two servings of seafood a week, which Babar said can cut the risk of dying from heart disease by 36 percent.
"I myself am a lover of seafood and was shocked to find out only ten percent of Americans actually incorporate seafood into their diets twice a week, which in my mind is such an easy change," said Babar.
"Not many things can cause such a significant change and make such a huge impact. As a cardiologist I'm always on the lookout for kind of easy steps my patients can take for improving their cardiovascular health. It gets hard to tell people go out and train for a 5K run, go run every day, completely overhaul your diet. But all this is, is twice a week eat fish - not fried fish! - and you do something significant for yourself. It's simple. Twice a week and the change is massive. Very few things have such a direct change."
Growing up in the Kanawha Valley, Babar said she has seen the evolution of diets and main dishes go from an emphasis on red meat to more seafood-friendly offerings in restaurants and groceries. "I was just at the grocery store last week and they had lots of variety of salmon, scallops, tuna. The variety is there. You just need to be on the lookout for it."
Food Network personality Gina Neely, who rose to fame through the popular cooking show "Down Home With the Neelys," was on hand for yesterday's event.
"It's always a pleasure to go around spreading good news," said Neely. "My mother suffers from heart disease and it runs in my family. So I wanted to start to do something early. I started at 45, working and exercising and eating better. The heart is like the engine of our soul. So, in order for our heart to keep pumping blood, we need to make sure we are putting good things in our body.
"Here's the good thing about it - seafood is so light. It gives you more energy, you feel better," she said. "So, I would suggest to each and every one of you to take the pledge, own it, do it. Eat seafood, exercise. And take some recipes that you may know and different things that you desire. You know, a recipe is basically just a blueprint. So mix up your stuff and create your own recipe."
Charleston City Council Member Andy Richardson said he was a first-year student in law school when he learned that his father had had a stroke.
"This wasn't a surprise in our family because of the history of cerebral hemorrhage, heart problems and strokes. It ultimately took him 11 years later. Similarly, my mother passed from coronary vascular heart disease. So, I consider this initiative to be very personal. Living in a city that is too frequently known for obesity and heart disease, let's change the trajectory and let's make Charleston known for being a heart-healthy city."
Local chef, cookbook author and Sunday Gazette-Mail columnist April Hamilton cooked up a quick meal of fresh shrimp with garlic, cumin, smoked paprika and pepper mixed with quinoa during the event (see the recipe in her Sunday Gazette-Mail column in this Sunday's Life & Style section). Hamilton noted that a unique seafood-friendly Thanksgiving tradition has been added to her family's gatherings, as her brother-in-law and sister run a sushi bar in Florida.
"We have a gigantic sushi boat before we start into the turkey. So that is our family tradition," said Hamilton.
The Seafood Nutrition Partnership is a nonprofit organization funded by both public and private sectors companies and organizations, such as Trident Seafoods, Gortons, Bumble Bee, the National Fisheries Institute, Long John Silver's, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, the American Seafoods Group and the Clinton Global Initiative, among other supporters and donors. For more on the group, visit seafoodnutrition.org.
The SNP will also conduct Omega-3 screenings at the Charleston campus of BridgeValley Community and Technical College on Monday and work with West Virginia Health Right on seafood cooking demos at various clinics.
Charleston restaurants taking part in the local Seafood Week include Berry Hills Country Club, Bluegrass Kitchen, Brick Salt Bar + Kitchen, Bricks and Barrels, Ichiban Pan-Asian Cuisine, Mi Cocina de Amor, South Hills Market and Cafe, Tidewater and Tricky Fish.
Sam's Club in South Charleston and area Captain D's and Walmart locations will also distribute health education literature and seafood recipes, encouraging people to take the Healthy Heart Pledge.
Reach Douglas Imbrogno at douglas@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3017 or follow @douglaseye on Twitter .