I THOUGHT I WAS HEART SMART...

As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I believe that I am Heart-Smart. I understand that eating well, moving more, not smoking, managing stress and staying connected to the people I love can help support my overall health -- and can especially support the health of my heart.

UNDERSTANDING MY OMEGA-3 INDEX

So when a brand I am working with, MEG-3, asked me if I knew my Omega-3 Index, I was stumped. Sure, I know my cholesterol and triglyceride numbers (and woot woot, they've been trending better over the last several years!), but I honestly did not know where to begin when it came to knowing my Omega-3 Index. Did I have to calculate something? Go to my doctor? Have a blood draw?

Nope. All I had to do was take the at-home OmegaQuant Test. With a quick finger prick to collect a small blood spot, I sent my dried sample off to the lab and waited for my results.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EPA AND DHA

I hoped my report would show stellar results. After all, I know the importance of omega-3s when it comes to health and I have been working hard to choose quality sources of omega-3s in my diet often. Found primarily in oily fish and in omega-3 dietary supplements, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, like EPA and DHA, help support the health of a person's brain, heart and eyes. And together, these fatty acids contribute to a person's Omega 3 Index, a score that helps define if someone is in a "desirable," "intermediate," or "undesirable" position related to the risk for many chronic diseases.

My results from the test? Well, I have a LOT to say about them (yep, even a Registered Dietitian has opportunities to improve her diet!) so I am going to talk them over with you in a Facebook LIVE chat over on the MEG-3 Facebook page next Friday, September 29, 2017 at 12:00pm ET. Give MEG-3 a follow so that you can receive an update when I'm LIVE!

TRACKING MY EPA AND DHA CONSUMPTION

But for now, I will leave you with this one-page PDF that I developed in response to my results. I realized that in order to stay on track, I need to track myself. So, I developed a two-week tracking tool to help me monitor how much EPA and DHA I get daily. I printed this worksheet, laminated it, have it hanging in my kitchen cabinet, and at the end of each day I use a dry erase marker to give myself a check mark on the source of EPA and DHA I have chosen that day. After two weeks, I'm able to see how I did. I erase my work and start all over again tracking EPA and DHA consumption for the next two weeks.

You can download the EPA and DHA Tracker for yourself by clicking the link here or by opening the photo below in a new tab.

I hope you will join me for the Facebook Live on Friday, September 29 at noon ET - and during that lunch hour, I hope you enjoy a rich source of EPA and DHA (like oily fish!) so that you can give yourself a check mark on the tracker, and help support your health too! PS: You will also have the opportunity to win an OmegaQuant Test Kit for yourself during/after the live. Mark your calendar and tune in!