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HealthDay - FRIDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming fish and otherfoods that contain omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of age-relatedmacular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of severe vision loss inelderly people.

Are you like many of my patients? Despite your best efforts, do you find that you have difficulty actually consuming as many fruits and vegetables as you know you should? Do you have trouble consuming even 2-3 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day? Would 8 - 9 servings a day be impossible? Do you wonder what's wrong with "Wonder Bread"?

Are you confused about supplements? When you go into the vitamin section are you overwhelmed with options and unsure exactly what you need? Are your cupboards full of vitamins but you can't remember what they are supposed to do? Have you heard that vitamins are just a form of creating expensive urine? Do you think a "balanced diet" is all you need for optimal health? Are you unclear as to what actually constitutes a balanced diet?

The good news is that science and medicine has started to pay attention to the need for good nutrition and appropriate supplementation. We are beginning to understand the role nutrition plays in the development of diseases of "affluence" - chronic degenerative disorders. Disease of "affluence" simply means we have enough money to enjoy lifestyles that are not healthy, including eating the...

• wrong amounts of the
• wrong foods at the
• wrong time!

All the while, you are time-pressured and chronically stressed! This includes diseases from heart disease to diabetes to arthritis and even cancer. But the scientific information to help guide you is scattered throughout various medical disciplines and scientific journals, making it hard for even the best physician to keep up-to-date and capable of making creditable recommendations, much less the lay person.

In 2002, Harvard medical school researchers concluded that "due to poor eating habits and nutritionally depleted food sources..."

• every American should be taking a quality multi-vitamin and mineral a day.

In addition, they concluded that due to common malabsorption issues,

• elderly Americans should be taking 2 multi-vitamins and minerals per day.

They published their data in the respected Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA

Do you consume 2 servings of cold water fatty fish per week? In 2007, the well-respected American Heart Association or AHA published their findings on this topic in the prestigious medical journal Circulation. They concluded:

• Every American needs 2 servings or more of cold water fatty fish per week!

What if you can't eat fish, you have high lipids or heart disease? Then you need to supplement! Use fish oil capsules or other sources of omega 3 like flaxseed. Who else needs omega 3's in their diet?

If you are fighting a chronic level of inflammation every day such as arthritis, chronic pain or a multitude of autoimmune or degenerative disorders, the anti-inflammatory qualities of omega 3 essential fatty acids are vital to your diet. Omega 3 essential fatty acids enhance your body's own anti-inflammatory pathways and can neutralize the harmful effects of inflammation. They can impact on pain, reduce stiffness and even cross over into your brain to boost your mood! They support hormone function and are important for the developing fetal brain.

If you are like millions of other Americans and don't consume fish weekly, then supplement with fish oils or other omega 3 sources such as flaxseed. In fact, even if you do consume fish regularly, you may still consider supplementing for the very reason that your levels of inflammation or other needs may far exceed the amount of omega 3 essential fatty acids you can consume in a diet.

Are you having trouble getting a full 5 or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables into your diet? Do you have intestinal issues that limit how many servings a day you can eat before discomfort sets in? The National Cancer Institute now recommends eating 5 to 9 servings a day as part of a healthy, active lifestyle to 5oldnm the risk for all of these diseases. If you have trouble consuming this amount, you should know that there are now supplements containing the "good" molecules called bioflavonoids, contained in fruits and vegetables, that can impact positively on your health and minimize inflammation in your body. One great supplement for fighting your inflammation is called OPC or oligomeric procyanodins. OPC's are large molecules found in many foods - grapes, grape seeds, wine and even in certain types of pine bark. Extracts of these natural substances have up to 50 times more anti-oxidant activity than vitamin C to neutralize free oxygen radicals in your body.

Free oxygen radicals are molecules that your body produces either when undergoing normal metabolic processes or when you are exposed to toxins in your environment, such as UV rays from the sun, smoke, dirty air and other contaminants. These molecules are very destructive to your tissues - joints, skin, intestinal system, brain, etc - because they contain an unpaired electron in the molecule. This unpaired electron acts as a powerful irritant to the body as it searches throughout your system to find another electron to pair up with and create a balanced molecule. This irritant creates inflammation in your body.

While concentrates of fruits and vegetables may not provide all the nutrients of the whole food itself, fiber supplements can enhance their activity and still give you some of the benefits of the whole foods. If you have excessive inflammation and pain or if you are challenged in getting fruits and vegetables into you daily diet, then you need a quality supplement rich in OPCs.

For optimal health as well as fighting inflammation, begin today eating healthy whole foods and supplementing with a quality multi-vitamin, fish oil or flaxseed and consider the power of bioflavonoids such as OPC. The science in and the evidence is compelling. Supplementation makes sense for everyone!

Dr. Pamela Avery, the Natural MD, is a board-certified physician and specialist of over 30 years in the management of pain through natural methods. She offers free articles, weekly newsletters and online pain management lifestyle coaching. She has developed a lifestyle system for chronic pain entitled "Live Pain Free! 6 Steps to a Pain Free Life." It can be accessed at http://www.drpamavery.com Her free special report, "The Truth about Supplements", as well as her E-zine, "Natural Solutions", can be accessed at http://www.the-natural-md.com