The United States Department of Agriculture says twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate. Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry.
Today I'm writing from Chicago, where I've been since Friday and will stay through Tuesday for the biggest gathering of registered dietitians there is - the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). For me, FNCE is a busy mix of sharing the latest seafood science with fellow RDs; attending educational sessions to keep up on the latest about other foods; and networking with friends and colleagues, old and new.
Yesterday I went to a interesting session, not about a specific food at all, but about how we can best communicate about all foods through the media, called "Lost in Translation: Communicating Complex Diet and Health Relationships in a Sound-bite Hungry World." One of my favorite points was slide two of former ADA spokesperson Shea Rarback's presentation. She talked about "truthiness," a word coined by Comedy Central's Steven Colbert that "describes things that a person claims to know intuitively or ‘from the gut' without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination or acts." "Truthiness" was recently added to the dictionary as a legitimate word, and I can see why. It comes in handy to describe the basis for much of the nutrition advice I see from non-qualified sources. Though I love this event, because with the mass of RDs, there is very little truthiness to be seen.
I am a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute, so fish is my nutrition forte. I earned my BA in Communication from Southwestern University, just outside of Austin, TX. During college, one of my very favorite evening outings was a leisurely trip to the grocery market. My passion for food was undeniable, so I combined both of my interests by earning my MS in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University in Boston, MA. As well as my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential through the University of Delaware.
Beyond reading scientific studies about docosahexaenoic acid and selenium, I love to entertain, travel, watch reality TV, grill outdoors, and go to spin class. I live in Kailua, HI on the island of Oahu where my husband serves as a US Marine Corps JAG.
People in Hawaii eat more fish and shellfish than average, but over 80 percent of typical Americans don't eat seafood at least twice per week. Doctors and dietitians like me say that's the goal, so BlogAboutSeafood is here to show you just what plenty of seafood looks like in an RD's real-life diet.
Photo by Marco Garcia
