VITALA MILKThanks to a local dairy, it’s now possible to drink your fish.
Well, maybe not the “fish” but the ingredient that has had many people increasing the amount of seafood in their diet despite concerns over mercury levels and declining species sustainability levels. That ingredient would be docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) Omega-3, an essential fatty acid believed to promote the healthy development of brain, heart, eyes and nerves.
As the human body does not produce DHA on its own, eating cold-water fish such as salmon has been the most accessible way to get it into one’s diet, although it has also been available via supplements and Omega-3 enriched eggs and Omega-3 fed pork. Now we can add milk to that list of sources.
Vancouver’s
Avalon Dairy, in cooperation with Abbotsford-based
Nutrifood Solutions, has just introduced an enriched milk product trademarked as
Vitala. The company claims that drinking just one cup a day can virtually double a child’s daily intake of DHA Omega-3. However, even the elderly can benefit, as studies have linked DHA to health benefits including reduced cardiovascular problems and a lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Avalon gets the substance into their product in the same manner that egg and pork producers do – by feeding a DHA enriched diet to their milk-producing cows.
Available in three formats: 1%, 2% and 3%, you can find Vitala at major grocery stores such as Choices, Save-on Foods and Capers, and at health and natural food stores where Avalon products are sold.
And good news for consumers who also have another set of initials on their minds these days – BPA – the milk comes in reusable, 946 mL glass bottles.
