Venice Florida Medical Duo Offers Children a Healthy and Tasty Omega-3 Snack that Helps them Learn

VENICE, Fla. – Ten years after Congress passed the “No Child Left Behind Act” to help improve American educational standards, a pair of South Florida physicians and Omega-3 specialists are encouraging higher school nutritional standards through their “No Brain Left Behind” effort.

Dr. Bo Martinsen and his wife, Dr. Anne-Marie Chalmers – the founders of Ambo Foods Inc. in Venice – are betting that their healthy, yet tasty, fiber-packed snack will help ensure that children’s brains are ready, willing and able to learn.

Martinsen and Chalmers, who started the company in 2008, say the Omega Cookie is a “nutritional breakthrough” as it fills the body’s need for omega-3 fish oil, plus provides fiber, calcium and vitamin D. And, the cookies contain no processed ingredients, such as trans fats, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup.

Numerous studies throughout the world show how a healthy breakfast improves academic performance, she says.

“Omega-3 fatty acids are a crucial element of brain function,” Chalmers says. “And, according to some of these studies, at least 85% of Americans are deficient in it.”

The problem, she says, is that in today's world many children think "healthy" means "it tastes like cardboard."

“Because of that, junk food is more appealing to them,” she says. “As long as this is the case, kids will not eat as they should, and will not be able to learn as well as they could.”

The two omega-3 experts both received medical training at the University of Oslo. Born and raised in Norway, Martinsen also trained at the University of Bordeaux in France, and Chalmers, a U.S. native, is a graduate of Brown University.

Since starting their Venice-based company, their desire to move ahead with new ideas has grown into a passion to help others get healthy and stay that way.

Because of their groundbreaking Omega Cookie, Ambo Foods LLC won an innovation award at the 2010 annual Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County’s Hall of Fame awards.

Adding omega-3 to food is not a new idea, according to Martinsen. “But, Ambo Foods is the first company in the world to have successfully created a bakery product that contains an effective dose of omega-3.”

Individually packaged in cranberry, tropical, chocolate chip and ginger-raisin flavors, the Omega Cookie is the perfect addition to a school lunch box, and equally effective for an adult lunch, Chalmers says. But, the best part is that the cookie that is so good for you actually tastes good.

Each Omega Cookie contains five grams of fiber [as much as a bowl of gluten-free oatmeal], seven capsules worth of omega-3 fish oil, [a full day’s dose,] as well as 200% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin D and 35% of the daily value of calcium. The cookies also have less sugar than an apple, which Chalmers says easily meets the limits recommended by the American Diabetes Association.

“The Omega Cookie doesn't solve all of the country's dietary problems, but it can help ensure that children's brains can maximize the benefits of “No Child Left Behind,” Chalmers says, adding that is doesn't make sense to send a child to school after he or she has fasted all night. “Without breakfast, mistakes and slower thinking are inevitable.”

To learn more about Omega Cookie or Ambo Foods, visit www.omegacookie.com or call 866-414-0188.

About Ambo Foods:
Founded in 2008 by two Omega-3 specialists and physicians – Bo Martinsen, M.D., and Anne-Marie Chalmers, M.D. – Ambo Foods offers several varieties of healthy cookies. Each Omega cookie contains seven capsules worth of omega-3 fish oil, five grams of fiber, 200% of the daily value of Vitamin D and 35% of the daily value of calcium. Ambo Foods was named a winner in the category of innovation at the 2010 annual Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County’s Hall of Fame awards. The honor came as the result of being the first company to create a bakery product that contains an effective dose of omega-3 fish oil. For more information about the Omega Cookie or Ambo Foods, visit www.omegacookie.com.