healthy fatty acids

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http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/chiropractic_health_care/107011

 

 

 

Author: Dr. David L. Phillips

Published on: March 9, 2004

 

 

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The old expression, “You are what you eat” just keeps

getting truer and more applicable to today’s foods.

Recently there has been much written about the

importance of fats and oils in our diets. Finally the

pendulum of public opinion has swung around to

realizing that high grain and high carbohydrate diets

are literally killing us. Of course, it’s not

acceptable that we achieve any kind of balance. No,

the media would not stand for that. It has to be one

way or the other, so now we have a battle raging

between the high carb camp and the high protein/high

fat camp. This is simply ludicrous.

 

Let’s start from the beginning. When it was first

realized that arteriosclerosis was a major factor in

heart disease, cholesterol was suggested as a culprit.

Analysis of arterial wall plaque deposits revealed

dense areas of cholesterol compounds. The margarine

manufacturers jumped on this one hard. In the 60’s and

70’s we were inundated with TV and print commercials

touting the health benefits of various butter

substitutes. Butter became evil.

 

Soon this butter paranoia spread to other fats and

oils and, by the late 80’s we had a virtual fat-free

frenzy. All fats, we were told, were evil, and, given

the obsession with slimmer-than-slim bodies, we

quickly latched onto this hysteria. As usual the food

manufacturers, instead of doing the responsible thing

and attempting to educate us, simply fed us low and

ultra-low fat foods.

 

The facts are that fats and oils are absolutely

essential to good health. The brain, spinal cord and

nerves are composed of about 70% fat, mostly

cholesterol. Hormones are cholesterol based. Just as

there are 7 essential amino acids from which your body

can produce hundreds of protein, and just as there are

essential vitamins and minerals, so too are there

essential fats, 3 to be precise.

 

Now please don’t get me wrong. There are harmful and

dangerous fats, mostly those that have been

over-heated. Fats also spoil and go rancid, just as

proteins do. It is important that we eat only fresh

oils and fats. Your nose is your best guide here. If

your olive oil smells ‘off’, then it probably is. One

of the problems with shelf life is that if a substance

can sit on a shelf for months and not spoil how alive

was it to begin with? Some oils simply never spoil,

they are that over-processed. Don’t buy those things.

Same goes with this ultra pasteurized milk. If milk

can sit unrefrigerated on a shelf for a month, how can

it be beneficial?

 

To my way of thinking, if simple life forms such as

molds can’t live on this milk, or on processed cheese,

or on corn and sunflower oils, how can complex beings

like us? A rule-of-thumb: Eating sterile and

devitalized food can only make you sterile and

devitalized.

 

Anyway, back to fats. The fat component of our typical

diet is the most messed up of all the other parts.

Fats are classed into groups. One common group is the

Omega fats. These are classed as Omega 3, Omega 6 and

Omega 9. I won’t go into a biochemical lesson here,

it’s not necessary. But I would like to talk about

ratios that exist between these fats. The most

important ratio is between Omega 6 and 3. It has been

observed that our ancestors right back to prehistoric

times ate a diet in which the ratio between these fats

was around 1:1. If your diet is under 4:1, that is, 4

times more Omega 6 than 3, you can get along OK. As

the ratio rises, so does inflammation. Inflammation

causes pain and congestion. Congestion causes blood

vessel blockages (arteriosclerosis), heart disease

(heart attacks, angina), poor brain circulation

(depression, Alzheimer’s disease), and many other

common conditions. Inflammation also causes joint pain

and arthritis. High ratio foods are pro-inflammatory,

while low ratio foods are anti-inflammatory.

 

Examples of high ratio foods that enhance inflammation

are: White bread (21:1), Whole wheat bread (27:1),

Potato chips (60:1), and corn chips (12:1). These are

foods that have been baked at high temperatures and

many of the fats have been altered as well. Altered

fats are called “trans fats” and these are dangerous

in other ways, but that’s a subject for another day.

If you have joint pains, try a short course of 3 weeks

or so of not eating these foods. Switch over your

salad dressings to flaxseed or walnut oil and for

cooking, use olive oil. You’ll probably be surprised

at the reduction in your pain levels.

 

Foods with good Omega fat ratios are: Broccoli (1:3),

Kale (1:1.3), Lettuces (1:2), Fresh fish (1:7),

Packaged fish (1:1). Fruits are generally 2:1

(bananas) or 1:1 (cherries).

 

So, by decreasing the high ratio foods and increasing

the low ratio ones, you’ll not only have way less

inflammation, but you’ll probably lose weight as well.

What a happy thing!

 

Your Diet as a Source of Pain