FATS FOR HEALTHY HEARTS

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FATS FOR HEALTHY HEARTS

Herbal Medicine Research Report: Volume 1 No. 3

1998

 

by Udo Erasmus, Ph.D.

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/usa/healthinformation/articles/FloraArticl\

e17.asp

Fats for healthy hearts? To most of you, that sounds like a contradiction

because you have been told over and over that fats cause heart attacks, that

fats increase cardiovascular problems.

 

So many people have adopted a low-fat or even a no-fat diet. Bad idea! Did you

know that some patients on low fat vegetarian intervention studies to reduce

heart disease died from the results of cardiac arrhythmia?

 

You need to know that there are two stories on fats. There are fats that

predispose to heart attacks and strokes (because they make our platelets more

sticky), but there are others that protect us from heart attacks and strokes.

There are fats that kill and fats that heal.

 

So let us talk about the healing fats. There are two of them. They're called

essential fatty acids. Substances your body cannot make but every cell must

have. You have to get them from what you eat.

 

One essential fatty acid (omega 6) is present in large quantities in most food

oils. The other (omega 3) has been largely removed from our food supply. Both

are important to health. But the one that's missing, the omega 3 essential fatty

acid, has the most pronounced benefits on the health of our hearts and arteries.

It protects our heart and arteries in several ways. Let me list and explain 10

hearty reasons for including good fats in your diet.

 

1. Omega 3 fatty acids make our platelets less sticky. They thereby decrease the

chance of a clot forming in an artery and clogging that artery. In other words,

they make a heart attack, stroke, or other embolism (clot) in our body less

likely.

 

2. Omega 3 fatty acids make our red blood cells more flexible. This means that

blood will flow more easily through our capillaries lowering blood pressure and

improving delivery of nutrients and oxygen to our cells.

 

3. Omega 3 fatty acids lower blood fats (triglycerides), a risk factor for

cardiovascular disease caused by sugar, carbohydrates, hard fats and lack of

exercise.

 

4. Omega 3 fatty acids lower high blood pressure by means of a hormone-like

substance (prostaglandin) made from them. This substance relaxes arterial muscle

tone, which lowers blood pressure.

 

5. Omega 3 fatty acids lower cholesterol to some extent, although they work even

better when combined with the kinds of fiber which escort cholesterol from our

body and thereby prevent its reabsorption from our gut.

 

6. Omega 3 fatty acids stabilize the heart beat, preventing heart beat

abnormalities (arrhythmia) that can lead to cardiac arrest.

 

7. Omega 3 fatty acids improve kidney function and water metabolism. Poor kidney

function and water retention can lead to high blood pressure

 

8. Omega 3 fatty acids improve energy levels, leading us to be more physically

active. Physical activity has many beneficial effects on our heart and arteries.

 

9. Omega 3 fatty acids elevate mood, lift depression, and improve our ability to

deal with stress. High stress levels promote high blood pressure, water

retention, inflammation, and blood clot formation.

 

10. Omega 3 fatty acids lower fibrinogen levels. Fibrinogen is another factor

that can lead to the formation of an artery blocking blood clot.

 

 

 

 

 

But let me now balance the story. Even though the omega 3 fatty acids are vital

to heart health, you need the omega 6 fatty acids also. So it is important for

you to keep in mind that a balance of both is what you need.

 

Where do you go to find what you need for cardiovascular health? I can point

you to two products that I developed with the health of your heart in mind.

 

One is known as Udo's Choice Wholesome Fast Food Blend. It is a balanced source

of both (omega 3 and 6) fatty acids essential to health. These good fats come

from ground certified organic flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds. They are part

of what we call the RIGHT FAT DIET™. The Wholesome Fast Food Blend contains 52

whole foods, food concentrates, herbs, and extracts. It is an exceptional source

of the kinds of fiber that escort cholesterol from your body, stabilize blood

glucose, feed the friendly bowel bacteria, and detoxify your body. Udo's Choice

Wholesome Fast Food Blend is a whole food foundation for good cardiovascular

health.

 

The second product that can protect your heart and arteries is Udo's Choice

Perfected Oil Blend, a scientific blend of active essential fatty acids and oil

soluble phytochemicals that help increase metabolic rate and increase caloric

burning. It is composed of certified organic flax, sunflower and sesame oils,

with medium chain triglycerides, evening primrose oil, lecithin, vitamin E, and

unrefined oils from the germ of rice and oats. We made this oil blend with great

care and with cardiovascular health in mind. It is better balanced and more

effective for heart health than any other oil.

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

1 Fats that Heal Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus, Ph.D., (Alive, Vancouver, 1994)

 

2 The Omega-3 Phenomenon, D. Ruden and C. Felix (Avon, 1987)

 

3 Owren PA. " Coronary Thrombosis: Its Mechanism and Possible Prevention by

Linolenic Acid " Annals of Internal Medicine 63:167, 1965

 

4 de Lorgeril M and others. " Mediterranean Alpha Linolenic Acid-Rich Diet in

Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease " The Lancet 343:1454, 1994.

 

5 Improving Atherogenic Risk in Hyper-lipidemic Humans with Flax Seed

Supplementation, Marvin L. Bierenbaum, M.D., Tom R. Watkins, Ph.D. (Kenneth L.

Jordan Heart Fund, U.S.A.)

 

6 Does Dietary Linolenic Acid Influence Blood Pressure?, E.M. Barry, J. Hirsch

(Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 44:436-440, 1989)

 

7 Effect of Flax and Dietary Alpha-Linolenic Acid on Blood Platelets in Human

Subjects, B.J. Holub (Proceedings of the 53rd Flax Institute, U.S.A., 1990)

 

8 Use of Flaxseed as a Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acid in Human Nutrition, Molly

A. Dieken (Proceedings of the 54th Flax Institute, U.S.A., 1992)

 

About Udo Erasmus, Ph.D.

Udo Erasmus is an internationally recognized authority on the role of fats,

oils, and cholesterol in human health. He received his Bachelor of Science

degree in Honours Zoology with a major in Psychology from the University of

British Columbia, followed by graduate studies in biochemistry and genetics.

Several years of research in the field of nutrition led to him write his first

book, Fats and Oils, which earned him a Ph.D. in nutrition and was later

expanded and republished as Fats That Heal Fats That Kill.

 

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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