| Over the past few years we've learned that we | | | | The key to EFAs-as with so many health issues-is |
| derive four basic types of fat from food: | | | | balance. Your body can't function optimally without a |
| • saturated fat | | | | balanced ratio of EFAs. The optimum balance of |
| • trans-fat (partially hydrogenated oils) | | | | essential fatty acids is a balance of omega-6 to |
| • monounsaturated fat | | | | omega-3 that is somewhere between 1 to 1 and 4 to 1. |
| • polyunsaturated fat. | | | | Unfortunately, the typical Western diet contains |
| Saturated fat-found primarily in red meat, full-fat dairy | | | | fourteen to twenty-five times more omega-6 than |
| products, and some tropical oils-has well-established | | | | omega-3 fatty acids. This imbalance determines a |
| negative health effects, increasing your risk of | | | | myriad of biochemical events that affect our health. |
| diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, some | | | | For example, too much omega-6 (the oil that |
| cancers, and obesity. | | | | dominates our typical diet) promotes an inflammatory |
| One researcher, writing in the Journal of the American | | | | state, which in turn increases your risk for blood clots |
| Dietetic Association, concluded that "reducing dietary | | | | and narrowing of blood vessels. |
| intake of saturated fatty acids may prevent thousands | | | | We now also know that without a sufficient intake of |
| of cases of coronary heart disease and save billions | | | | omega-3 fatty acids, the body cannot adequately build |
| of dollars in related costs." There's little that's positive | | | | an ideal cell membrane. Membranes that are poorly |
| about saturated fat and it should make up no more | | | | constructed are not capable of optimizing cellular |
| than 7 percent of your fat calories per day. | | | | health, which in turn increases your risk for a host of |
| Trans-fats-listed on food labels as "partially | | | | health problems, including stroke, heart attack, cardiac |
| hydrogenated vegetable oil"-are also bad, probably | | | | arrhythmias, some forms of cancer, insulin |
| even worse than saturated fat. Trans-fats were | | | | resistance-which can lead to diabetes-asthma, |
| created by chemists seeking a fat that would store | | | | hypertension, age-related macular degeneration, |
| better than animal fats. They were attempting to | | | | chronic obstructive lung disease (COPE), autoimmune |
| lengthen the shelf life of foodstuffs. | | | | disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and |
| Don't forget that I told you earlier that there are good | | | | depression. |
| fats. The good guys in the fat family are the | | | | Research is just beginning to demonstrate that |
| monounsaturated fats-the kinds found in olive and | | | | omega-3 fatty acids may play a role in preventing both |
| canola oils. These fats not only protect your | | | | breast and colon cancers. |
| cardiovascular system, they also lower the risk of | | | | In the Nurses' Health Study, those who ate fish four or |
| insulin resistance, a physiological state that can lead to | | | | more times a week had a lower risk of age-related |
| diabetes and possibly cancer. | | | | macular degeneration than those who ate three or |
| Finally, we come to polyunsaturated fatty acids. Both | | | | fewer fish meals per month. The most prevalent fatty |
| omega-6 /linoleic, or LA, fat and omega-3 (alpha | | | | acid in our retina is DHA, and the primary dietary |
| linolenic, or ALA, fat) are so-called essential | | | | source of this "good fat" is salmon and other so-called |
| polyunsaturated fatty acids (EFAs). Our bodies cannot | | | | heart-healthy fish. DHA also seems to reduce some of |
| manufacture these two fats and therefore we must | | | | the adverse effects of sunlight on retinal cells. |
| rely on dietary intake to avoid a deficiency in these | | | | Researchers believe that the anti-inflammatory abilities |
| essential (for life) fats. Omega-6 fatty acids are | | | | of omega-3 fatty acids are what help reduce the |
| currently overabundant in the typical Western diet. | | | | symptoms of autoimmune diseases as well as prolong |
| They are present in corn, safflower, cottonseed, and | | | | the survival of those who suffer from them. Multiple |
| sunflower oils. Virtually no one in North America is | | | | studies have substantiated these results. |
| deficient in these ubiquitous fatty acids. If you look at | | | | Perhaps the most interesting research on omega-3 |
| almost any packaged food, you're going to see one of | | | | fatty acids involved their relationship to mental health |
| these oils as an ingredient. | | | | ailments such as depression, attention deficit |
| William S. Harris, writing in the American Journal of | | | | hyperactivity disorder, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar |
| Clinical Nutrition, said: "In terms of its potential impact on | | | | disorder, and Alzheimer's disease. Our brains are |
| health in the Western world, the Omega 3 story may | | | | surprisingly fatty: over 60 percent of the brain is fat. |
| someday be viewed as one of the most important in | | | | Omega-3 fatty acids promote the brain's ability to |
| the history of modern nutritional science." Dr. Evan | | | | regulate mood-related signals. They are a crucial |
| Cameron, from the Linus Pauling Institute, has said: "Our | | | | constituent of brain-cell membranes and are needed |
| epidemic of heart disease and cancer may be the | | | | for normal nervous system function, mood regulation, |
| result of a fish oil deficiency so enormous we fail to | | | | and attention and memory functions. |
| recognize it." The bottom line: it's not just okay to | | | | When it comes to omega-3 fatty acids, wild salmon is |
| include omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, it's imperative | | | | one simple answer. Add it to your diet. Wild salmon is |
| to do so if you want to restore a critical balance in | | | | delicious, high in protein, widely available in canned form, |
| your body that is most likely out of whack. | | | | easy to prepare, and, more important, high in beneficial |
| A solution to this problem: Salmon, wild salmon more | | | | omega-3 fatty acids. If you eat wild salmon or other |
| specifically. Salmon is one of the richest, tastiest, readily | | | | cold-water fish, like sardines or trout, two to four times |
| available sources of marine-derived omega-3 fatty | | | | a week, you'll 'rebalance' the ratio of fatty acids in your |
| acids available to us. By including wild salmon in your | | | | body and be on your way to vastly improving your |
| diet two to four times a week you should achieve | | | | cellular health. There's ample evidence that including |
| optimal protection against a multitude of diseases that | | | | cold-water fish like wild salmon in your diet will have a |
| have been associated with low intakes of these critical | | | | positive effect on your short and long-term health. |
| fats. | | | | |