The Truth About Fat.

Fat has been the bad guy for a while now. We hear about how bad fat is for us. That it clogs up our arteries, encourages us to become overweight or obese and can lead to all sorts of diseases and conditions including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and so on and the truth is that some fats are bad for us.

This said we need some fats. Essential fatty acids are so called because our body cannot make them but we need them. They are essential because it is essential that we get them in our diet. The essential fatty acids are omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-6 (also known as Linoleic acid) is obtained from vegetable oils, seeds and nuts, evening primrose oil, blackcurrant and borage (starflower). Up to this point in the omega-6 pathway the foods eaten provide a mild anti-inflammatory action. However, this pathway continues and some of the linoleic acid becomes arachodonic acid, which is obtained from meat and dairy products – staples of most people’s diets. Arachodonic acid is inflammatory and while we need inflammation to help with healing and repair too much can lead to conditions such as heart disease and stroke, arthritis, cancer, hormone disorders, decreased immune system, digestive problems, skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema…. the list goes on.

Omega-3 (also known as Linolenic acid) is obtained from green vegetables, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola, Brazil nuts and oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and tuna. This is the anti-inflammatory pathway. It doesn’t change, it stays anti-inflammatory but as you can see from the list of sources it may be missing from the diets of a lot of people

The best eating plan will have a ratio of 2:1 of the Omega-6:Omega-3 foods. This will mean that inflammation is only there for its naturally intended purpose of healing and repair, and not all of the time, which, as we’ve seen, can lead to some pretty nasty diseases.

Some of the benefits of omega-3 essential fatty acids include:

Less Pain and Inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body’s inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, prostatitis, cystitis and anything else ending in “itis.”

Cardiovascular Health. Omega-3 fatty acids have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help to lower cholesterol, tryglicerides, LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy.

Protection from Stroke and Heart Attack. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes what’s known as a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. Research shows omega-3 fatty acids break up clots before they can cause any damage.

Better Brain Function and Higher Intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with fish oil. For adults, omega-3 improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You’ll swear you’re getting younger and smarter.

Less Depression and Psychosis. Making you smarter is not all omega-3 does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield, along with many other research studies, found that omega-3 fish oil supplements “alleviate” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis (Journal of Affective Disorder Vol. 48(2-3);149-55).

Lower Incidence of Childhood Disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to omega-3 oils.

Reduction of Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancer. And finally, omega-3 fish oil has been shown to help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer – breast, colon and prostate. Science tells us that omega-3s accomplish this in three ways. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, they inhibit unwanted cellular growth and they cause apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.

So eating green vegetables, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola, Brazil nuts and oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and tuna is good for your health and should be eaten daily.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that low fat products are usually high sugar, or sugar substitutes, that are bad for your health but we’ll talk about sugar another time.

Written by:

Debi-Ann Wrigglesworth

Dip CNM MBANT MFNTP

Nutritional Therapist.