Fat facts, for optimum health

HOW YOU CAN USE FATS AND OILS FOR OPTIMUM HEALTH

High-quality fats and oils are one of the most essential foods to consume every day. They are needed for your brain and nervous system, for energy production and for making most of the body�s vital hormones.

Fat for fitness

Fats and oils are composed of chains of molecules called fatty acids that are composed mainly of carbon atoms. They are high energy foods, providing about 9 calories per gram of fat. This is more than twice the energy content of sugars and starches. 

Because of this reason some of the nutritionists and diet planners think that fats will make you fat. However, it is not so when one knows how and when to choose them properly. The idea of avoiding all high-quality fats because they may make you fat, or that quality fats clog your arteries, is nonsense, one of the worst nutritional errors of our time.

In fact, children, in particular, absolutely require plenty of fats and oils, particularly EPA and DHA. These are two omega-3 essential fatty acids needed for development of the nervous system. Quality fats and oils are also essential for transporting all vitamins, minerals and hormones in your the body cells.

Also the right amount and types of high-quality fats and oils will not drive up your insulin level or will not create insulin resistance to make you fat, as do sugar and carbohydrates. 

Fats, also do not rob your body of minerals, as does eating sugars and many starches, Instead, fats and oils make our food taste good.

Some basic recommendations.

1. Fats should be eaten in the raw state whenever possible, or not overcooked. Most are quite damaged when cooked too long, and especially when overcooked, such as with deep frying, hard-boiling eggs, pasteurizing dairy products, cooking cheese and frying foods.

fats for health

2. The best fats are generally those derived from animal sources. These are the most yang, they contain the most essential omega-3 fatty acids in almost all cases, and include:

� Meats (tallow, chicken fat, goose fat, duck fat, or others).

� Raw dairy products (butter, cream, whole milk or full-fat cheese or yogurts).

� Sardines (some others such as salmon, tuna and others have some quality fats, but are too high in mercury to be healthful foods).

3. The next best, for general use, are olive oil, and perhaps a little raw and only very fresh flax seed and hemp seed oil. The problem with these is they are often not quite as good as the fish oils for omega-3 fatty acids, and they go rancid very quickly. They should be in capsules or pearls, ideally, to maintain freshness.

4. Vegetable oils - those derived from grains, beans and seeds - are not as good today, for many reasons. They are usually quite refined, heated, and extracted with toxic chemicals. Even the cold-pressed oils are not that good. In addition, they rarely contain any omega-3 fatty acids, while containing too many omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. They include:

� Grain oils: (corn oil)

� Legume oils: (peanut oil, or others). Soy oil is almost always a chemically-extracted product and not very healthful, though it is a good source of vitamin E, along with wheat germ oil and rice bran oil.

� Seed oils: (sesame, sunflower, flax, hemp, chia, borage, black current, primrose, canola, and others). These are also usually refined and chemically extracted, but they are nutritious. Hemp and flax oils are high in omega-3 fatty acids as well.

5. Oils from fruits and nuts like almond, coconut, palm, macadamia, hazelnut and perhaps others are not recommended for regular use, although a little now and then is fine. 

Coconut oil, along with coconut milk and coconut water, is highly praised today due to its high content of lauric acid, a natural infection fighter. It also contains MCT or medium chain triglygcerides. These appear to assist energy production in some diseases such as Alzheimer�s disease, and can help one gain weight easily if one is malnourished.

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What are omega-3 fatty acids? why are they important for us?

You�ve probably seen �a good source of omega 3's� imprinted on various boxes and bags around the super market and wondered �what are omega 3's and why should I give a damn?

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids: Omega 3's come from a family of unsaturated fatty acids.  Even the healthiest diets need a moderate amount of healthy fats, and omega 3's are crucial to healthy, sustainable living.  They�re considered �essential� fats � Essential fats are so defined as they are vital for, but cannot be made by, the human body. Only plants can make the vital omega 3 and 6 parent fatty acids, human enzymes can then convert these to other fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are building blocks of the brain and nervous system. 

Omega 3 Source

 They are needed for the integrity of every cell membrane in the body so particulalry important for the health of vital organs such as the heart and brain.They are necessary for human health but the body can' t make them -- you have to get them through food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood including algae and krill and there are plenty of vegan sources of Omega 3's including spirulina (algae), nuts, flax, and vegetables. Vegan sources of omega-3s include canola oil, broccoli, cantaloupe, kidney beans, spinach, grape leaves, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, spirulina, and walnuts.

Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis.The omega 3 parent fatty acid is called alpha linolenic acid (LNA or ALA) and comes from vegan seeds such as flax, hemp and pumpkin, from nuts such as walnuts, and to a lesser extent from soya and green vegetables. 

Through a series of enzyme-controlled reactions the human body converts this LNA into a number of vital fatty acids including EPA and DHA. Among their many roles EPA is needed for brain function, concentration, and vision, and is also converted into a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. DHA is needed as a building material , particularly for brain structure and so is especially important in pregnancy for the baby�s brain and nervous system development, infants who do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids from their mothers during pregnancy are at risk for developing vision problems and nerve damage.



Additionally, the benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer�s disease.

Fish contain unsaturated fatty acids, which, when substituted for saturated fatty acids such as those in meat, may lower your cholesterol. But the main beneficial nutrient appears to be omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fatty acid that's thought to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation in the body can damage your blood vessels and lead to heart disease.

Omega-3 fatty acids may decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, boost immunity and improve arthritis symptoms, and in children may improve learning ability. Eating one to two servings a week of fish, particularly fish that's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, particularly sudden cardiac death.

Alzheimer's
Polyunsaturated fatty acids found in many fish may prevent damage to brain cells. Eating fish can also reduce the risk of high blood pressure, which is linked with dementia. A French study of 2000 people showed that those who ate seafood at least once a week had a significantly lower risk of dementia over a seven-year period than those who didn't.

Dementia - elderly people who eat fish or seafood at least once a week may have a lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Cardiovascular disease - eating fish every week reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by reducing blood clots and inflammation, improving blood vessel elasticity, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood fats and boosting 'good' cholesterol.

Cancer - the omega 3 fatty acids in fish may reduce the risk of many types of cancers by 30 to 50 per cent, especially of the oral cavity, oesophagus, colon, breast, ovary and prostate.

Asthma - children who eat fish may be less likely to develop asthma.    

Just how do omega-3s perform so many health �miracles� in people? One way, experts say, is by encouraging the production of body chemicals that help control inflammation � in the joints, the bloodstream, and the tissues

But even as important is their ability to reduce the negative impact of yet another essential type of fatty acid known as omega-6s. Found in foods such as eggs, poultry, cereals, vegetable oils, baked goods, and margarine, omega-6s are also considered essential. They support skin health, lower cholesterol, and help make our blood �sticky� so it is able to clot. But when omega-6s aren�t balanced with sufficient amounts of omega-3s, problems can ensue.  In general, Americans eat too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3.
You can replace some omega-6s from cooking oils with a third fatty acid known as omega-9 (oleonic acid). This is a monounsaturated fat found primarily in olive oil.

If you think you can get all of your omega 3's only through fish oil supplements?  Think again.  There are other healthy components of whole foods containing Omega 3's that make it better for your body and soul � flax, for example, is heavy in fiber which helps lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugars, and improve digestion. 
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If you have diabetes, including more omega-3s in your diabetic meal planner can reduce your risk of certain diabetic complications, as well as:

• Decrease insulin resistance
• Improve mood and lower rates of depression
• Improve symptoms of inflammatory diseases, like asthma and lupus
• Reduce apoproteins, cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Reduce risk of heart attack
• Reduce risk of macular degeneration
• Reduce risk of some types of cancer
• Reduce risk of stroke.

So just add some Omega 3's to your diet today!