There are 2 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) namely Omega 3 and Omega 6.
They are called essential because our bodies cannot make them, we depend on our diet for them.
Omega 6 is an essential fatty acid found in all your vegetable oils (Safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame, hemp, pumpkin, soybean, walnut, wheatgerm and evening primrose oil). Nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, linseeds, sesame seeds, etc) are also rich in Omega 6. Refined vegetable oils, such as soy oil, are used in most of the snack foods, cookies, crackers, and sweets in the modern diet as well as in fast food we eat.
Omega 6 in our body increases inflammation (an important component of the immune response), blood clotting and cell proliferation.
Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid found mainly in oily fish. Coldwater fish contain the most Omega 3, the colder the fish, the higher the Omega 3 concentrations. Examples are salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, flounder, swordfish, etc.
Omega 3 in our body can lower triglyceride levels, increase HDL cholesterol, help reduce inflammation and blood clotting (blood thinning), lower blood pressure, prevent irregular heart beats and keep blood vessels healthy.
There are two critical omega-3 fatty acids, (eicosapentaenoic acid, called EPA and docosahexaenoic or DHA), that the body needs.
EPA supports heart health and the general well being of your body.
DHA makes up membranes of nerve cells in the brain and is thought to play an important role in normal brain development and function. DHA, an important dietary fat, provides the backbone for cell membranes and in the brain, these cell membranes (neuronal membranes) play a pivotal role in how brain cells function. Enhanced levels of DHA quite simply enhances the way brain cells function, leading to a more efficiently functioning brain as well as a faster brain.
It is essential to have these two EFA’s (Omega 3 and 6) in a balance in our body as an excess of either can lead to a wide range of disease symptoms. If the diet is deficient in either omega-6 or omega-3 long-term degenerative illnesses result.
Western diets are deficient in omega-3, and have too much omega-6 compared with the diet on which human beings evolved. Excessive amounts of omega-6 and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today’s Western diets, promote many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of omega-3 exert suppressive effects.
The ideal balance between Omega 6 and Omega 3 should be 4-6 : 1. Our current modern diet is showing the balance to be closer to 20-30 : 1. For this reason, it is essential that we supplement with Omega 3.
Omega 3 supplementation, especially with a high DHA content has shown to help with the following; Brain development of foetus during pregnancy, brain development in infants, ADD/ADHD (specifically for concentration, memory and hyperactivity), bi-polar disorder, manic depression, epilepsy and delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s.
No comments:
Post a Comment