We’ve probably all heard about Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats. And a lot of what we’ve heard is wrong. Not just a little bit wrong, but standing-on-its head wrong.
Let’s check this out.
With some exceptions, Omega 6 fats come from plants and Omega 3 fats come from animals.
Omega 6, the unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats so praised in popular magazines, cause a lot of disease. They come roaring into our bodies, creating inflammation as they go. Inflamed arteries. Inflamed organs.
Most dread diseases start with inflammation.
And the thing is, our bodies make as much Omega 6 fats as they need. Scarfing down Omega 6 oils as part of our diet puts everything into overload–the cause of inflammation.
Omega 3 fats show up as saturated fat. And we’ve been taught that saturated fats are no good, very bad, actually even evil.
The reality is, our bodies need Omega 3 fats. While we can make our own Omega 6 fats, if we don’t eat saturated Omega 3 fats, we don’t have any. Since our bodies need saturated fats to make everything work, this is known as a problem.
Without saturated fat, our brain doesn’t work, our endocrine system–the thyroid and all its pals–can’t take care of business and so on down a long list of things that no longer happen.
So where do we get Omega 3 fats? Well, magazines, dietitians and other assorted poobahs talk about fish a lot, but an equally good, perhaps even better source is beef. And instead of trimming off every last bit of fat, we need to eat it.
Here’s what saturated fats do for you:
• Help you lose weight by telling your body all’s well with the world, so it’s safe to stop hoarding fat and let go of a few pounds.
• Safely lower your cholesterol. Cholesterol meds pound cholesterol, which we need, into oblivion. Nasty side effects ensue.
• Satisfy your hunger. No more nibbling for satisfaction even after you’ve eaten enough food for a football team.
• End your craving for sweets. You can sail down the candy aisle without even slowing down. Truly amazing.
• Feed your brain the way it needs to be fed to work right.
• Probably lowers insulin resistance. The research continues, but it’s looking good.
There are a couple of problems, though. Farm-raised fish and store-bought chicken, beef, etc. get pumped full of antibiotics and hormones. Agribusiness seems to think we need to have our food poisoned.
Some labels proudly announce that no antibiotics or hormones were ‘added’–whatever that means. One chicken company shoots antibiotics into eggs before hatching, then proudly announces they never give the stuff to their chickens.
But even if the fish, chicken or beef is actually antibiotic-and-hormone-free, there’s still a problem because factory farms feed their animals with grain, mainly corn and soy.
Now, most of the stuff is genetically modified, so that’s a problem. We don’t know how much of a problem because GMO is so new, but it looks bad enough that Europe banned the stuff.
What we know right now is feeding animals with grains reduces the amount of the good Omega 3 fats and increases the amount of the dastardly Omega 6 fats in the fish, chicken, beef, etc. that we eat. That throws everything for a loop, and we don’t get the Omega 3 benefits we should–but enough Omega 6 to move us down the inflammation road.
What to do? Eat grass-fed beef, free range chickens, etc. Go to http://EatWild.com to find a source near you. And be sure to enjoy the fat.
So, there you are, dragging your patooty through life while your doctor keeps insisting you’re fine. What’s that about? You know for a fact that you’re not fine, but what to do?. Well, that’s where Bette Dowdell used to be. Doctors didn’t help much, so she threw herself into research–deep, deep research–and she figured it out. Now she shares her hard-earned knowledge with others. Dowdell tells you what drags you down and what builds you up. And she tells it like it is. Subscribe to her free, weekly health e-zine at http://TooPoopedToParticipate.com and get the information you need. Why drag through life when you don’t have to?