Archive for flaxseed
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Top Ten Superfoods for Weight Loss
Here is a list of 10 Superfood groups to support a healthy weight loss and management program. Super Food Groups Each group is followed by a list of its primary functions in fighting weight gain, and the “STAR” and “Runners Up” foods in it. Rich Cold-Water Fish: Anti-inflammatory Omega-3 Fats TOP CHOICE: Wild Alaskan Salmon [...]
Acne Diet – More Than Skin Deep
Think beautiful skin starts in a bottle? Think again. Beautiful, clear skin starts in your kitchen and has everything to do with what you put into your body. Your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening digestively; I like to tell our clients to think of their skin as their intestines turned inside out. [...]
A Good Egg
Thanks to the wonderful addition of the anti-inflammatory flaxseed to the diet of chickens, we can now purchase eggs from cage-free chickens that are fed diets of flax seeds, making these eggs good sources of omega- 3s. They are now widely available in regular supermarkets and are a much healthier choice than conventional eggs.
Essential Fatty Acids
The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the aforementioned cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source. However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health. Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9. All [...]
Essential Fatty Acids
The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source.
However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health. Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9. All are needed to form and maintain the structural and functional integrity of cell membranes, provide fuel for cellular energy and create the hormone-like messenger chemicals, the prostaglandins and the eicosanoids, which regulate many key metabolic functions.
Because the body cannot make these essential fats, we must obtain them from our diets. This is a lot easier said than done. For one thing, many of us consume a low ratio of essential fatty acids compared to our intake of saturated fatty acids, such as those found in full fat dairy products and meat (we all know that saturated fats are pro-inflammatory and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease).
Unfortunately, when most of us do consume essential fatty acids, they tend to be omega-6, which is found in grains and vegetable oils such as corn and safflower. In fact, very few of us are getting the proper ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, which may account for the growing prevalence of serious health conditions like heart attacks, cancer, asthma, lupus, schizophrenia, depression, accelerated aging, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes in our society.
This imbalance upsets the proverbial fat-metabolizing apple cart. An overabundance of omega-6 is inflammatory and interferes with the body’s ability to use omega-3s—a serious situation because of the positive effects of omega-3s we talked about earlier: They inhibit the calories we consume from being stored as body fat, while promoting the burning of body fat we already have. It is believed that humans evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. It is now believed that the Western diet is 15:1 or significantly greater with the omega 6 intake far surpassing the omega 3 intake. To prevent disease and to look and feel your best, drastically limit intake of omega 6, eliminate all refined vegetables oils other than extra virgin olive oil and increase your intake of the omega 3’s.
Tomorrow we’ll discuss the best food choices to get your Omega 3s and Omega 6s.
