Fats: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Good [Omega 3], Bad [omega 6] and Ugly [trans fats]:

A small amounts of omega-6 fatty acids from seeds and plants are essential for your body.

When combined with omega-3 fatty acids from fish, omega-6s appear to play an integral role in maintaining health.

Together, these two fats can help regulate brain development, energy production, and immune function, and control inflammation.

However, large quantities of omega-6s promote oxidative stress by disabling the body's second defense against cancer: the antioxidant. Adding insult to injury, they increase inflammation within skin cells. And inflammation can be a driving force behind the growth of skin cancer and its ability to spread to nearby tissues and organs.

This omega-6 threat did not exist 100 years ago. Our ancestors consumed only small quantities of omega-6 in the form of whole corn, seeds, and legumes. Their ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 was about 1:1. Today, a large segment of the population consumes a ratio of at least 20:1.

The omega-6 overdose exists thanks to the advent of technology - chemical extraction methods, to be exact. Instead of getting omega-6 in its natural state - from plants and seeds - our primary sources are now plant and seed oils (corn, safflower, and sunflower). A single tablespoon of omega-6-laden corn oil is derived from a whopping 12 to 18 ears of corn.

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids has not yet been determined. One thing is certain, the overdose of omega-6 manifests into poor health as well as dry, brittle skin that predisposes us to skin cancer.

The best thing you can do to protect against skin cancer is rid your diet of omega-6-laden plant and seed oils while consuming more protective omega-3 fatty acids. Avoid consuming fried foods to reduce trans fats responsible for cancer and other autoimmune diseases.

Reduce your daily intake of salt. You need only half a gram daily which is a quarter of a teaspoon. The average person consume over 5 grams daily if the consume processed foods. Increase salt consuption may cause electrolite [minerals]imbalance which may lead to fluid retention, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Using dirutecis or water pills is counterproductive which leads to severe mineral's imbalance and potassium diffiency.

A “toxic environment” of unhealthy, addictive food is behind today’s obesity epidemic. Here are your heatly steps:

Eat a Low-Glycemic Diet

The first and most important step you should take is to strictly limit the amount of sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates in your diet. Carbs that are high on the glycemic index are rapidly converted to glucose in your system. This raises your blood sugar levels and requires a rush of insulin to shuttle the glucose molecules into the muscles where they can be used as fuel.

Here's why that is a bad thing: Perpetually elevated blood sugar and insulin levels lead to premature aging, wide swings in mood and energy, reduced immunity, and chronic inflammation. Not to mention a much higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and more.

Insulin is also the hormone that controls fat storage. If you want to convert your body to a perpetual fat-burning state, you must keep your insulin and blood sugar levels low. For many people, controlling insulin levels by eating a low-glycemic diet can produce nearly effortless weight loss.

High-glycemic foods that you should limit or avoid include starchy carbohydrates - potatoes, flour, rice, pasta, corn, cereal, bread and other grain products (even whole grains), and baked goods. If you can't live without bread, tortillas, and cereal, look for Ezekiel 4:9 organic sprouted grain products made by Food for Life. They are all low-glycemic and taste great.

You should also strictly limit the amount of sugar in your diet. In one form or another, sugar is in most foods. And it is a primary culprit in our epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Read the labels and try to avoid anything with more than 10 grams per serving.

And don't use artificial sweeteners. They can damage your health - and there are better alternatives. If you wish to sweeten foods and drinks or make your own desserts at home, use sweeteners like erythritol and stevia (or agave nectar, in moderation).  

With these all-natural ingredients, you can make low-glycemic desserts that are perfectly healthy and taste even better than those made with sugar.

 Balance Your Omega-3 to Omega-6 Ratio

Omega-3s and omega-6s are known as essential fatty acids. They are essential to every cell in your body, and they must be consumed in your diet. Your body cannot manufacture them. However, while omega-6 fats are essential in small amounts, they actually promote disease when consumed in unnaturally large amounts. Based on our evolutionary history, the ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet is 1:1. Our ancestors evolved over millions of years eating that way. However, our modern diet has skewed the ratio significantly. This is a prescription for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cataracts, infertility, skin wrinkles, and much more. The twofold solution is very simple:

First, reduce - as much as possible - the omega-6 fatty acids in your diet.

Strictly limit vegetable and seed oils - corn oil, soy, canola, safflower, and sunflower oils. You should also avoid fried and processed foods. Potato chips, baked goods, salad dressings, margarine, shortening, etc. all contain vegetable oils and high levels of omega-6 fats. Replace any vegetable oils you currently use with extra virgin olive oil, organic grass-fed butter, and organic unrefined coconut oil.

Conventionally raised meats are also much higher in omega-6 fatty acids than meat from animals raised on their natural diet. Cattle raised on corn, for example, have a much, much higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids in their meat than cattle raised on a natural diet of grass. Grass-fed beef is generally very rich in beneficial omega-3s. Buy organic, naturally raised meats whenever possible. (U.S. Wellness Meats is a multi-family run business that takes great care of their customers.)

Second, boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in very few foods, which is why most of the population is deficient. This is a shame, because omega-3s are one of the most beneficial nutrients in the human diet. Hundreds of published studies show that optimal omega-3 levels can greatly improve your overall health, optimize your weight, increase your energy, and help you retain mental function as you age. Omega-3s also reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and depression. And they can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, hyperactivity, diabetes, digestive disorders, and a host of other conditions.

While you can get omega-3s from flaxseeds and walnuts, these plant sources contain only the fatty acid ALA. The best omega-3 fats are those found in fish - DHA and EPA. Your brain is highly dependent on DHA. Low DHA levels have been linked to depression, memory loss, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's. Wild Alaskan salmon (not farm-raised) is one of the best food sources of these fats. But your best bet is to take a fish oil (not cod liver oil) supplement.

You should also break a sweat on a regular basis. You should eat a varied, natural diet of whole foods, and avoid chemicals and preservatives. Drink plenty of purified water every day. And allow your body to rest peacefully at night.

Natural Foods vs Processed Foods:                   

Mass-produced Western foods, because they’re low in fiber, sugary and fatty, cause hormonal imbalances that promote overeating, the scientist who authored the study claimed. These imbalances leave a person hungrier, less willing to exercise, and feeling less good overall.

Organic Carrots Vs. Baby Carrots: 

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made
using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a
machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots . most people
probably know this already.
What you may not know and should know is the following: once the carrots
are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of
water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine
used in your pool) since they do not have their skin or natural protective
covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine.
You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for
a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots, this is the
chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to
have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?
We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many people as
possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed. Chlorine is a very well known carcinogen.

If you have high blood pressure, do not consume this processed carrot since excess salt will affect your blood pressure. Organically grown vegetables are highly recommended for all ages particularly for children.

Although the research focused on childhood obesity, overweight kids tend to become overweight adults, he said. 

That, he added, helps explain why health experts throughout Western countries are lamenting an “obesity epidemic” population-wide. 

“If we don’t fix this, our children will continue to lose,” said the researcher, Robert Lustig of the Children’s Hospital at the University of California, San Francisco. 

His findings appeared in a review of obesity research, published in the August edition of the research journal Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism. A related paper by Lustig is to appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatric Annals.

Obesity is now the most commonly diagnosed childhood ailment, said Lustig, who directs the hospital’s Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Clinic. Diseases once seen only in adults, like type 2 diabetes, now are occurring in children. 

Weighty children are also ostracized and teased, sometimes causing long-term psychological damage, he said. Obese adults, meanwhile, face greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Today’s sugary, low-fiber, fatty foods boost levels of the hormone insulin, Lustig said. This, in turn, encourages overeating because insulin promotes a signal that induces the body to seek a pleasurable feeling that comes from eating. This sensation comes from the brain chemical dopamine.

Insulin also promotes overeating in a second way, Lustig added, by suppressing the effectiveness of another hormone, leptin. Leptin, when functioning properly, “increases physical activity, decreases appetite, and increases feelings of well-being,” he said. Its suppression results in greater appetite and lowered well-being.

Lustig blamed changes in food processing during the past 30 years, particularly the addition of the sugar fructose to a wide variety of foods that once never included sugar and the removal of fiber. Both changes promote insulin production, he said. 

Excessive fructose and inadequate fiber, in particular, “appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin,” he added. High fat and low dairy content contribute to the problem, he added.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of children who are overweight in the United States has doubled during the past three decades. Currently one child in five is overweight. The increase is true for children and adolescents of all age groups and races and for boys and girls. 

Lustig said the notion that children are responsible for their own weight, or excess of it, no longer holds up. Society is to blame for giving kids toxic food, he said, and it has to stop.

“No child chooses to be obese,” he said. “Furthermore, young children are not responsible for food choices at home or at school, and it can hardly be said that preschool children, in whom obesity is rampant, are in a position to accept personal responsibility.”

Moreover, he said, research shows that in recent times even thin people are gaining weight, belying the notion that a small number of gluttons alone are behind the obesity crisis. “Whatever is happening is happening to everyone,” he wrote.