Essential Fatty Acids, It's A Balancing Act

Essential fatty acids or EFA’s are essential to good health and it is essential that you get them in your diet because your body cannot make them. 

EFA’s come in the form of omega-3 fatty acids, found mainly in fish, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, pumpkin and hemp seeds, and omega-6 fatty acids found mainly in vegetable oils.

These two EFA’s are both necessary for good health, but they have opposite effects on the body and must be kept in balance to promote health.  

An ideal ratio would be from 1:1 up to 4:1 omega-6 to omega-3.  However, because processed vegetable oils are in the majority of foods Americans consume, and because we are not big fish eaters, the typical American's ratio hovers around 20:1 omega-6 to omega-3.  Way out of the ideal range. 

This becomes a health concern because the omega-6 EFAs in your diet from vegetable oils promote inflammation, increased blood pressure and immune suppression.  Conditions which could lead to heart disease and cancer.

I recommend getting your Omega-3s from the fat of cold water fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel rather than from nuts and seeds because many people lack the enzymes needed to make the conversion from vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acids to the more usable form found in fish oils.  Therefore, it is perhaps best to enjoy cold water fish along with your vegetable sources of omega-3's. 

The Omega-3 EFA’s “claim to fame” is that they are anti-inflammatory.  This is HUGE for Americans whose diet and lifestyle is pro-inflammatory.  Especially when you consider most, if not all disease processes start with inflammation. 

Omega-3's also feed bio-chemicals that lower triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure, prevent blood clots, reduce inflammation, enhance immune function, and keep rapid cell growth in check.  

They protect the heart, are needed for proper brain functioning and even help with weight loss by reducing insulin levels and increasing your metabolic rate.

Besides the less desirable Omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetable oils, there are two other omega-6 EFAs that are beneficial to your health.  Gamma linolenic acid, GLA, is found in borage oil, evening primrose oil, and black current seed oil. 

GLA helps reduce inflammation and aids in brain development, skin and hair growth and healthy bones.  It also raises levels of serotonin, the feel good neurotransmitter and, it helps burn body fat. 

Conjugated linoleic acid, CLA is also an omega-6 fatty acid.  It is found in the beef and dairy products of organically raised free-range cows that graze on early spring and fall grasses.  

It is also found in wild game.  CLA packs a double punch; it helps maintain lean muscle while increasing the rate at which you burn body fat.  Not a bad combination.

Less vegetable oil, more fresh wild fish, flax seeds or oil, borage oil and organic free range meats will help lower inflammation and keep your heart, brain, nervous and immune systems young and healthy while keeping you strong and lean.

*  Animal sources of omega-3 fatty acids include: herring, sardines, salmon, mackerel, swordfish, mussels, tilapia, halibut, flounder, and pollock.

*  Plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids include: flax seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, pecans, and hazelnuts.

*  Sources of omega-6 fatty acids include: safflower oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and sunflower oil.

For guidance and support in your journey to better nutrition, contact me for a free 15 minute consultation at nina.lynn@me.com.

You Say Atkins, I Say Pritikin; Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

There is a lot of confusion around why one particular diet works for one person, but not for another.  

Although every diet out there works for someone, or even a lot of people, it won’t work for everyone.  

Those who need animal protein to run their metabolisms in an efficient and balanced way will not thrive as a vegan or vegetarian.  Likewise a metabolism that runs well on mostly carbohydrates will be sluggish on heavy protein and fat.

The biochemistry that runs our metabolism can vary greatly from one person to another.  

My own personal experience with this came to light when my partner and I ate the same foods and he was constantly hypoglycemic while I had steady energy all day.  It was the 90’s, so like everyone else we were eating low fat, no red meat and mostly carbohydrates.  

Because we owned health clubs, we were working out most days and burning off the sugar flooding our systems from all the carbohydrates, so we weren’t putting on body fat or becoming diabetic as can happen on this type of diet.

However, because he was a “protein type” and I am a “carbohydrate type”, we were burning through our nutrients at different rates.  I could go for hours on just an apple, but his blood sugar would drop after 30 minutes. 

A system of metabolic typing was developed based on the early research of the dentist Dr. Weston Price, and later works of Dr. Roger Williams, Dr. Royal Lee, and Dr. William Kelly, among others, and made popular by the book “Metabolic Typing Diet” by William Wolcott.  

It divides people into three basic types; protein, carbohydrate and mixed, meaning your metabolism runs best on either a higher percentage of protein and fat, a higher percentage of carbohydrates, or a more even combination of all three.  

This is determined in general by how your body oxidizes, or burns through the nutrients you eat, by which branch of the autonomic nervous system is driving your metabolism, and by how your hormones influence your metabolism.

For instance, a protein type burns through their nutrients quickly and therefore needs more protein and fat to slow that process down.

A carb. type oxidizes nutrients slowly so adding too much protein and fat slows them down to the point of fatigue and lethargy. 

Protein types are typically influenced by the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system, and carbohydrate types by the sympathetic branch.  The dominant endocrine system varies person to person. 

This is really the “Reader’s Digest” explanation, as there are nine fundamental homeostatic control mechanisms that influence your metabolism.  

No wonder it takes a computer program to sort it out.  Blood type is only one of the nine. Interestingly, my partner and I had the same blood type, but we needed to eat very differently to stay balanced.  

You can see examples of biochemical individuality everywhere in the “diet” world.  

One group of people swear by the vegan lifestyle, while another group declares that the Paleolithic diet with plenty of animal protein is the way to perfect health.  

So who’s right?  They both are.  

Just as the Atkins diet of high fat, low carbohydrates, and the Pritikin diet of low fat, high carbohydrates have both helped thousands of people become healthier.  

Despite their differing views on percentages of nutrients, the successful plans all call for whole, natural unprocessed foods, daily exercise and positive belief systems.  

Once you find which ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates is best to balance your body’s chemistry, excess body fat will be replaced by excess energy.  

One size really does not fit all.  That's why it is important to have a personalized eating plan designed for your specific metabolism.

For a personalized nutrition plan, and guidance and support on your path to a healthy metabolism, contact me at nina.lynn@me.com.