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The Skinny On Essential Fatty Acids
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If you want to lose weight and improve your health you should simply
eat more fat. That's right, fat. But not the saturated potato chip or
doughnut variety; rather, in order to encourage numerous bodily functions
and speed up metabolism, what's needed is a daily dose of the
"good" omega-3 and omega-6 (essential fatty acids), such as
those found in oils like
flaxseed oil, hemp, walnut, evening primrose and
borage. In fact, according to Udo Erasmus, fat expert and author of Fats
That Heal, Fats That Kill (Alive Books, 1993), getting more than 12
percent to 15 percent of one's total calories in the form of EFAs
will actually help burn off excess fats and help one lose weight.
The EFAs, consisting of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) and linoleic
acid (omega-6), are substances that cannot be manufactured in the body,
and thus must be taken in as supplements or through high-EFA foods in
order to sustain health. It is the highly reactive nature of these fats
that makes them so fundamental to bodily functions, and that allows them
to increase oxidation and metabolic rate.
Furthermore, because their chemical structure contains double bonds,
EFAs carry a slight negative charge, which causes them to bend and repel
each other, thus spreading out over bodily surfaces. "The kinks
created by cis-double bonds in fatty acids make them difficult to
align," Erasmus says. This is why EFAs don't clog arteries and
contribute to heart disease in the way that saturated fats do.
However, the tasks EFAs accomplish in the body are even more
important than the ones they don't. For example, Erasmus says that these
substances are key players in the conversion of food to energy, the
transfer of oxygen to cells, the formation and maintenance of cell
membranes, and the production of hormone-like prostaglandins, which guard
against conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Furthermore, adequate
EFA intake will result in healthy nails, hair, and skin, faster healing
and a more efficient level of fat burning.
"You need Omega-3
and Omega-6 in ample amounts because they are in every cell membrane
in the body, and they influence the metabolism of all the cells,"
says Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D., president of the Center for Genetics,
Nutrition, and Health in Washington D.C., and co-author of The Omega
Diet (HarperCollins, 1999). "If these fatty acids are not in
close to equal amounts, and you end up with a lot of omega-6--which is
common right now because of Americans' over-consumption of vegetable
oil--then you end up with an excess of metabolites in the body," she
says. "And these substances tend to do a number of things that are
not consistent with health, such as causing proinflammatory reactions and
encouraging chronic conditions such as heart disease and
hypertension."
To make matters worse, Americans often further intensify this EFA
imbalance by loading up on foods that contain trans fatty acids. These
artery-clogging saturated fats are usually found in processed foods and
those that contain hydrogenated oils or margarine, such as baked goods.
"Trans fatty acids interfere with the normal function of
omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids," Simopoulos says. "And in
animal experiments, trans fatty acids have been shown to increase the size
of fat cells." In other words, these fats actually encourage the body
to become fatter.
"You can see why it is very important to avoid trans fats, cut
down on vegetable oils, and begin using oils that are rich in omega-3
fatty acids such as canola, flaxseed or walnut," Simopoulos says. And
since flaxseed oil has the highest percentage of omega-3, she suggests
that daily supplementation with this oil can help neutralize the effects
of both trans fatty acids and excessively high levels of omega-6.
It is important to remember, however, that once a balance of EFAs
has been established in the body, flaxseed oil may not remain the best
choice for supplementing the diet. "Long-term exclusive use of flax
oil can result in omega-6 deficiency symptoms, because flax contains three
times more omega-3 than omega-6," Erasmus says. And although it would
take years for this deficiency to develop, it is best to vary the oils you
use.
"I think it is a good idea to use flaxseed oil for several
months to make up an omega-3 deficiency, then switch to a more balanced
oil for maintenance such as hemp or one of the prepared blends," says
Sue Sims, head of corporate sales for Spectrum Naturals, based in
Petaluma, Calif.
Companies such as Spectrum make EFA supplementation easy by
producing a wide variety of oils pressed from pure products. "Our
oils are produced without chemicals or additives," Sims says.
"And they are made to be the perfect blends needed for maintenance of
the human body."
Once established, maintaining the proper balance of EFAs is not
difficult. In fact, according to Erasmus, the optimum daily dose is only 9
to 18 grams of omega-6 and 2 to 9 grams of omega-3, which can take the
form of a single tablespoon of flaxseed or hemp oil in oatmeal in the
morning, or a splash of walnut-oil vinaigrette on a lunchtime salad.
"It is most effective to incorporate the oils into your
everyday diet," advises Simopoulos. "And remember that the
amount of fat you take in from animal and vegetable sources does not have
to be as low as the American Heart Association recommends, because it is
actually the type of fat that really matters."
Although Simopoulos recommends cutting back on saturated fats to
less than 7 percent of total calories, she is convinced that most
Americans could greatly benefit from consuming more omega-3 and omega-6
fatty acids. "What has happened in industrialized nations is that
people have become so scared of fat that they have adopted low-fat and
non-fat diets, which have made them deficient in Omega-3
and Omega-6 fatty acids," Simopoulos says. And considering that
rates of obesity, heart disease, and hypertension are on the rise, it is
obvious that going fat-free is not the answer. "Spread the word about
the good fats," she says. "Americans have been misinformed for
so long."
Linda Knittel is a Boulder,
Colo.-based free-lance writer with an M.S. in nutritional anthropology.
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