| Good Fat? By Debi Hopkins As full time homemakers, many of us try to do the best we can to feed our family (and our selves) fresh, wholesome, whole food diet, in order to nourish and encourage optimum health. But there is so much to learn, and lately, I feel that we, the American consumer, have been fed a lot of conflicting messages about the real role of fat in our diet. It has caused me no end of confusion and even skepticism toward new information as it comes across my desk. I have become very wary of commercial messages today, as I believe few are based on current scientific knowledge, and I would go so far to say that I suspect that many are in "cahoots" with big money companies that promote fat-free or cholesterol-free products. Sadly missing from these "info-mercials" is the fact that sugar and hydrogenated fats in these so called "health promoting" products are the real culprits that increase the body's own production of cholesterol, which in turn leads to heart disease, causing the exact health problems people are trying to avoid. Fat is necessary for life and good health. It is a key component in body chemistry and energy storage. Knowing the difference between the beneficial essential fatty acids (EFAs) and harmful fats is of crucial importance for health and longevity. Ten plus years ago I set out to improve my own health by quiting smoking, and to try to stave off the inevitable weight gain, I went on a very low fat, whole foods diet. It didn't take more than a month or two before my health started to decline rapidly. Here I was, a new "ex-smoker" and for the first time in a dozen years or more, I should have felt better than ever----I was eating good, wholesome, healthy food. Breathing clean, fresh air, trying to excersise, and yet--- I was sick all the time, my immune system seemed to be constantly on the fritz, and my skin was so dry and unhealthy looking. My menstrual cycle was way out of wack, and numerous other things were not as they had been prior to my quiting smoking and starting that "healthy" diet regime. Looking back, and then looking forward at all the new information and research available to me now, I understand better how good fats benefit our health, and I can see what a disservice I have done to myself by trying to drasticly cut out all that "bad" fat from my diet. Replacing it with good things like whole grains and fruit, fresh vegetables and poultry seemed like a good way to go, but without the healthy fats to balance it out, I was ruining my health. Extensive research over the past ten years has made it clear that a reduced or imbalanced intake of EFAs plays a significant role in the development of many cardiovascular, neurological, metabolic and other age-related degenerative diseases. There are good fats! And we need the right kinds, in the right amounts, in order to achieve a healthy balance and good health. The research I have read has singled out two particularly beneficial fatty acids, GLA and DHA, and pointed to an ideal balance between them that could guard against disease and age-related disorders in numerous ways. These key fatty acids protect the cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure, raising good (HDL) cholesterol while lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Essential fatty acids reduce the damage stress causes to our body's delicate neurological balance, and may help stave off insulin resistance, a health disorder that can be a precursor to diabetes. GLA helps reverse the effects of aging on fatty acid metabolism, while DHA is essential to the development and maintenance of healthy brain functions, being of crucial importance for children, and also very important for the elderly in the prevention o dementia type illnesses. The richest known source of GLA is borage oil (23% GLA), while DHA is plentiful in cold water fish, Cod liver oil, and Salmon oil. GLA and DHA make a wonderful team for health and longevity. Fatty acids serve ! as the building blocks of nerve cells, cell membranes and act as biochemical messengers, for things such things as prostaglandins. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) can not be produced within the body, and therefore must be provided through our diet. If our diet is lacking in EFAs, saturated fats will take the place of EFAs within cell membranes, reducing membrane fluidity and efficiency, and thereby starting a process of premature aging and disease development. But, by taking the right kinds of EFAs in the right proportions, we can maximize the production of those beneficial 'prostaglandins' and other chemical messengers, while minimizing production of the harmful ones. Getting the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the right proportions can reduce bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol. There are two families of EFAs: omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Experimental studies confirm that a balanced combination of these two ! families is essential for maximal effect in lowering blood pressure, improving the serum lipid profile and reducing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The World Health Organization, as well as the British Nutrition Foundation and the Japan Society for Lipid Nutrition all agree, that a combination of omega-6 and omega-3 (in this case, GLA and EPA), in a proportion ranging from 2:1 to 4:1 (two to four parts of omega-6 to one part of omega-3), has been the ideal combination to reduce bad LDL cholesterol, raise good HDL cholesterol and thus improve the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio. Due to the disproportionate level of omega-6 oils in the typical American diet, many nutrition councelers reccomend that we supplement at the lowerend of this range, at a ratio of two parts omega-6 to one part omega-3 oils. Prostaglandins play a very important role in helping us maintain good health. Too much prostaglandin E2 can lead to degenerative disease! , whereas high levels of beneficial prostaglandin E1 and E3 protect the body. Here is a brief description of how these prostaglandins function in the body: • Prostaglandin E1 prevents blood platelets from sticking together, thereby helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes which are caused by blood clots. • Prostaglandin E1 relaxes blood vessels, improving circulation and lowering blood pressure. It reduces inflammation, makes insulin work more effectively and enhances the T-cell function of the immune system. GLA increases this beneficial prostaglandin. • Prostaglandin E2 promotes platelet aggregation, the first step to clot formation, increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke. It makes the kidneys retain sodium, leading to water retention, and it causes inflammation. Diets high in saturated fats (arachidonic acid) increase levels of this pro-inflammatory prostaglandin. • Prostaglandin E3 has similar functions as prostaglandin E1. It also has a powerful effect of preventing the release of arachidonic acid stored in cell membranes and its conversion to prostaglandin E2. Omega-3 fatty acids are the source of this beneficial prostaglandin. Supplementing our diet with GLA and DHA can help to restore levels of the good prostaglandins. GLA and DHA both have preventive effects on atherosclerosis and heart attacks by lowering blood pressure and serum lipids and reducing cardiovascular reactions to stress. GLA has anti-aging effects, and DHA has a unique role in the development and maintenance of the nervous system. It has proven to be important for development, learning and behavior in children as well as for prevention and treatment of dementia. Beneficial effects of both GLA and DHA on the cardiovascular system have been extensively documented in experimental and human studies: moderate but consistent blood pressure lowering effects, significant reductions of serum lipids, and beneficial influence on insulin resistance which plays a large role in the development of diabetes, atheroscl! erosis and heart attacks. Much research is currently focused on unraveling the many-fold mechanisms of action behind these favorable influences. Incorporation of GLA and DHA in the diet has proven to be one of these changes that can reduce the blood pressure and help lower the risk of heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure. Borage oil and DHA have blood pressure lowering effects In contrast to earlier beliefs, we now know that a stable systolic blood pressure (below 140 mmHg) is equally or even more important than a "normal" diastolic pressure (less than 90 mmHg). Systolic blood pressure increases with aging as a result of increased stiffness of the arteries and is a stronger predictor of risk in the elderly than the diastolic pressure. A pulse pressure (the difference between systolic and diastolic pressure) of more than 60 is a marker for advanced atherosclerosis and indicates a high risk for a cardiovascular event, such as a stroke. There is so much to learn, and I feel like I've just begun to grasp the importance of all this "good fat" information----but I also feel very strongly that it is something I can no longer put on the back burner, so to speak. About a year ago, at the ripe old age of 43, my health took a sudden and pretty drastic turn for the worse. My blood pressure shot up to 201 over 100, with no apparent reason or cause. My breathing got very bad, and I was put on Prednisone, which for me, was not fun at all. I also started retaining fluids very seriously, and have been on prescription diuretics since that time. My blood pressure is now back down to normal, but the fluid retetion problem still excists, and I am determined to do all I can to try to deal with this problem from a nutritional standpoint, and get off of the prescription drugs as soon as possibl! e. Besides trying to regain my own health, I've been on a new quest to find information to help my mother, who suffered a stroke this past summer, with no warning whatsoever. (She is 63 years young <grin>) and I would like to be able to pass on to her all of the information I can, to help her avoid the possiblity of suffereing from another stroke down the road. There is much more to learn----I didn't even get to discuss the new information out there regarding coconut oil----maybe next month, until then, I urge you all to read up on this topic and learn what you can, I hope and pray that this information will benifit you and your family with the best health possible! In Him, Debi <>< |
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