Not All Fats Are Bad Fats :: Holistic Healing :: Functional Foods/Nutraceuticals :: A-F

> Holistic Healing > Functional Foods/Nutraceuticals > A-F > essential fatty acids (omega-3, omega 6)

Not All Fats Are Bad Fats
by author Udo Erasmus, PhD

Most people know only the negative half of the fats story.

The gist is that fats are bad. This one-sided presentation is hype that serves the industry’s need for food products with long shelf lives. Research proves much of the hype completely wrong. Yet it has led to rampant fat phobia. And that, in turn, has caused an epidemic of low- (and no-) fat diets that are dangerous to health.

Used long term, a no-fat diet will kill you. A low-fat diet can make you very ill. It sets you up for cardiac arrest, stunts the growth of children and harms the liver, kidneys and brain as well as the immune system and gland and organ functions. In adults, early signs of insufficient healing fats include dry skin and low energy levels.

What we need is a "right fat diet" that emphasizes green foods, herbs, protein, minerals, vitamins, fibre, bowel flora, enzymes, antioxidants and optimum intake of the fats that heal.

The foundational truth about fats that kill is that most of the health problems blamed on fats result from destructive processing to increase shelf stability. This industrial consideration works against health. Destructive processing can change healing fats into killing fats, serving convenience and keeping ability at the expense of the body’s needs.

Destruction takes place because, while being essential for life, the fats that heal are sensitive to light, oxygen and heat. When we fry or partially hydrogenate oils, a percentage of the healing fat molecules they contain become chemically changed, damaged, unnatural and toxic. When industry deodorizes oils to make the odourless, colourless and tasteless oils found without refrigeration on the shelves of supermarkets and corner stores, healing fat molecules are changed into unnatural molecules with toxic properties.

Frying increases cancer and cardiovascular problems. Partial hydrogenation produces trans-fatty acids, which, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, double the risk of heart attack and kill at least 30,000 North Americans each year. Colourless, odourless, tasteless oils (especially derived from those high in the w6 essential fatty acid, such as corn and safflower) promote the growth of tumours.

Good Fats

1 2

Next Page >>>

Udo Erasmus is the author of Fats That Heal and Fats That Kill. He resides in Vancouver, BC.

Source: alive #223, May 2001

Cancer
Cancer develops when cells in the body function abnormally and multiply uncontrollably--a process which eventually leads to tumor growth. A healthy body routinely detects and eliminates abnormal cells.

Getting The Fats Straight
Until recently, saturated fats were designated the health food "bad boys." They stay solid at room temperature and are commonly found in animal products such as beef, duck and pork.

Essential Oils-Essential to Beauty
The art of using oil to improve physical, emotional and psychological well being has been with us for centuries. In the 11th century AD, European healers extracted oils from plants through squeezing and distilling methods. The essential oils were burnt for their antiseptic properties and used topically as medicinal salves..

Winter Blues
While most depression lifted as they resumed normal routines, some have persistent symptoms that require intervention. Mild to moderate depression is not incapacitating and usually improves after three to six weeks.

Fatty Acids are Essential
We eat fat every day. It's one of the three macronutrients-the other two are carbohydrates and proteins-that can be used in the body to produce energy (calories) for heat, to move our muscles and to drive all sorts of metabolic processes that keep us alive and well.

Fats and Oils
There are two kinds of fats: the bad fats we must avoid because they make us sick, and the good fats and oils, which we need for our bodies to function properly and stay healthy until we die at an old age.

Developing Your Personal Nutrient Plan
Each of us would do well to become more educated about our body and then develop a personalized vitamin-mineral program to suit.

Give Your Head a Shake
The sun is shining brightly, but when you look at your shoulders you swear you can see snow. Of course, those tiny white flakes have nothing to do with the weather, but they aren't all in your head either. Those embarrassing tiny specks result from an overgrowth of skin cells on the scalp.

Living Longer, Living Well
North Americans appear to be living longer. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 45 years but now it is estimated to be 71 years for men and 78 for women.

Good Fat. Bad Fat.
While the negative effects of saturated fats have been well documented and widely discussed over the past 30 years, an artificial and potentially deadly fat has silently made its way into our food supply.

Don't Get Stiffed
Over four million Canadians suffer with the debilitating symptoms of arthritis-pain and inflammation. Arthritis encompasses over 100 forms of inflammatory disorders with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis the most common.

What's Old is New
The phrase "functional food is everywhere these days, but what does it mean? From a natural health perspective, functional food refers to nutritionally superior food products that have been enhanced through processing, fermentation, or growth technologies.

Good News for Carnivores
It's pretty hard not to notice the growing number of organic products available to today's consumer. At one time the exclusive preserve of health food stores and farmer's markets, organic produce and, more recently, meat products are now taking up substantial shelf space in your local supermarket.

Are You Getting Enough Essensial Fatty Acids?
We know the body manufactures most of the fats it needs from other nutrients. However, essential fatty acids (EFAs)-sometimes referred to by their derivatives, alpha linolenic and linoleic acids-are essential because the body needs but cannot make them.

Attention Deficit: A Male Disorder?
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the leading childhood psychiatric disorder in North America.

Big, Fat Beautiful Hair
Strong, healthy hair and smooth, glowing skin requires a daily intake of essential fatty acids (EFAs). These natural oils help build a soft flexible cell wall, resulting in smoother hair and skin. Our bodies crave fat because cells use these good fats to regenerate and build new tissue.

Five Reasons to Get Your 3s
Medical and nutritional researchers from around the world continue to discover the seemingly endless health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are critical for human survival, and yet the human body is incapable of manufacturing them-that's why they're essential.

Breakfast Rules!
Current research suggests breakfast, more than any other meal, is an investment in good health. Unfortunately, it's an investment not enough of us are making on a regular basis.

Wheat Germ
To protect our health we often try to avoid germs-but wheat germ is one germ we can all embrace! Its name originating from the word germinate, the wheat germ is the embryonic centre of the wheat grain, containing enzymes and nutrients required to start a new plant.

Stress Less
Many Canadians suffer from stress. It’s the root cause of numerous health challenges we experience. Finding ways to reduce stress is essential to improve our health and our quality of life.

Superstar Supplements