A Major Step in Maintaining Healthy Cells It's important for those interested in natural health to focus on antioxidants and immunity, but we must also understand the need to incorporate other crucial nutritionals into our daily regimen. This article focuses on an essential group of nutrients called fatty acids.
Fats include the molecules that are the basis of solid fats, liquid oils, and cholesterol. These fats clearly affect human health. The building blocks of fats include fatty acids. Fats, oils, and cholesterol are referred to by medical scientists as lipids. Lipids include the fatty acids, the principal building blocks of fats and oils, and phospholipids, from which the cell membrane is made.
Fatty AcidsFatty acids come in different shapes and sizes. They are the key building blocks of all fats and oils, both the fat (lipids) in our food and in our bodies. Fatty acids are the main components in neutral fats (triglycerides) carried in our blood. They are also the main components of the fat stored in our fat cells, which can serve as important sources of energy.
Fatty acids are crucial in the construction and maintenance of healthy cells. They serve as the main components of the membranes that surround each cell and ensure the integrity and normal function of the cell. A similar membrane surrounds many of the internal particles and "organelles" within the cell.
Fat, which is a critical part of our body tissues, is also subject to disease. Udo Erasmus points out:
"Degenerative diseases that involve fats prematurely kill over two-thirds of people currently dying in different industrialized nations. Sixty-eight percent of people die from just three conditions that involve fatty degeneration: cardiovascular disease (43.8 percent), cancer (22.4 percent), and diabetes (1.8 percent)." These degenerative processes are reversible by using whole and fresh fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. We must also avoid obvious toxins such as tobacco and alcohol, and we must insist on clean air and clean water. Antioxidants are a recent invaluable addition to our diet, which are reported to prevent degenerative disease of the cell.
Marine Lipids: The Omega-3 Fatty AcidsAccording to Richard Passwater, Ph.D.,
"Nutritional research has revealed important new evidence that certain marine lipids improve the blood to protect against heart disease, improve glandular and enzyme function, and play a vital role in brain and nerve health." Passwater refers here to the exciting discovery of marine lipids ingested by the Eskimo population, which conferred on them an apparent immunity to cardiovascular disease.
The active ingredient producing this remarkable reduction in heart and blood vessel disease was found to be due to two fish oils from cold-water fish. These oils were classified as "marine lipids," also called omega-3 fatty acids. These two critical fish oil compounds are classified as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The first oil is called
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), which is required for the production of prostaglandin-3. It controls blood-vessel clotting and artery obstruction. EPA also improves blood viscosity and lowers cholesterol (particularly LDL) and triglycerides. The second oil is
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which is a major factor in the health of the brain and retina. It may also play a role in enhancing nerve conduction.
These omega-3 fatty acids:
- Improve the blood to protect against heart disease.
- Improve gland and enzyme function.
- Play a vital role in brain and nerve health.
- Influence the balance between series No. 2 and No. 3 prostaglandins, a hormone-like substance critical to cardiovascular health.
The ProstaglandinsBruce Miller points out that two kinds of prostaglandins must be kept in a delicate balance. Omega-3 fatty acid produces thromboxane-3, which acts beneficially as described above. However, omega-6 fatty acid produces thromboxane-2. If thromboxane-2 becomes dominant, it will cause clots instead of reducing clots. It will also cause vasoconstriction (a very harmful effect on the body) instead of vasodilatation.
Thus, the "good guy" is omega-3 fatty acid, which can be increased by eating deep-sea fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, and shark. The "bad guy" (if out of balance so that it predominates) is omega-6 fatty acid. This imbalance is triggered by consuming the standard American diet of meat, carbohydrates, and highly processed food.
How To Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acids In The Body Consume at least two servings of cold water fish a week, such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon. Soybean products are also a good source. If you have coronary artery disease, consume one gram omega-3 per day, preferably from fatty fish.
Erasmus has given us the positive recommendations to achieve true dynamic health:
- Ensure adequate essential fatty acid consumption.
- Ensure adequate intake of minerals, vitamins, protein, and fiber.
- Ensure your exposure to fresh water, fresh air, and sunshine.
- Exercise.
- Relax, rest, pray, enjoy, and socialize with your loved ones.
To Avoid Mercury Contamination From Fish (young children and pregnant women):
- Don't eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish.
- Don't eat more than 6 oz of albacore ("white") tuna per week.
- Eat up to 12 oz of fish per week, and shellfish lower in mercury, such as shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, Pollock, and catfish.
References:
1. Passwater, RA, Ph.D.; Fish Oils Update, 1987; Keats Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT.
2. Passwater, RA, Ph.D., EPA - Marine Lipids, 1982; Keats Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT.
3. Miller, BB, D.D.S., EPA With Lecithin, 1984; Bruce Miller Enterprises, Fort Worth, TX.
4. Erasmus, Udo, Fats That Heal; Fats That Kill, 1994; Alive Books, British Columbia, Canada.
5. Mastromonica, Michael R.Ph., Amazing Omega-3; Costco Healthy Living, Spring 2005.
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