Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

We hear the (health) words  omega-3 and omega-6 a lot. But what are they? They are important to promoting heart health as well as many other health related problems.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential which means we can’t make them in our bodies. We have to get them from our diets. Both are polyunsaturated fatty acids (good fats) and have different chemical structures.

Omega-3 can be obtained from the fat of cold water fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, black cod, and bluefish. There are two critical omega-3 fatty acids, (eicosapentaenoic acid, called EPA and docosahexaenoic or DHA), that the body needs. EPA and DHA are the building blocks for hormones that control immune function, blood clotting, and cell growth as well as components of cell membranes.

Walnuts and flaxseeds contain a precursor omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid called ALA) that the body must convert to EPA and DHA.

Sources of omega-6 fatty acids are numerous in modern diets. They are found in seeds and nuts, and the oils extracted from them. Refined vegetable oils, such as soy oil, are used in most of the snack foods, cookies, crackers, and sweets in the American diet as well as in fast food. Soybean oil alone is now so ubiquitous in fast foods and processed foods that an astounding 20 percent of the calories in the American diet are estimated to come from this single source.

Here’s where another fast-food rub comes in. In the US as well as many other developed countries we eat too many omega-6 fatty acids – our diets are out of balance. We need more omega-3. In ancient times, man got as many omega-3’s as he got omega-6’s. But today this is no longer true. We should have a 1 to 1 balance of these fatty acids.

Researchers think that many diseases of which one is heart disease, are brought about by this imbalance.