Is Intermittent Fasting for You?

What is Intermittent Fasting?

In a small nutshell, intermittent fasting is avoiding food of all kinds during certain periods of the day, typically for 12 to 16 hours, or for an entire day. For example, you might eat only between 8 AM and 6 PM, or you might fast for two full nonconsecutive days a week. There are a lot of variations.

The benefits: The idea is that by mimicking ancient eating schedules instead of having food available all the time you can improve health. Reportedly, you can increase your mental clarity, burn fat and lose weight, feel better overall and improve your health to avoid diseases.

Ahh! You picked up on that “reportedly” I dropped in the last paragraph. Which of course might mean that I disagree with intermittent fasting in general.

Really, I believe that some people may get wonderful benefits from intermittent fasting. I’ve read the research and rationales behind it, and some of this does makes sense.

What I don’t agree with is any diet, food, supplement or treatment that is purported to work with “everyone.” In my practice, I see mainly severe chronic cases. These people are physically very stressed. They are very toxic, and usually have some type of immune suppression. Intermittent fasting would be about the worst thing that many of these people could do to themselves.

“Testing,” a Weird New Idea?

I was explaining to a patient this morning that I can’t think of any single food, supplement or treatment that would be appropriate for every patient I’ve had in the past year. Well, except for maybe clean water.  Every person needs different solutions.

When I make this statement to people, they often ask, “But, how would you be able to tell who would benefit and who would not?” This shows how remote the concept of TESTING is from the general consciousness. If you could accurately test someone to determine what foods, supplements, diets and treatments would be effective and safe for them—why would anyone make any decisions without doing this?

In my practice, I don’t do ANYTHING without testing it first. And after 25 years of operating this way, I’ve learned a valuable lesson: If you test a lot, prepare to be surprised a lot! Often, what shows up in testing is NOT what you would have come up with on your own. There are so many variations on the causes of any symptom that I see.

Medicine’s Failure to Test

The lack of accurate testing is probably one of the main reasons that conventional medicine fails to effectively treat chronic health conditions. When treating diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid conditions, hormone imbalances, depression, etc., conventional medicine relies on protocols, not testing.

Medical doctors test to diagnose, but no testing is done to determine causes. Not knowing the cause, the doctor slavishly follows the treatment protocol for that diagnosis in order to treat the symptoms. The result is often a lessening of the symptom (which can be a very good thing in many cases) but there is no solution to the actual problem. The patient usually will suffer from the chronic health condition for the rest of their lives, and the undiscovered cause of their condition will continue to deteriorate their health.

“One Accurate Measurement is Worth a Thousand Expert Opinions”

—Admiral Grace Hopper

Medical practice relies on the doctor’s opinion as the primary method of deciding what is wrong with the patient and what treatment would be effective. This is so true that it’s normal to get a second opinion to see if you can get more than one doctor to agree on your treatment.

My long experience is that many—maybe most—people are so used to this that they’ll shrug and say, “OK, so what’s the problem with opinions?” The problem is that an opinion is really a guess.

Doctors have been practicing this way for so long that we think it’s normal. But what other profession could possibly get away with this approach? Would you get a “second opinion” on the engineering of a bridge or skyscraper or the design of your car? No, these and almost all other professions rely on accurate measurements and proven methods based on scientific and engineering principles that always get results.

Engineers do not guess. Neither do carpenters, chefs, pilots, accountants or carpet installers.

In our entire society, professionals are expected to “know their stuff” and get a predictable, effective result. Except for doctors! (And, maybe philosophers, sports bookies and politicians.)

The Takeaway:

Everyone is different.

Your genetics, damage from illnesses and injuries, diet you were raised on, preferences, environment, available food, drug history, stress history, personality and many, many more variables are all different from other individuals.

So, there is no “universal” diet, food, lifestyle, supplement, drug or treatment that would get good results on everyone. Far, far from it!

The ability to test any of the above items before recommending them to an individual is not only of critical importance, it is obvious.

Because, the only other option would be to GUESS.

How Could You Assist Your Body to Heal?

Here is a free booklet you can read online in 30 minutes that will explain how your body can be assisted to heal itself successfully from many “permanent” medical conditions.

Are You Fed Up with Medicine and Want Help?

I’d be happy to get you started on improving your health. If you’ll fill out a health assessment on this website, I’ll go over the clues with you on a free phone consult (limited to greater Atlanta area). This way you can get started doing something about your health problems quickly.

Boost Your Immune System

Boost Your Immune System

I wanted to write to you and address some effective strategies that we all can take to improve the immune systems of our families and ourselves.  There are many effective and surprising ways to boost your immune system against viruses and other immune system threats. It is understandable to be concerned about keeping your immune system strong in the face of the coming season of colds and flu and the news stories of the Ebola epidemic in Africa facing us every day.  What I have found to be true is that there are sources that exist in our environments that feed our fears.  Mindfully choose to avoid these sources and use your own common sense despite what is being said and beamed out to us continually by countless media outlets.  Flu season is upon us and in addition we now have the Ebola epidemic not only “a world away” but in our own borders.  The way I see it is that we have a couple choices.  We can panic and cease to use our reasoning capabilities or we can look at the true risks and make decisions based on facts, not innuendo or hearsay.  There are basic public health and hygienic principles to follow that would serve us all well if we would do them ourselves and get others to do them too. We hear the reports daily and all the information and disinformation can be very confusing and sometimes disturbing.   I wanted to find some positive and fun ways to keep that immune system strong and your spirits high.  I also have some amazing products to introduce that will support your body and help to keep your immune system strong.  The following list has been shown, by study in many cases, to improve your immune system.  I challenge you to find several of them and introduce them into your daily life.

Keep a Positive Attitude

  1. Laughter is the best medicine! Laughter can strengthen your immune system and boost your energy.  The best part is that laughter is fun and FREE!  Laughter relaxes you and can decrease stress hormones, which will increase your infection fighting abilities and therefore your resistance to disease.   Turn off the news!  Watch a funny movie, play with your pet or your child and do something fun or silly and laugh!
  2. Have sex!  According to Yvonne K. Fulbright PhD a sexual health expert, people who have sex have higher levels of those defenses that protect your body against viruses and other invaders.  Of course use a condom if you don’t know the STD status of your partner but take that time for you and that someone you love and just let go for a little bit.  Reducing stress allows your body’s immune system to function better and more reliably. Studies show that regular sex lowers blood pressure, and keeps hormone levels in balance.  A good sex life can be good for your heart.  In one study, men who had sex at least twice weekly were half as likely to die of heart disease as men who had sex rarely.  Sex, it does a body and an immune system good.
  3. Keep a positive attitude.  Sometimes it is easy to worry.  Benjamin Franklin said, “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.  Keep in the sunlight.”  We only feed the dark side of life when we worry.  Savor the things that bring you joy.  Seek them out and revel in them. That joy, that laughter, that positive outlook keep those stress hormones low and our protective mechanisms high.  Look for the positive in life and work to not dwell on the negative.  There is more than enough of that to go around.  It really is true that your cup can be either half-empty or half full.  It is all in how you choose to look at it.

Natural Immune System Boosters

  1. And speaking of sunlight, go out in the sun.  It has been shown that just 20 minutes of summer sun without sunscreen can make 20,000 units of vitamin D for our bodies.  That’s 100 times the RDA of Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is ESSENTIAL for good immunity.  A German study found that vitamin D increases your immune function by a factor of 3-5 and it helps your body to produce over 200 antimicrobial peptides.  These peptides help fight all kinds of infections.  Vitamin D is also one of nature’s most effect cancer fighters.  Do you know your Vitamin D serum Level?  25(OH)D or 25-Hydroxyvitamin D is the better overall D status and the best marker for overall health.  To help a body that has cancer or heart disease the recommendation is to keep your vitamin D levels between 70-100ng/ml and optimal is 50-70ng/ml.  Your best defense against any intruding disease process is a healthy strong immune system.  Getting vitamin D from sun exposure is the best way to get your “sunshine vitamin.”  We can test you for vitamin D and help you supplement where necessary to optimize your immunity.  Getting your vitamin D levels into optimal range is one of the MOST IMPORTANT and easy things you can do to improve your immune system.  Call us (770-937-9200) or ask about it at your next appointment!
  2. Get some good and restful ZZZZZZZZs.  Yes, lack of sleep can and does affect immunity.  Studies show that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to get sick.  After exposure to a virus, like a cold virus or flu virus, lack of sleep can cause people to be more likely to contract the illness.  Sleep restriction and sleep deprivation can decrease white blood cells, which make us more open to infection.  Sleep loss can decrease our body’s antibodies, which are our natural defenses against infections and illnesses.  Long-term sleep deprivation can also leave you at an increased risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep.  Teens may need 9-10 hours and younger children may need 10 or more hours of sleep.  Go to bed ideally between 10-11 and sleep 7-8 hours.  Get good restful sleep and keep that immune system in top form.
  3. Eat some delicious whole foods.  Enjoy a wide range of colorful fruits and vegetables.  Oranges, green peppers, broccoli, strawberries, carrots, squash, kale, melons.  The bounty of the garden can give you a very healthy dose of antioxidants.  These substances help to protect your cells from free radicals that can damage cell structure.  Just dropping the soft drinks and junk food in favor of a healthy salad or gently cooked veggies can be a treat to a stressed immune system.  What we eat determines our body’s ability to respond to the stresses around us.   Make sure you are getting the nutrients your immune system needs for optimal health.  Vitamins A, C, E, zinc, selenium and magnesium are essential for good health.  Whole fruits and vegetables are full of these nutrients.
  4. Take your “good bacteria”.  Probiotics can boost immune system health via your gut’s mucosal immune system.  Most people do not realize that 80% of your immunity is in your gut.  A strong immune system is the best prevention against ALL disease and infection.  Probiotics help the body produce antibodies to pathogens.  Without good digestive system bacteria your body does not absorb nutrients well.  Probiotics help your body produce both vitamin K and B and aid in the breakdown of foreign toxins.  Probiotics are an essential part of your body’s immunity.   Not all probiotics are created equal.  You want a probiotic that is acid safe and can survive the stomach acid and reach the small intestine.  Ideally, there would be no need for refrigeration.  Cultured and fermented foods like yogurt, some cheeses and sauerkraut can be good sources of good bacteria.   See the list below for a good preventative probiotic.  Ask at your next visit about probiotics or call us with any questions.

There are many possibilities out there and many scenarios can occur.  The best defense against any pathogen is a strong immune system.  In addition to the above suggestions, follow good hygiene and wash your hands frequently.  If you or another are sick, stay home if you are contagious.  Stay observant and keep your head and your wits about you.  Eat well, sleep well and surround yourself with people and activities that you love and that bring you joy.  Make your day count everyday and help someone else as part of it.  Do the important things and let the other things work themselves out.  Be well and live healthy!

Great News! We have “Immune System Booster Bags”!

Immune Systme Booster products from DesBio

We will have the following supplements available at the office in “immune system booster bags”.  You can purchase them for yourselves and for your families.   Please understand that these products in no way treat Ebola or any other virus.  They merely assist your body and immune system in being healthy.  Please follow all CDC guidelines for prevention and treatment of Ebola.

Healthy Immune System is Key


Note from DesBio: DesBio has not developed protocols or products for either Ebola or enterovirus, nor do we intend to do so. We recommend that our doctors and their patients follow CDC guidelines for prevention and treatment of Ebola and enterovirus. With any illness, keeping your immune system healthy is essential in supporting resilience against infection. Here is a list of supplements, homeopathics and herbals to help keep your immune system healthy:

  • Smart Silver Liquid
    • Provides preventative support
    • 2 tsp orally twice daily
  •  Smart Silver Gel
    • Use in high-contact areas to limit transmission
    • Apply frequently to hands and dab in nostrils
  • Vitamin C Liposomal
    • Adequate nutrition, especially Vitamin C, has been linked to improved ability to handle infection
    • 1/2 tsp daily
  • Immune Support
    • General homeopathic for immune support
    • 10 drops 3x daily
  • Virus Plus
    • A combination of virus nosodes to support the immune system when fighting a viral infection
    • 10 drops 3x daily
  • Flora Synergy
    • A nutritional supplement designed to support healthy intestinal and immune function
  • Liquid Vit D with Vitamin K
    • A unique, highly concentrated tasty liquid that provides vitamin D3, vitamin K2 plus vitamin E, beta glucan, turmeric, L-carnatine, calcium and magnesium. It includes liver and kidney support.
  • Echinacea Premium
    • Assists the body’s immune response in a number of ways. One of the most important is the nonspecific immune response; particularly white blood cells helping with phagocytosis. Phagocytosis is a process involving certain white blood cells that engulf and digest foreign particles or cells that might challenge the body. (The response is nonspecific because the body launches this broad attack against particles of all kinds. It is not specific to just one particle.) A practical effect is that top quality Echinacea root helps the immune response following stress or sudden changes in weather.

Patients who experience flu-like symptoms should consult their primary care physician or, if there is any chance that they may have been exposed to the Ebola virus go to the nearest hospital emergency room. Comments are welcome! If you have questions, please call the clinic at 770-937-9200. We are happy to talk to you.

 

Here’s to your good health,

 

Dr. Melodie Billiot

Alternative Health Atlanta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seduced By Salt, Sugar and Fat

Have You Been Seduced by Salt, Sugar and Fat?Assorted Junk Food

Learn how the food giants have hooked us.

Back in 1999, a group of men who controlled America’s largest food companies attended a meeting in the Minneapolis headquarters of Pillsbury. In attendance were C.E.O.’s and presidents from Nestle, Kraft and Nabisco, General Mills and Procter & Gamble, Coco-Cola and Mars.  The agenda: the emerging obesity epidemic and how to deal with it. These men were in constant battle with each other over what they called “stomach share” – the amount of consumers that any one company’s brand could take away from their competition.

Pillsbury’s chief technical officer ran the meeting. His intent was to get these men to agree that they had gone too far in creating and marketing products that posed the greatest health concerns–foods laden with sugar, salt and fat. He and others wanted these food giants to agree to be part of the solution, not the problem, by reformulating their foods to make them healthier. By looking at today’s obesity epidemic it is quite clear that the food giants didn’t agree.

In this article, The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food, Michael Moss an investigative reporter for The NY Times, tells the story of  that meeting back in 1999 and gives you insight into how companies use salt, sugar and fat to addict us. You’ll learn why companies spend millions of dollars to find the sensory-specific satiety point, the perfect “mouth feel”, vanishing caloric density, and how to get consumers to consume more.

Once you’ve read this article, ask yourself … Just how far will corporations go to manipulate nutrition at the expense of our health to fatten their bottom line?

What’s Making You So Crazed? Could it Be Your Blood Sugar?

How Your Spouse’s Blood Sugar can be Dangerous to YOUR Health

Do you avoid certain people if you know they haven’t eaten in a while? Or is someone avoiding you?

blood sugar problems

If your brain and nervous system are like a light bulb, the electric cord supplying power to the bulb is your blood sugar. Any reduction creates a nervous system and brain “brown-out” with severe consequences.

Your body’s ability to maintain the correct level of sugar in your bloodstream is a vital part of keeping your body healthy and functional.  I’m not talking about diabetes, which is a whole different blood sugar problem. This problem is mainly from adrenal issues, not the pancreas!

Symptoms of Blood Sugar Imbalance

Even though the cartoon makes light of this issue, this can become a serious situation if not handled. Perhaps you or someone you know is dealing with someone who…

  • “Flies off the handle” at almost anything—when they’re hungry?
  • Can’t wake up in the mornings… wanders around in a fog for half an hour?
  • Can’t get to sleep at night, or wakes and can’t get back to sleep?
  • Loses all their energy at 3:00 PM and struggles to stay alert or even awake until after dinner?
  • Gets anxious, lightheaded and shaky if they get hungry, or even randomly whether hungry or not?
  • Eats “like a horse” and is hungry right afterwards. These people will eat three snacks in a row from 9:00PM to bedtime?
  • Getting between this person and sugar could be hazardous to your health?
  • Can’t stop eating breads, pastas, cakes, cookies, chips and junk foods?
  • Has belly fat or a large abdomen?
  • Is just tired all the time?
  • Just generally “feels like crap” so much of the time that it has become the new normal?
  • Gets randomly dizzy?
  • Has periods of behavior that are just… well, psychotic?
  • Complains about their memory and is suffering with an inability to remember important and even simple things?

Each of the above problems can originate from a blood sugar problem.  Maintaining a controlled blood sugar level is imperative for your optimal health. Even if you have not been diagnosed with having diabetes, blood sugar levels that are consistently unbalanced can have detrimental effects on your body. For more details on the effects watch this video: Sugar In Your Diet–What it really does to your body

Imbalances in sugar can lead to loss in energy, changes in metabolism, weight gain and even diabetes. This is why it is important to be aware of signs that your blood sugar levels are not staying level.

Fixing the Blood Sugar Imbalance

What can you do to keep your blood sugar balanced? The answer depends entirely on what is causing the problem, how long it’s been happening and what other contributing issues may be happening at the same time.  SO: The first step to handle blood sugar would be to get tested to find the answer to these problems. Once we have the causes and areas of stress underlying the problem, a program (or just some simple diet and lifestyle actions) can be designed to support your body and help it heal.

To get tested and find out what’s causing your problem, call us at 770.937.9200 and make an appointment for an initial evaluation.

OR…

You can do our Blood Sugar Program for less than $250 complete, which includes the testing as a part of the program!

What Does the 10-Day Blood Sugar Program Entail?

  • Autonomic Response Evaluation of your body’s most stressed areas to determine the causes of your problems.
  • Professional consultation and interpretation of your test results and recommendations.
  • 10-Day supply of supplements and dietary guidelines.
    • SP Complete: Whole Food supplement shake that includes amino acids, essential fatty acids, vegetable concentrates, and powerful antioxidant protection to support the entire range of body systems.
    • SP Cleanse: Combines 20 unique whole food and botanical ingredients designed to support the body’s normal toxin removal process.
    • Diaplex: Encourages healthy blood sugar levels and supports healthy function of the pancreas when combined with a balanced diet.
    • Gymnema: An herbal product that helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels when combined with a balanced diet.
  • Professional guidance from caring practitioners.

So What Could Happen By Doing the Program?

  • Weight loss
  • Better sleep
  • Less cravings
  • More energy, less fatigue
  • More balanced cholesterol
  • Healthier blood sugar levels (if the person has diagnosed blood sugar problems)
  • And more!

What You Can Do Next

If you want to find out if this program is right for you or for a friend of yours, call the office and talk to Tamiko. 770-937-9200.

Early Detection is the Key to Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer

I’m Declaring 2013 the Year of the Breasts

I just read some pretty startling news regarding breast cancer, and it’s not good. As a health professional and a woman, I am very concerned about the health issues facing us regarding breast health and breast cancer. I have been touched by this illness personally, as many of you have, too.

When I first opened my practice almost 20 years ago, breast cancer diagnosis was relatively rare. Now the American Cancer Society estimates that almost 233,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women and of those women, 40,000 will die. That is, 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime.  Here are some more statistics

  • 1 out of 8 of these invasive breast cancers will be found in women younger than 45 and about
  • 2 out of 3 invasive breast cancers are found in women age 55 or older.
  • The incidence of breast cancer in the U.S. rose 24% between 1973 and 1991.
  • Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
  • A woman in 1940 had a 1 in 20 chance of contracting breast cancer. Now our risk is 1 in 8.

I don’t know about you but that is pretty scary information to me. Watch the video below to see how you can reduce your risk of ever getting breast cancer in the first place.

Fat Superheroes

Are You Smart Enough? NO? You May Need More Omega 3’s.

Article at a glance:

  • Definition of fatty acids: The building blocks of the fat in our bodies and in the food we eat. During digestion, the body breaks down fats into fatty acids, which can then be absorbed into the blood.
  • The brain, eyes and heart need the poly-unsaturated Omega 3 fatty acids. It’s essential that we eat them.
  • Two of the Omega 3’s, EPA and DHA, are so vital to the functioning of the brain, that if it has a shortage it will rob these fats from wherever it can to the detriment of the rest of the body.
  • There are only two things known to leach EPA and DHA fatty acids from the brain: alcohol and a fetus. For a fetus’s brain to grow it needs EPA and DHA, especially in the last trimester. If the mom isn’t eating enough Omega 3, the fetus will take it from the mom’s brain. Many pregnant women suffer from memory loss (of foggy brain) and depression–two symptoms of not having enough Omega 3.
  • It’s important to have the right balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6. Most Americans eat 20 times more Omega 6 than Omega 3 (20:1). You should be eating NO MORE than two times the amount of Omega 6 as you do Omega 3 (2:1).
  • The source of one of the most fundamental ways the body manages itself DOES NOT come from a particular gland or the brain, but from the food we eat. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids produce substances called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins help micro-manage the body, especially in an emergency such as getting injured.
  • Omega 6 prostaglandins create inflammation which is important to protect the body when injured. Omega 3 prostaglandins reduce the inflammation as the body heals itself.
  • A good fat can become bad for you if the ratios are unbalanced.

 

 Fat Superheroes

 The brain, eyes and heart need Omega 3 fats. It’s essential that we eat them. 

Two Omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are very alive, vibrating and electric – and very concentrated in the areas of the body where things need to happen fast: like the brain with all the neurons firing off, the eyes where images need to be made in a split second and the heart where we need to keep it beating in a regular rhythm.

Fat is key to making things happen fast. Exactly the opposite of what we have been taught! Based on what you’ve been told about fat, you’d think that if we had fat in our brains it would be slowing things down, not be key to speeding things up.

EPA and DHA are so vital to the functioning of the brain, that if it has a shortage it will rob these fats from wherever it can to the detriment of the rest of the body. There are only two things known to leach these fatty acids from the brain: alcohol and a fetus.

In the third trimester of pregnancy, a fetus’ brain doubles in size. It needs EPA and DHA to help make that happen. So if mom isn’t getting enough EPA and DHA, the baby will take it from the mom’s brain.

So once you start leaching EPA and DHA from the brain, brain functions start to be affected like mood, memory, learning abilities. Two traits associated with alcoholism and pregnancies are memory and depression/postpartum depression.

Our Superheroes: ProstaglandinsOmega 3 superhero

The source of one of the most fundamental ways the body manages itself DOES NOT come from a particular gland or the brain, but from the food we eat.

The body takes fatty acids from the Omega 6 and Omega 3 and transforms them into powerful substances called prostaglandins. They have an enormous impact on our body.

To understand how these powerful prostaglandins impact our bodies, we need to first take a step back and learn how our body manages itself. We have all this stuff inside: cells, blood, organs, tissue, etc. All of this needs to be managed and regulated; communication needs to happen between the systems. The body does that in two ways:

  1. The nervous system through short fast electrical impulses sent through the nerves.
  2. The hormone system through chemical hormones in the blood stream and body fluids.

Omega 6 superheroWe have hormones to manage just about everything. The basic mechanism behind this is that a hormone gets secreted by a gland and circulates around in the blood to communicate to various cells and orchestrate a particular task.

Prostaglandins, on the other hand, are micro-managers, and tasks that need to occur quickly are handled by them. Prostaglandins are used in every tissue cell and organ in the body to regulate and control, even down to the cellular level, like moving calcium in and out of the cells. They have so much responsibility that scientists are still uncovering their functions, to the point where they are now referring to fat as an endocrine (hormone) gland.

Prostaglandins are particularly useful in emergencies where the body needs something to happen fast and it doesn’t have time to wait for a hormone to be circulated around in the blood. For example, if you get injured. The body will take the fatty acids in the tissue that was affected and create prostaglandins and quickly provide inflammation to isolate the injury. Prostaglandins are very much like hormones in the way that they regulate and control cells.Prostaglandins at work in your body

So think about how incredible that is. All the body requires is that we get a good balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 coming in so that it can use the prostaglandins to fine-tune the work that needs to be done.

If you have too much Omega 6 coming in the “helpful” inflammation can get out of control. Because it is the Omega 6 fatty acids that are responsible for providing the inflammation, and the Omega 3 that brings the inflammation down.

Most Americans are getting a 20:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3.  So inflammation is rising in the body and all the inflammatory conditions are happening: joint pain, asthma, arthritis, etc. We should be getting no more than a 2:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3.

It is important to make sure that all the fatty acids you eat are in good balance. This is one of the reasons a good fat goes bad—too much of one and not enough of another.

In my next article I’ll talk more about why we get more Omega 6 than Omega 3 and other reasons good fats go bad…Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this article on getting more Omega 3 into your diet:

How to get more Omega 3 into your diet

Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids Breakdown

If you are curious about what the Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids are made up of…

 
  Omega 3 Parent is …
   Omega 6 Parent is …  
Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA for short)

ALA can be transformed into…

EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and

EPA can be transformed into…

DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid)

 Linoleic Acid (LA for short)

LA can be transformed into…

GLA (Gamma-linolenic acid) and

GLA can be transformed into…

AA (Arachidonic acid)

Essential Fatty Acids (the stuff you need to eat be because your body can’t make it)

From the chart above, you can see that if you have the parent fat, then the rest of the family of fats can be made. Our bodies can’t make the parents (ALA and LA) so they are called essential fatty acids (EFA). Whenever the body can’t make something it is referred to as essential and so we must get it in the food we eat.  If you aren’t eating Omega 3 and Omega 6, you don’t have it available in your body and your body isn’t making the other fatty acids in the family. Good sources for these EFA’s are:

 
   Omega 6
    Omega 3   
Vegetables and seeds (LA) Flax (ALA)
Evening Primrose Oil (GLA) Cold water fish, like salmon, herring and mackerel (EPA and DHA)

 

 

This video explains in greater detail how the fetus uses the EPA and DHA from the brain.