"In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason."Ernest Hemingway
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Do Low Carbohydrate Diets Lead to Weight Loss Success?
So your neighbor, office mate, best friend, whoever just lost 10 pounds in only two weeks following the latest in high protein low carbohydrate diets. And now you're thinking you should give it a go -- have even started the search for high protein low ...
Rating the Diets
THE 200 POINT SYSTEMWith so many different diets available, how are we to know what works and what is safe? The only way to be sure is to discover the author's background and the research behind the diet's methodology. Every good diet should give a ...
The Secret of Weight Loss
In the medical community, "obesity" is generally said to be present in women with more than 30% body fat and men with more than 25% body fat. "Morbid obesity," a more serious condition still, occurs when a person is 50-100% or 100 pounds above his or her ...
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How Can Fat Be Essential?
By Garry Gamber
Did you know that some fats are essential to the body? Yes, there are some fats that our body cannot produce which means that we must get them from our food. Perhaps you've heard of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. These are both considered essential and must be supplied by the foods we eat.
What do they do? Well, the omega-3 fatty acid, for example is used for the production of healthy cell membranes and for the production of a class of hormones called prostaglandins. You know how aspirin and acetominophen are anti-inflammatories? So are the prostaglandins that our bodies produce from omega-3 fatty acids.
Now, we need the omega-3's and the omega-6's to be in the proper combination to be most effective to us. Empirical evidence shows that the proper ratio is about 4:1 between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. What do you suppose our average diet gives us? About a 20:1 and up to a 40:1 ratio; not even close to the optimal ratio.
Why is the balance so out of whack? Well, our normal diets are rich in omega-6 fatty acids. We get them from meats, dairy products, and processed foods. We eat a lot of those foods on average. We get omega-3 fatty acids from certain vegetable oils such as flaxseed, canola, and soybean. And we get omega-3 fatty acids from cold-water fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, and tuna.
Eat more fish! You've heard that said before, and now you know why.
Especially the salmon. It is especially rich in the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon , or any of the other omega-3 rich fish (but what tastes better than good salmon?) should be consumed at least once a week.
In order to get the omega-6 vs. omega-3 ratio in order, decrease your consumption of the saturated fat from meats and dairy products and increase your consumption of fish such as salmon.
Do you know how else you will benefit from increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids? Your cholesterol level will improve. You see, the essential omega-3 fatty acids have the ability to help decrease your total cholesterol and your LDL cholesterol level. The LDL cholesterol is the so-called bad cholesterol. So you will improve your cholesterol levels by adding a better balance of omega-3 fatty acids to your diet.
Not surprisingly, the omega-3 fatty acids can be heart healthy. Several diseases show improvement when patients increase their intake of these essential fats. Check out Dr. Ray Strand's important book for citings of clinical studies of omega-3. The book is titled, "What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You." It's a wonderful book and should be a standard reference volume in your nutrition library.
Eat well, take appropriate supplements, and stay healthy.
About the author:
Garry writes articles for his two favorite health products companies, www.usana.com and www.seasilver.com
Garry also owns www.thedatingadvisor.com
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