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Reducing Risk with Omega Balance
In last month’s newsletter, The Leptin Factor, I outlined the physiological reasons why sustaining weight loss is so difficult. We are hardwired to survive and loss of fat is seen as a danger sign triggering increased appetite.
This makes sustained weight loss very difficult unless we understand and work with the body’s physiology. Despite this, reducing risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer is in fact quite straightforward. All we really need to do is balance our omegas!
How does this work and why does it impact on so many different conditions?
The omega balance is so important as it affects every single cell in our bodies. Animal cells have a cell membrane, which is composed of two water layers and a layer of fat in the sandwich. A graphic demonstration of this is shown below.
The fat in the middle layer of the sandwich is crucial to our health and well being and as this fat comes from our diet we are in control of our present and future health.
Western society has been obsessed with diets and fat in particular for many years. The commonest weight loss diet is a low fat one but if we need fat for all our cell membranes, our hormones, our brain and our nervous system, then this is clearly not a healthy route to go down. The emphasis has to be on eating “healthy” fats not cutting them out altogether.
Our understanding of what is a “healthy” fat is developing continually. For years it has been known that saturated fats were unhealthy and we have been encouraged to eat unsaturated fats such as omega 3 , 6 and 9. The food industry has rushed to replace the saturated fat and more recently trans fatty acids with unsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.
I can still hear Terry Wogan in a margarine advert using the phrase “full of those darling polyunsaturates”.
Well some of these “darling” fats are in fact the real danger foods. Unlike the saturated and trans fats which reduce cell membrane function and interfere with enzyme processes, the omega 6 fats actually increase the amounts of destructive local hormones produced in the cell. The fat in the cell membrane is the basic building block of these hormones which have a more powerful and profound impact on our health than any other factor. Getting the balance right of omega 3 and omega 6 will affect every cell and therefore every system in the body (omega 9 such as found in olive oil and avocado is neutral as far as hormone production is concerned). It is about balance as with most things in our universe. An excess of omega 3 can also disrupt the fatty acid balance in the body causing blood pressure to be too low and our blood to be too thin. Nature loves balance and when the omegas are well balanced our system is in a state of natural wellness.
The graph below shows the differing effects of the hormones produced by the two fats
Research carried out by The Centre For Nutritional Studies in Glasgow found 90% of individuals had excessive omega 6 in their blood. Supplementation with omega 3 would dramatically improve the health, well being and risk of the major diseases of western civilisation, heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes etc. On the other hand the 10% with optimal omega balance can save their money and continue with the healthy lifestyle they have adopted.
How do you find out what your own omega balance is? The Glasgow Solution has teamed up with Genova Diagnostics in America to make this blood test available to our clients. This is probably the most important test you can have done and if you are serious about your health and serious about reducing your risk, it is the next vital step to wellness.
Next month I will describe the role of vitamins and minerals is ensuring omega balance is maintained.
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