Omega-3 and Omega-6

It is more than ironic that a few years after food manufacturers’ began upping Omega-6s from soybeans in processed foods in the 60’s (that create inflammation), Dr. Jorn Dyerberg was getting very curious why the Greenlandic Eskimos seemed to be free of atherosclerosis disease even though they consumed large amounts of whale fat. His fascination would bring a major discovery that EPA and DHA from fish were anti-inflammatory.

About the same time, fast food chains were springing up across America as quickly as soybeans were being added – two events that would have drastic implications upon health in the decades to come.

How ironic these events were existing nearly side-by-side with one leading to ill health in America while the second brought answers to health problems created by the first. Little did we know drive-up windows would mark the decline of families eating meals together. Eating is more than putting food in our mouths - it’s a time to break bread, bond together while sitting at a table enjoying good food.

Then the 90’s came and suddenly it was low-fat, no-fat, and fat-free to lose weight. For years, we purchased these products until staggering obesity statistics began to appear along with new diseases that needed naming - a rise in diseases we could name as we unknowingly consumed products the human body was never designed to process with deodorized, bleached, chemically treated “manufactured oils.”

As westerners were being bombarded with these foods, neighboring countries stayed true to their cultural eating style that included fish, grains and a variety of whole foods resulting in far better health today. Fortunately for those folks, they did not have a trillion dollar food industry influencing their every bite.

Dr. Dyerberg’s 70’s discovery led to decades of world-wide research bringing a health message to mankind of staggering proportions that began our understanding of the body’s need for two essential fats, EPA and DHA from fish.

Just as our friends in neighboring countries have known all along, fish and fats such as olive oil create good health and not fish once in a while but twice a week and more. And what’s going on in America?
Food manufacturers find ways to increase profits by manipulating the magnificent Omega-3 medical discovery into processed products that can’t possibly bring one benefit we’ve come to associate with Omega-3.

Go back and revisit decades of research that show how inflammatory illnesses and cognitive concerns greatly improve from EPA and DHA. Regardless of how much we want the same benefits to be available from a plant source, the research is very clear and specific.

Don’t like fish? That’s understandable for we are not historically a nation of fish eaters but there are many superior EPA and DHA supplements available. Contrary to what is being written, a pure, distilled supplement is free of ocean toxins and will not have a bad taste. If that happened to you in the past, the cause was inexpensive, improperly purified, food grade fish oil.

If you like fish, eat two servings a week. In the Lancet study, researchers discovered eating more fish than recommended by the US Advisory Board brought significant benefits for pregnant women and children far out-weighing the risk of ocean contaminants.

As rushed as we might be in this fast-paced society we’ve created, there was never a more important time, on so many levels, to return to the way our ancestors ate. Eat real, whole, nourishing foods as often as possible. Yes, there might be a higher cost for by-passing cheap nutrion-less, processed foods but the cost to health is far greater if we don’t begin to make some changes now.

If you think you don’t have enough time to cook, look to the one to two hours most of us spend daily surfing the net, watching TV, chatting on cell phones. Give that time to creating good food with bright colors and the taste of freshness in every bite.

To Your Health!

Lois Smithers

Author, The Food Industry’s Greed

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