Healthy Andy

Everyone’s terrified of fat.  But there’s good fats, bad fats, and REALLY bad fats, and you’d better know the difference unless YOU want to start being called “Fats”.

First off, let’s kill the rumor that all fats are bad, or that low fat diets are the way to fitting into your skinny jeans.  That’s just not true.  In fact, sugar and refined carbs are far worse for you than fat. 

Good Fats

Your body NEEDS fat.  There’s a group of fats called “Essential Fatty Acids” that, as the name implies, are essential to normal body functions.  What sort of functions?  Things like building blocks for hormones, building cell membranes… even the insulation that covers our nerves is made out of fat (well, a big part of it).

And yes, believe it or not, there was a time when even the caloric content of fat was considered good.  Remember, for a very long period of human history, there weren’t grocery stores or freezers or Tupperware, so calories and the life-giving energy they supply were an unreliable resource.  In those conditions, getting a windfall of energy from fat was a very good thing. 

Nowadays, of course, we have more calories around then we know what to do with, which creates a bit of a problem since evolution in that harsh starvation environment has hard-wired us to really, really like the taste of fatty stuff.  I’m getting a little off track here, though…. we were talking about good fats and which fats are good for you.

Basically, we’re talking about Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids… “fatty acids” is just a fancy term for fats.  Oh, there’s a few others, but really, those two kinds are the major essential fats of interest.  Our body needs both of them, so in that sense, they’re both “good”.

However, the tricky part is, we need them in a balanced ratio… I’ll explain why in a second.  Unfortuanately for us, we tend to gobble down tons and tons of Omega-6s (again, I’ll get to why that is in a second), and not a whole lot of Omega-3s, so our ratios tend to be skewed heavily toward Omega-6s. 

How skewed?  Some estimates go up to 20 or even 30 to 1! 

You Need Balance, Grasshopper

So what’s the big deal?  Why is balancing these fats so darn important to us?  There’s two major reasons that we are aware of; hormones and cell membranes.

As I mentioned before, essential fats are necessary in the creation of both of those things.  But having too much of one will lead to a corresponding skew in how your body makes those components.  Let’s talk hormones.

The Omega-6 fatty acids are the building blocks for pro-inflammatory hormones, while Omega-3 fats are the basis for anti-inflammatory hormones.  These two kinds of fats compete for the attention of your body; in other words, if there’s tons of Omega-6s floating around and not a lot of Omega-3s, they will push the Omega-3s out of the way and take over.

As the Omega-6s begin to dominate the body chemistry, the entire body becomes easier and easier to inflame, since Omega-6s form the basis for the chemical signals to start the inflammation process.  It’s like instead of having one mousetrap in the room, you have eighty… the littlest movement is going to set SOMETHING off.

And so, your body becomes a hair-trigger for inflammation.  And while some inflammation is necessary (it kick-starts the healing process), when you have CHRONIC inflammation, you start doing damage to the body.  In fact, chronic inflammation is starting to look like the biochemical boogeyman of the 21st century… it’s cropping up in all kinds of diseases like heart disease, cancer, you name it.

By increasing the level of Omega-3s in the diet, you return that ratio back to normal and reduce how much of the pro-inflammatory chemicals are produced by the body.  Going back to our metaphor, this takes a bunch of the mousetraps out of the room.  Now, your body isn’t going to pop off into an inflammatory state every time the wind blows.

And, as a consequence, since you’ve reduced the amount of chronic inflammation,  you reduce the damage that chronic inflammation causes.  So it’s not so much that Omega-3s CURE something, it’s more that they return your body to a normal state, and stuff starts actually working right for a change.

Wild fish are a great source of Omega-3s (farm-raised fish eat lots of Omega-6s, and therefore become filled with Omega-6s), as are grass-fed beef and chicken, wild game, and eggs from grass-fed chickens.  Fish oil capsules are a popular way to really amp up your Omega-3 good fats.

Bad Fats

Another important way to improve that Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio is to reduce the amount of Omega-6s that you eat.  Here’s the problem:  we stuff tons and tons of Omega-6s into our diet.  This is why our good fats to bad fats ratio stinks so horribly.

Why do we do it?  Well, not on purpose; that is, it’s not like food manufacturers are evil archvillians who are implementing a dastardly plan to destroy us all with bad fats (at least, I don’t THINK they are…).  It’s just that Omega-6s are economically a better choice than Omega-3s.

They’re cheap, in other words.  Corn is a big part of this.  America grows an absolutely ridiculous amount of corn, and we turn that into just about everything you can imagine.  High fructose corn syrup, corn chips… we even feed it to our livestock, when our livestock should be eating mostly grasses (grasses are high in Omega-3s, which is why grass fed animals are full of Omega-3s).

Omega-6s are also more stable and have a longer shelf life than Omega-3s, which makes them cheaper to store.  So we’ve made a trade-off; cheaper food for a really, really unhealthy ratio of bad fats to good fats.

The easiest way to avoid Omega-6s is to stick to a whole foods diet, which I constantly mention on this site.  That means no processed foods; nothing out of a box or a can, basically.  Lean, grass-fed meats and fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables, nuts… all in as close to a natural state as possible. If it’s processed, odds are somebody somewhere along the way stuck corn in it, or some other source of Omega-6s, or even worse, our final bad fats culprit… the trans fat.

Really, Really Ugly Fats

Trans fats are the heavyweight champion of bad fats.  Trans fats are chemically altered fats; they’re man-made (actually, there are a tiny number of naturally occuring trans fats).  They were developed in the early 1900s as a way to stabilize fats for storage… once again, making them a lot cheaper and more accessible.

At first, people thought trans fats like those found in margarine were actually a healthier alternative to the natural fats found in butter.  Partially hydrogenated oils like vegetable oil have become a mainstay of cooking, especially in fried foods… again, because it’s cheap and lasts a super-long time.

Unfortunately, trans fats are horrible for you.  We’re not sure of the exact biochemical reasons for this; it may have something to do with the human digestive system not really being able to break down trans fats very well.  There’s also a link between trans fats and higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is a test for inflammation (remember inflammation?).

Whatever the physiological link, trans fats have been linked to heart disease, obesity, depression, Altzheimer’s disease, and cancer… and I have a feeling more stuff is going to be added to the list as we continue to look.  The short answer is, you don’t want this crap in your body.

Trans fats are common in processed foods, fried foods, and cooking oils.  Just like with Omega-3s and Omega-6s, the best way to keep these bad fats out of your body is to stick to a whole foods diet like I mentioned earlier.

The health implications for increasing the good fats and decreasing the bad fats in your body is huge.  I haven’t even touched on cell membranes in this article (because it’s already getting REALLY long), but it should already be pretty obvious why keeping on the good fats side of the equation is going to play a big part in how long and how healthy you live.

Stick to the good fats and stay healthy!

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition affecting huge numbers of kids in the US, characterized by the inability to focus on a given task or situation.  Classically, it’s treated with Ritalin, a stimulant, but there’s some evidence that Omega-3 fatty acids could be a better solution.

So why are researchers leaning in that direction?  I mean, it’s not exactly intuitive: ADHD kids are responding to a stimulant, and Omega-3s are certainly NOT a stimulant, so what gives?

The first clue started cropping up a couple of decades ago, as ADHD started becoming a more and more popular diagnosis.  After a while, some big-brained folks started realizing that some symptoms exhibited by kids with ADHD were also shared by kids who had severe Omega-3 deficiency… stuff like increased thirst and urination, dry hair, and dry skin.

Plus, animal studies showed things like rats low in Omega-3s had a hard time learning in new environments.  Specifically, they were easily distractable- sound like ADHD to you?  This evidence was followed up with blood tests showing ADHD kids had lower levels of both the Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

Why would this happen?  Well, it’s possible that the reason why ADHD kids have trouble focusing is an inability to block out inappropriate responses to anything and everything in the environment.  You see, learning isn’t just about what TO do, it’s also about learning what NOT to do.  This is true on a behavioral level as well as a physical level.

Think about it.  When you do something as simple as take a step, you need to coordinate the efforts of a number of different muscles, in just the right amounts, at just the right time.  But you also have to know which muscles to NOT contract…otherwise, you’d throw your own balance off if, while in mid-step, you suddenly kicked like you were going for a soccer goal.  Inhibiting inappropriate action is just as important to function as enabling proper action.

In fact, loads of neuroscience is suggesting that this inhibition of inappropriate response is far more important than anything else when it comes to learning!  That’s a pretty strong statement, so let’s just leave it at this: inhibition is important.  That inhibition is governed by neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers in the brain.

Stimulants like Ritalin seem to work by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine and serotonin.  So it’s not that these kids need stimulants, it’s that these kids need neurotransmitters, and the stimulants help with the neurotransmitters.

Guess what?  Omega-3 deficiency is linked with deficiency issues in dopamine and serotonin, those very same neurotransmitters involved in ADHD.  So it stands to reason, you might be able to help out kids with ADHD through using Omega-3 supplements like fish oil.

Okay, theories are nice, but what’s the evidence?  Well, one study out of Australia shows that kids given an EFA supplement (one that had both Omega-3 and Omega-6 in it) showed significant improvement after 15 weeks.  One group that then was switched to placebo stayed stagnant, while the other group which took the supplements for another 15 weeks showed even more improvement. 

How much improvement?  The 30 weeks group actually improved more than on Ritalin!

That’s a pretty powerful finding, and I think it speaks for itself.

Do you think kids should take an Omega-3 supplement like fish oils?  Let me know below in the comment section!  And if you know some crazy, out of control kids, send this article to their parents and save yourself (and them) some aggravation!

Stay healthy!

All week, I’ve been posting on various physical health benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids, an important EFA (Essential Fatty Acid).  Now let’s talk about some mental benefits… after all, the brain is just another organ in your body and needs nutrients just like every other part of you.

One of my favorite tidbits about Omega-3s is:  of the two major Omega-3s, EPA and DHA, your brain is 22% DHA by weight. 

Wow.  So, obviously DHA is important to keeping your noggin healthy.  In fact, most research on Omega-3s and brain health is centered around DHA. 

What kind of research?  Well, there’s a couple of studies showing that people with low-fat diets tend to have decreased reaction times.  More interestingly, another study shows ability to focus is improved with the addition of a 400mg supplement of DHA.

Other studies show that diets high in Omega-6 (the opposite of Omega-3) tend to be associated with cognitive decline over time.  Unfortunately, the Western diet is stuffed full of Omega-6 and desperately low in Omega-3.  The accepted healthy ratio of a 1:1 balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 is skewed way out of proportion to more like 30:1 in favor of Omega-6. 

In case you’re wondering, that’s considered a diet high in Omega-6.  What we’re not sure of is, exactly why this cognitive decline occurs.  It could be that a lack of DHA leads to a slow loss of integrity in the cell membranes of neurons (DHA is a big part of that). 

Maybe it has more to do with the imbalanced ratio leading to too much arachidonic acid (AA), which is bad for the brain.  That arachidonic acid stuff is made from Omega-6s, and if you eating all Omega-6, all the time, guess what you’re going to end up with a lot of?  That brain-busting AA.  On the other hand, if your diet is lower in Omega-6 and balanced with Omega-3, you’ll end up with less AA and less damage.

There’s another way Omega-3s like fish oil can help.  Scientists have shown that DHA can protect against the damage caused by strokes. Now, we’re talking about the kind of stroke involved when there’s a loss of blood flow to the brain- there’s another kind of stroke where blood hemorrhages into the brain and causes damage.  I mean the other kind, where blood flow is choked off for some reason.

There’s a lot of talk that degenerative diseases of the brain like Alzheimer’s may be due to a succession of tiny mini-strokes, which are what they sound like:  little tiny strokes that don’t cause any noticeable symptoms, but add up over time to chip away at the brain little by little.  Think of somebody stealing a dollar from your bank account from time to time.  You might not notice it, but given enough time, there will be enough missing that you’re going to wonder how you’re going to pay the rent.

In any case, this study (done with rats) showed that if you supplement ahead of time with DHA, the damage caused by a sudden loss of blood to a part of the brain is reduced.  That’s pretty cool.   In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I advise anyone with elderly parents to get them on fish oils ASAP.

You see, you can’t just give someone fish oils right after they have a stroke… that’s too late.   You need to be taking them for a while ahead of time beforethe stroke. But since fish oils or similar Omega-3 supplements are super-healthy and fantastic for you in all kinds of other ways, there’s no reason you (or your parents) shouldn’t be taking them already… and then hopefully they could (in theory, of course) act as a preventative therapy in the unfortunate event of a stroke, or mini-stroke.

Again, we’re speculating a bit here, since the study was done on rats and not people, but it is an encouraging finding.  Given how devastating diseases of cognitive decline are, I’m definitely making sure my parents take their fish oils.

Based on what you’ve just read, would you tell your parents to take fish oils?  Comment below!

Oh yeah, and in this week’s newsletter… one more article on Omega-3s and ADHD, some info about a supplement called MSM and its use for skin problems, and a tasty fajita recipe that’s also good for you!  If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, go to the top right sidebar and fill in your name and email address to get it… it’s free!

Right, so last week was Antioxidant Week… this week, let’s roll with a little Omega-3 information.

I guess I’m giving away the answer to the title with that intro, but hey, this isn’t a mystery novel, it’s a health information site, so that’s okay.

Meat… especially red meat… gets a bad rep, and it really shouldn’t.  Now, if you’re a vegan who does what they do for ethical reasons, that’s cool.  I personally do not subscribe to those beliefs but I do respect them. 

I’m talking about the health reputation of meat.  For a while there, everybody seemed like they wanted to punch red meat in the face, metaphorically speaking, of course.  Fish and chicken, well, that was okay, but red meat… red meat was a dirty SOB who deserved a horrible death.

Well, all that was just plain wrong.  In fact, chicken and fish can be worse for you than red meat.  YES.  You read that right.  There’s probably a lot of out-dated nutritionists pooping in their pants right about now after reading that, and I don’t care.  By the time I’m done with this article, you’ll see why I can make that statement and feel 100% confident about it.

To explain why, first we need to understand WHY red meat was thrown out of the house and sent to die in the woods.  In a word:  fat.  In a couple of words:  The People Who Hate Fat Movement.

Not too long ago, everybody was convinced that a low-fat diet was the way to go.  It made intuitive sense:  if you didn’t want to BE fat, why would you EAT fat?  Surely, the fat on your dinner plate, just transmorphed into fat on your butt.

Red meat tends to have more fat in it than chicken or fish, so, the reasoning went, red meat is bad and will break into your house and steal your TV. 

Plus, there were some studies showing that people who ate red meat tended to keel over and die faster than other people.  So even more reason to hate red meat, right?

WRONG!

The problem is, this reasoning is flawed on several levels.  Let’s start with the first wrong assumption:  that fat is bad.

It’s not.  Fat is actually a vital nutrient our body desperately requires.  It does things like make up cell membranes and build nerves (your brain is included in that, since it’s a big ol’ bundle of nerves) and form the basis for hormones. In particular, there are fats called Essential Fatty Acids (fatty acid is just a fancy word for fat) that are, as the name implies, essential. 

Essential, meaning, you have to eat them, because your body can’t make them by itself.  The main EFAs are called Omega-3 and Omega-6.  You should have a balance between the two, but most of us don’t.  Most of the USA has around a 30:1 ratio in favor of Omega-6, which causes all kinds of health problems (which I don’t have space to go into here, but I talk about it in other posts).  The short version is, a diet high in Omega-6 makes you die young.

Red meat can be a big part of the culprit with that skewed ratio.  Notice I used the words “can be”.  That’s the key.

How’s red meat involved?  Well, because cattle aren’t raised the way they were meant to live.  Namely, they’re not allowed to walk around and eat grass like they’ve done over the course of a couple hundred thousand years’ worth of evolution.  No, instead, we pen them up into tiny spaces and stuff them full of corn, which makes them get big and fat faster (which makes them more profitable).

Corn, by the way, is pretty high in Omega-6 fatty acids.  Not so much that eating a cob of corn is a problem, but when you’re stuffing livestock full of corn almost exclusively, guess what?  All that Omega-6 goes into the cow.

Grass, on the other hand, is high in Omega-3.  Some of you are anticipating where I’m headed with this.  Since we all know “you are what you eat”, if a cow eats mostly food that’s high in Omega-6, what’s it mostly full of?  Yep.  Omega-6.  What sort of fat will be dominant in a corn-fed steak?  Omega-6.

On the other hand, if you have a cow eating mostly food high in Omega-3, what’s it mostly full of?  Omega-3, right. And, of course, a grass-fed steak will be high in Omega-3 compared to Omega-6. 

So, the problem isn’t red meat.  The problem is, how’s the red meat being made?  The fat content is not the issue… the fat QUALITY is the issue. 

Therefore, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with red meat, just because it has fat in it.  So long as the fat quality is good, the meat is healthy.  This also goes for other animal food products, like milk and eggs.  Whatever is in the feed that the livestock is consuming, determines how healthy the food coming from the livestock will be.

Notice I included eggs in that last paragraph.  Remember I said red meat can be healthier than chicken or fish?  Here’s the part where I explain that.

Chicken and fish aren’t magical creatures that automatically get to be healthy for you just because they’re ugly.  Like any other animal, what they eat determines how healthy they are. 

Chickens are also designed to be free-roaming creatures that eat wild grasses and bugs and all sort of stuff.  Guess what most livestock chickens do?  Live in a tiny cage and eat Omega-6 filled corn.  Guess what they’re mostly made of?  If you didn’t say Omega-6, you’ve deeply hurt my feelings.  Guess what a corn-chomping hen’s eggs are mostly filled with?  Omega-6.

Conversely, free-range, grass-fed chickens are chock full of Omega-3s and so are their eggs.  The same principle even applies to fish!  The bottom of the fish food chain is algae, which is like the Big Momma Gold Mine of Omega-3.  So fish eating algae are full of Omega-3, and fish that eat fish full of Omega-3 are also full of Omega-3 and so on and so forth.  This is why fish oils from wild-caught fish are so high in Omega-3s that they form the basis for Omega-3 supplements.

However, some fish is now grown in fish “farms”, pools of water where the fish are corralled and fed a crappy diet.  Which, as you know now, means they become crappy to eat.

So nobody gets a pass just because their name is “beef” or “chicken” or “fish”.  It’s all about how you were raised, and what you were fed while you were being raised.  Remember, quality of fat is more important than quantity of fat.  Animals raised in as close to a natural, wild state as possible, will have the healthiest meat, eggs, and milk.

This is why wild game is a fantastic food source.  By definition, those little buggers are out there running around, feeding on wild grasses, berries, each other, whatever they normally would eat in a natural state.  And, therefore, their bodies are composed of a healthy mix of essential fats (amongst other things, of course, like protein).

So now you know why I get excited when I find another place carrying grass-fed eggs or beef or chicken.  It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s a bazillion times healthier.  What’s your body worth to you?

Questions?  Comments?  Post them below, and if you like what you’re reading, let your friends know about HealthyAndy.com!

Stay healthy!

Hey everybody, here’s the first Youtube video clip I shot, all about how to pick out good fish oil supplements.  The preview doesn’t seem to show up here on the front page, so just click on “Continue Reading” or the title to view the video.  Or, go to Youtube and check out all the clips on our channel:  healthyandy9.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIJDY-AhoxI