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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 acetaminophen 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.
Read the rest of this
article...
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