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Since March 1990 the US health authorities suggested that all Americans over the age of two should reduce their daily intake of saturated fats below the 10% of total calories and their total intake of fat below 30% of daily calories. These suggestions were first introduced in the 1960’s and were at that time a fair representation of the evidence that saturated fats and excessive total fats in the diet can be the cause of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Nutrition science made mighty advances since the recommendations made their laborious way through the heavy committies of the US health authorities. The advice of the 1960’s is now obsolete. We know now that if you follow current government advice on fat intake you are most likely going to DAMAGE YOUR BODY BEYOND REPAIR. That’s putting it heavy, but as you will see, the new evidence is without dispute. Fat is your body’s major fuel and some people still think that you have to eat much of it in order to keep your energy level high. They got it wrong. A slim man of 85 kg who has only 10% body fat carries 7% of that fat as a fuel store. This fat store weight 5500 grams and holds 49,500 calories,at 9 calories per gram, which is enough to run for a hundred miles. In contrast to his fat store, his other major source of fuel,his 450 grams of glycogen, holds only 1800 calories, at 4 calories per gram. The limit on energy is always glycogen, because your muscles cannot function properly without a minimum level of glycogen. So even a very slim person never runs out of fat. You need to eat very little in order to maintain a sufficient fat store. This means between 10% and 15% of daily calories should be sufficient. If your body should ever need any extra,it can easily convert proteins and carbohydrates into fat. Bodyfat is put on much easier by eating fat than by eating other food. The current government advice that it’s ok to eat 30% of daily calories in fat encourage you to eat a lot of it. The result is waddling before us. Four in every ten American adults are overweight and it’s getting worse every decade. Overwhelming evidence shows that even moderate overweight is a direct cause of many diseases and the risk of disability and death is on the increase in almost all diseases. It’s obvious that our health authorities with their current advice on fat intake are making you sick. All fats are made of fatty acids, consisting of a fat part and an acid part. Their chemical make-up consists of a carbon chain made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The length of the carbon chain depends on the type of fat. Short-chain fats such as butyric acid in butter have four carbons. Fish oils and the long-chain fats that comprise most of our brain, have 20 to 24 carbons. Besides the fat our body use for fuel, it requires many special fats They function as part of the cell membranes around every cell and as parts of your brain, inner ear, eyes, adrenal glands and sex organs. Our body can make these special fats only if it gets the right raw materials from our diet, which are two essential fats our body can’t make: linoleic acid and alpha-linolic acid. Both of which are long chain (18 carbons). For optimum health, these two fats have to be provided by our diet. The body can tranform them in any other kind of fat it needs. Unfortunately, essential fats are scarce in the average diet. The best source of inoleic and alpha-linolenic acids is flax or linseed oil. Other sources are: pumpkin seeds, walnuts, soybeans and canola oil. Dark green leaves of leaf vegetables also contain small amounts. Good but expensive oil sources used in supplements are blackcurrant seed oil, borage oil,evening primrose oil and fish oils. OMEGA-3s FIGHT CANCER. Omega-3 fatty acids produce vital chemical messengers in your body, called prostaglandins. Studies have shown that some of these prostaglandins can kill breast, lung and prostate cancer cells stone dead. From this evidence, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute declared that omega-3 fats have “potential clinical usefulness” in cancer treatment. This evidence is vital to your health because studies show that omega-6 fats, although they are essential for some functions, also produce inflammatory prostaglandins that promote cancer growth. Omega-3 fats keep this cancer effect of omega-6 fats under control. For optimal resistance to cancer, you have to keep your intake of omega-3 fats dominant over omega-6. Unfortunately, the American diet is very low in alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), but high in linoleic acid (omega-6). Most vegetable oils have little or no omega-3 fats and a lot of omega-6 fats. The only common oil that contains a healthy balance is organic flaxseed. That’s why it’s so important for good health. The benefits of omega-3 fats don’t stop with cancer. The evidence is impressive that a high intake of omega-3 fats (about a tablespoon of organic flaxseed oil per day) goes a long way to inhibit cardiovascular disease, adult-onset diabetes and theumatoid arthritis. Include omega-3 in your nutrition every day!
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saturated fats, fatty acids, omega-3, cardiovascular disease,
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