Oil be better with Omega-3
You hear so much about oils and health these days that it is no wonder that people get confused by them. On the one hand everyone knows that too much fat is bad for you, yet Omega-3 oils are good. And if you look in the shops you will find good old cod liver oil capsules, starflower, linseed oil and so on.
Well, to understand a bit about them you need to understand what they do.
But first, we need to look at discoveries made in the Faroe Islands, which lie midway between Iceland, Norway and Scotland, and at the same time in Greece.
Two groups of independent researchers were studying to see whether they could find any link between diet and arthritis. Both populations ate large amounts of fish. In Greece, in addition to the fish, they consumed a lot of olive oil.
In both studies they found that those people who ate the greatest amount of oils had a lower incidence of arthritis. Other studies also suggested that they lowered the risk of heart disease and strokes.
There are three types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated and best of all polyunsaturated. Polyunsaturates – of which sunflower oil, for example, is a good source – are composed of two groups of essential fatty acids, called omega-3 and omega-6.
It gets more complicated than that. There are two types of Omega-3s, those with long chains and those with short chains. The long chains are mainly found in oily fish. They are the anti-inflammatory ones which are good for arthritis and the heart.
Short chain Omega-3s are found in foods like soya, flax and pumpkin seeds and walnuts and leafy green vegetables. They can be converted by the body into the long-chain fatty acids that do most good, but not very efficiently.
You will find that lots of foods, like spreads, juices and even milk have added Omega-3s. This is good in that the average British diet is really quite deficient in Omega-3s.
Yet it is more efficient to get the Omega-3s in their natural form. That is from the oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Aim at having two, or even better, three portions a week.
Olive oil contains no Omega-3s. Its main constituent is oleic acid, which belongs to the Omega-9s. It is a bit of a mystery, but research is ongoing into its undoubted benefits.
Evening primrose oil, starflower oil and blackcurrant are rich in GLA, one of the Omega-6s.
The fats that you eat can either result in inflammation somewhere in your body, or reduce it.
Essentially a diet rich in saturated fats, from meat and dairy products will tend to promote inflammation. On the other hand a diet rich in Omega-3s from fish will reduce inflammation.
Omega-6s have benefits, but not as much as Omega-3s, so you should try to get the balance in favour of Omega-3s.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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