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Eat the Right  Fat or Die Prematurely!

(The truth about the big "FAT" lies)

 

(get printer friendly "WORD" version of this article)

Go straight to Eskimo Kids Omega Fish Oil

"The fats and oils story may well be the greatest scandal of ignorance, disinformation, and greed in the entire history of food production. The effects of poorly processed oils are a major causative factor in heart disease, cancer, and most modern diseases that have affected hundreds of millions of people all over the world."

John Finnegan, The Facts About Fats

 

CONTENTS
Introduction

Chapter One

Best kept secret

Some vital statistics

Chapter Six

Fats are Big Business, and Big Business can be Greedy

Commercial Oil Making Methods

What you find in all supermarkets and even most health    food stores     

Chapter Two

Some of the functions of EFAs

Omega-3 Deficiency Symptoms

Omega-6 Deficiency Symptoms

Chapter Seven

Vitamin E and polyunsaturates

 

Chapter Three

Just a tiny bit of science

What's a molecule between friends

Think of a small twig  

How long is your caterpillar?

Let's go back a step

Now for some kinky stuff!

A few more pointers on kinkiness

Chapter Eight

Fresh Vegetable/Seed/Nut Oil - The Best Oils of All

Light and Air free

Low Temperature

Processed without toxic solvents

Bottled in opaque black plastic or dark brown glass with cardboard containers

Cold stored, short-shelf date, and quick delivery

Refrigeration and Rapid Use after Opening

Freshness and Flavour

Cost

Advantages of Fresh Oils

Chapter Four

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Saturated Fatty Acids

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Trans Fatty Acids

Chapter Nine

Individual Requirements

Special Blends for children

Chapter Five

Good verses Evil

Free Radical Chain Reactions

Oxygen is equally harmful

Frying and Deep-Frying

Minimising the damage of frying

A few tips

Never, never, never, never, never!

 

Chapter Ten

Recipes

Ice cream with blueberries

Fresh Seeds Dressing

Mediterranean Style Salad Dressing

Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

Vegetables with Dhal Sauce

Tabbouleh Cracked Wheat Salad

Sauted Green Leaves

Alternative Pesto

Scrumptious Coconut Treats

Houmous

Brown Rice Salad

Glossary

Appendix 1 - Further Reading

Appendix 2 - Research

 

 

INTRODUCTION (back to article contents)

 

For some years now there has been a 'no-fat' or 'low-fat' craze.

But make no mistake. Fats are vital to our health. Without the right fats in our diets we first become ill, and then we die prematurely.

One of the main secrets to good health is knowing which are the 'good' fats and which are 'bad'.

As Udo Erasmus states on the cover of his best-selling book "Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill", eating the right fats and oils improves:

  • energy level

  • athletic performance

  • fat loss

  • cardiovascular health

  • immune function

  • longevity

  • and more

We've all heard the 'old wives tale' that fish is good for the brain. Now the evidence is rolling in thick and fast of the importance of omega 3 oils for the brain, from the time of pre-conception, through time spent in the womb building the brain and nervous system, to school years and beyond.

Essential Fatty Acids' are called that, because they really are ESSENTIAL. We die without them. But first we become ill.

And it's not just the omega-3 " which everyone is talking about now.

There is much omega 6 to consider too. Yet, it appears on the face of it, that we are getting too much omega 6 already in our modern diets. And so we are. The point is, by the time they have been processed, heated, altered in the manufacturing process, and so on, they are no longer good for us. On the contrary, they create big problems for our health, and in spite of eating them in our diet, many of us are still FUNCTIONALLY DEFICIENT in them, especially children.

It has been said recently by Jamie Oliver, popular chef of the UK television programmes which highlighted the poor nutritional quality of school dinners, that for the first time ever, children are destined to die at a younger age than their parents.

All this and beyond will be discussed in the following chapters, clearly and precisely, in easy language.

CHAPTER ONE (back to article contents)

Best kept secret

One of the best kept secrets of good health is to eat something which most of us have been purposefully avoiding, out of fear that it would cause us to put on weight and die of heart disease. A culture of fear has surrounded this particular food group. The reason why? For many years we have been fed misleading and confusing information - indeed, nothing less than lied to. The truth has been known for some years, but vested interests did not want us to know.

It's worth repeating the quote in the Foreword:

"The fats and oils story may well be the greatest scandal of ignorance, disinformation, and greed in the entire history of food production. The effects of poorly processed oils are a major causative factor in heart disease, cancer, and most modern diseases that have affected hundreds of millions of people all over the world."

The truth is, that fats and oils in their natural, unprocessed states, are vital for our good health, whilst processed oils and most margarines will eventually make us ill.

If you think about it, the oils come from nuts and seeds. Each nut and seed contains the germ of a new life, and all it needs to start growing a completely new healthy plant is water and light. The nut or seed contains all the nutrition the new plant needs. But by the time the oil manufacturing companies have finished with it, they have turned this healthy seed into a toxic timebomb called 'pure vegetable oil' or 'pure safflower oil' or 'margarine'.

More on this later.

Some vital statistics

There are about 50 essential factors for healthy life:

  • water

  • oxygen

  • light

  • a source of energy (most commonly starch or glucose)

  • about 20 minerals

  • 13 vitamins

  • 8 amino acids (10 for children, 11 for premature infants)

  • 2 essential fatty acids

Our bodies cannot make these things, and we must obtain them from our environment.

In addition to these 50 essential factors, there are several which are not considered 'essential' but are required for good health. These include fibre and friendly bacteria for the health of our intestines, and digestive enzymes, bile and hydrochloric acid for digestion of food.

Several surveys in both America and the United Kingdom have shown that the majority of the population are deficient in several (often many) nutrients. Depending on which nutrient is involved, this will inevitably lead to disease.

You can read more about this in this newsletter on our sister site

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER TWO (back to article contents)

Some of the functions of EFAs

  • Wherever intense biochemical activity occurs - your nerve and brain cells, testes, adrenal glands and sense organs - you will find Essential Fatty Acids

  • EFAs are found in all cell membranes, nerve coverings, hormones and prostaglandins (prostaglandins are similar to hormones, but are found all over the body where they regulate inflammatory response and have immune-enhancing functions)

  • EFAs are vital in the transfer of oxygen to cells and in the conversion of food to energy

  • EFAs increase energy, elevating metabolic rate by increasing fat burning efficiency

  • EFAs are required for the transport and metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides (saturated fats)

  • EFAs are needed for healthy skin, hair, nails and for the healing process

  • There are two Essential Fatty Acids, called:

    • Linoleic Acid (Omega-6) and

     

    • Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3)

Omega-3 Deficiency Symptoms:

In his book "Choosing the Right Fats", Udo Erasmus states "Your intake of n-3 (omega-3) is likely to have decreased to 1/6 of what people consumed in 1850. N-3 deficiency is widespread. This is due to the fact that n-3 is very sensitive to destruction during processing, and is removed from foods to extend product shelf life."

He continues "A deficiency in n-3 is more difficult to identify than n-6. The reason is that n-6 (omega-6) can partially cover n-3 deficiencies. N-3, on the other hand, cannot cover for a shortage of n-6. If your body suffers an n-3 deficiency, you may have the following symptoms."

He lists the following omega-3 deficiency symptoms:

  • Retarded growth

  • Behavioral* change

  • Weakness

  • Weakened vision

  • Learning problems

  • Depression

  • Hyperactivity, attention deficit, and dyslexia

  • Poor motor coordination

  • Poor muscle growth

  • Impaired healing of injuries

  • Tingling sensations in arms and legs

  • Insulin resistance

  • High triglycerides

  • High blood pressure

  • Sticky platelets, or tendency to form clots in arteries, leading to heart attack, stroke, or embolism

  • High lipoprotein(a) - a strong predictive risk factor for cardiovascular disease

  • High fibrinogen - a clotting risk factor

  • Inflammation in tissues

  • Leaky gut

  • Allergies

  • Auto-immune conditions

  • Increased susceptibility to tumor growth

  • Water retention of odema

  • Dry or inflamed skin

  • Low metabolic rate

  • Low energy level

  • Lowered thyroid and adrenal function

  • Low testosterone level

*American spellings retained when quoting from American or Canadian books.

 

Omega-6 Deficiency Symptoms according to Udo Erasmus, in the above mentioned book, include the following:

  • Eczema-like skin eruptions

  • Hair loss

  • Water loss through the skin, with attendant thirst; common in diabetes insipidus, and often seen in hyperactive children

  • Behavioral changes

  • Fatty infiltration of the liver

  • Kidney malfunction

  • Drying up of glands

  • Susceptibility to infection

  • Failure of wounds to heal

  • Sterility in males

  • Miscarriage in females

  • Arthritis-like conditions

  • Heartbeat abnormalities that can lead to cardiac arrest

  • Growth retardation

  • Dry skin and hair

  • Brittle nails

  • Dry eyes

  • Elevated cholesterol

In his book "Brain-Building Nutrition - The Healing Power of Fats & Oils", Michael A Schmidt, says the following:

"Fatty acids and phospholipids have been associated with a surprising number of disorders of the brain. In reviewing several thousand research papers, hundreds of lab profiles, MRI reports, and case studies, we have totalled over fifty conditions of the brain that involve fatty acids or have responded to fatty acid treatment."

He includes a partial list which shows the potential for things to go wrong if we do not pay attention to proper fatty acid balance. This list is as follows:

Aggression

Alzheimer's disease

Anorexia nervosa

Anxiety

Apraxia (varied forms)

Attention deficit

Autism

Memory Problems

Migraine

Multiple sclerosis

Paresthesia

Parkinson's disease

Phobia (fears)

Postpartum depression

Bipolar disorder

Brain tumor (glioma)

Cerebral palsy

Chronic fatigue

Developmental delay

Depression

Diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy

Down syndrome

Drug abuse

Rage

Reading problems

Retinal disease

Schizophrenia

School failure

Self-mutilation

Slower information processing

Slower reaction time

Stroke (Prevention and recovery.)

 

Hyperactivity

Head injury

Hostility

Learning disability

Lower IQ

Suicide

Tremors

Violence

Zellweger's syndrome

(and others)

 

These lists do not include every sign, symptom or syndrome which has been associated with EFA deficiency or imbalance, but should serve to make the point that EFAs are absolutely crucial to our health.

 

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER THREE (back to article contents)

Just a tiny bit of easy science

Chapter Two gave a brief introduction to the Essential Fatty Acids - essential because we can't make them in our bodies, and we must get them from our diet, or from supplements.

But what about the other fats?

Fats are, very roughly, divided into four types:

  1. Saturated (e.g. pork fat)

  2. Monounsaturated (e.g. parts of olive oil)

  3. Polyunsaturated (e.g. parts of sunflower oil)

  4. Superpolyunsaturated (e.g. fish oil or flax oil)

You'll also have heard of 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated' vegetable oils. Hydrogenation is a process which hardens liquid vegetable oils so that they can be used for spreading. The main example is margarine. They're also usually found in biscuits, cakes, pies, crisps, french fries and other snack foods. Hydrogenated oils are always bad, and are implicated in most of the disease states we see. More on this later.

Let's first enlarge a little on the different types of fats, and then everything will become clear. This is a fascinating subject when studied in detail, but not everyone will have the time or inclination to do so. For those who do, we can highly recommend "Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill" by Udo Erasmus.

Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill

(Udo Erasmus)

 

cover

 

Healing fats are required, together with other nutrients to prevent and reverse so called ‘incurable’ degenerative disease: heart diseases, cancer and Type II diabetes.  Healing fats help reverse arthritis, obesity, PMS, allergies, asthma, skin conditions, fatigue, yeast and fungal infections, addictions, certain types of mental illness, and many other conditions.  Good fats also enhance athletic performance, skin beauty, longevity and energy levels.  Contrary to popular belief based on advertising hype, the most dangerous fats are typically found in margarine, shortenings and heated and refined polyunsaturated oils.

For those who just want a quick and simple explanation, we hope the following will be helpful.

What's a molecule between friends

As Udo Erasmus says, the birth of our health takes place at the level of molecules - all diseases are rooted in the behaviour of molecules. "The fats that heal have different molecular structures than those that kill".

Think of a small twig at the end of a tree branch. It has three caterpillars hanging from it, side by side. The twig is made of glycerin, and the three caterpillars (always three) are fatty acid molecules.  These four separate pieces together are called a triglyceride. (Your Doctor will often test your blood for triglycerides when testing for cholesterol.)

                         Triglyceride

The basic structure of a fatty acid (one of the three caterpillars hanging off the twig) comes in two parts: one end is fatty and the other end is acid. Linked together, it is aptly called 'fatty acid'.

There are many different shapes and sizes of these fatty acid caterpillars. Some are long, some are medium length, and some are short. Some are straight, and some are kinked.

Each of the caterpillar 'bobbles' is a carbon atom. Now imagine that each of these 'caterpillar bobbles', or carbon atoms, has two hairs, one on each side. Most of these hairs have a hydrogen atom attached to its end. (Actually, the hair isn't real - the thing that keeps the hydrogen atom in place is a force field.)

Saturated Fatty Acid

Unsaturated Fatty Acid

One more thing to imagine, and then we're almost there.

One end of the caterpillar hates oil, but loves water. This end of the caterpillar can dissolve in water. Before the first carbon bobble, where the caterpillar hangs onto the twig, look to your left and right, and you see two oxygen atoms and a hydrogen. This is called the 'Carboxyl End', or Acid End. (carb for carbon, and oxy for oxygen - easy!)

The other end of the caterpillar loves fat, and can indeed dissolve in fat. It hates water, and is not soluble in water. When you get to the end of this caterpillar carbon chain, you see another hydrogen atom on its bottom. This is called the 'Methyl, or Fatty, End'.

These water-loving or oil-loving properties determine how the fatty acid caterpillars can be used in the body.

The more hydrogen atoms are attached to the 'hairs' on the 'caterpillar carbon bobbles', the more saturated the fatty acid is. Another way of saying this is, the more carbon atoms that do NOT have a hydrogen atom attached, the more 'unsaturated' the fatty acid is, and the more liquid it is at room temperature.

How long is your caterpillar?

There are short, medium length and long carbon chains. The more hydrogen atoms are missing along this chain, the more unsaturated the fatty acid becomes.

If all the hydrogen atoms are in place, the fat is saturated (with hydrogen) and the fat is solid at room temperature. Beef fat is a good example.

If one hydrogen atom is missing, it is mono-unsaturated, like the oleic acid found in olive oil. This makes it mainly liquid, but a bit sludge-like in the fridge.

If two hydrogen atoms are missing, the fatty acid is poly-unsaturated, like sunflower oil. This makes it liquid, even in the fridge.

When three or more atoms are missing, the fatty acid is sometimes called super-poly-unsaturated. This is like the fatty acids you find in cold water fish. Fish can't afford to have their fats freeze in the cold water, or they wouldn't be able to swim.

One more thing - the position along the carbon chain at which the hydrogen atoms are missing (as well as the number of hydrogen atoms which are missing) determines how it will be named. For example, omega 3 has its first hydrogen atoms missing between carbons 3 and 4 along the carbon chain. Omega 6, is between carbons 6 and 7.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. A tiny difference in structure, can make a big difference in how the oil is used in the body.

The diagram to the right is another way of illustrating fatty acids. The one shown here is DHA, which has six double bonds, making it a superpolyunsaturated fatty acid. This particular fatty acid is found in the brain, and is particularly important for infants and children.

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

 

Let's go back a step

Remember that a triglyceride is like a glycerol twig, with three carbon chain fatty acid caterpillars hanging from it?

We just looked at one of the 'caterpillar fatty acids', but there are two others on the same glycerol twig.

It is the combination of different kinds of fatty acid caterpillars attached to the glycerol twig which determines the nature of the fat.

For example, beef fat is made of twigs on which most of its fatty acid caterpillars are of carbon chains  with most of their hydrogen atoms in place.

Flax oil has more than two-thirds of its fatty acid caterpillars as long carbon chains, with several hydrogen atoms missing.

Olive oil is a combination of short and medium carbon chain fatty acids with most of its hydrogen atoms in place.

Remember, the more hydrogen atoms are missing, the more liquid the oil will be at room temperature.

Now for some kinky stuff!

Kinky is good when it comes to fatty acids. The kinks in the caterpillar carbon chains are caused when at certain points along the chain, a hydrogen atom is missing, and the caterpillar kinks in the opposite direction. This is at the place where bonds, or double bonds, occur in the carbon chain. The carbon atoms attach slightly differently at these points, and lots of metabolic activity can occur.

The way in which the fatty acid caterpillar kinks, and how often, determines its quality and its functions in the body.

When this happens naturally in nature, it takes the shape of what is called the cis-configuration. In this configuration, or shape, both hydrogen atoms on the carbons involved in the double bond are on the same side of the molecule. Simply put, this is a good fatty acid.

A double bond in the fatty acid chain can also be in the trans-configuration or shape. In this arrangement, we find the hydrogen atoms of the carbons involved in the double bond on opposite sides of the molecule. This prevents the carbon chain from kinking, and it now looks more like a saturated fat. The difference is, it is not a saturated fat found in nature, but an unnatural 'trans-fatty acid' which behaves more like an unnatural saturated fat than the unsaturated fat it actually is.  This is a harmful fatty acid - the cause of much damage in the body.

These very harmful trans-fatty acids are found in the oil of crisps, French fries, hydrogenated vegetable oils used in shop-bought cakes, pastries, biscuits, etc. They're also found in bottles of cheap vegetable and sunflower oil - in fact virtually all the cheap oils found on supermarket shelves. Most margarines contain lots of trans-fatty acids.

A few more pointers on kinkiness

  1. Saturated fats have no kinks (double bonds) in their carbon chains.

  2. Monounsaturated fats have 1 kink or double bond

  3. Polyunsaturated fats have 2 kinks

  4. Superpolyunsaturated fats have 3 or more kinks

No double bond kinks means the fat is more sticky, solid at room temperature, which provides rigidity in the body. They are used in the body for padding and insulation, and as a source of fuel.

The more double bonds there are, the more they participate in your body's biochemical and energetic processes. When these molecularly active fats are incorporated into your cell walls, they provide fluidity.

The more double bonds there are in the fatty acid chain, the more delicate and important become its functions, but at the same time, it becomes highly unstable. This means that it can be damaged very easily, by light, oxygen and heat. (This is where it becomes crucial that you buy your oil supplies from a reputable manufacturer, and then store it properly in a dark cool place - more on this later.)

The fatty acids with double bonds have fewer functions in the body, other than providing insulation, padding and fuel for energy when there are not enough carbohydrate sources. They are much less easily damaged. This is why it is so much safer to cook with coconut oil or butter, or, next best, olive oil.

The more double bond kinks, the more fluid the oil is. Superpolyunsaturated omega-3 oils remain fluid even in the freezer, although they might become sludge-like. In fact, it's a good idea to store spare liquid oil supplements in the freezer until you need them - this will extend their shelf life. The oil in the bottle will contract when it gets colder, so it won't break the bottle.

This makes sense. If these oils became solid in cold conditions, cold-water fish would freeze to death.

Type of Fat Consistency Kinks Molecular Activity Stability
Saturated Fat Most are solid at room temperature 0 Virtually inactive Very stable
Monounsaturated Fat Sludge-like in the fridge 1 Slow Stable
Polyunsaturated Fat Fluid in the fridge 2 Fast Unstable
Superpolyunsaturated Fat Fluid in the freezer, possibly sludge-like 3 or more Very Fast Extremely unstable

 

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER FOUR (back to article contents)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Saturated Fatty Acids (SaFAs)

These are the simplest of the fatty acids. They get this name because their carbon chains are saturated with as many hydrogen atoms as possible. This makes most of them solid at room temperature and metabolically quite sluggish.

Our body uses the short-chain saturated fatty acids mainly to produce energy. They are easy to digest and people suffering from liver and digestive ailments should include them in their diets.

According to Udo Erasmus, in his book Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, "Butyric acid (4:0)* helps feed the friendly bacteria that keep our colon healthy. Caprylic acid (8:0) is used to inhibit the growth of yeasts and candida in our intestines. It appears to be incorporated into the membranes of yeast cells and then these membranes rupture, killing the yeast cell."

*4.0 means Butyric acid has 4 carbon molecules, and no (0) bonds, or kinks, or missing hydrogen atoms.

Medium-Chain SaFAs (Saturated Fatty Acids) contain 6 to 12 carbon atoms - but mainly 8 and 10 - in their chains. Our body metabolizes medium-chain SaFAs the same way it metabolizes short-chain SaFAs: to produce energy. It does not store them as fat. For this reason, they are used as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in diets of people with digestive and liver problems.

As MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides are also popular with athletes, who use them as a source of energy before workouts. Coconut oil comes in this category, and as the body does not store them as fat, but uses them for energy, they are a good choice for cooking and baking, especially as they are not damaged by heat in the way the unsaturated oils are.

Long-Chain SaFAs are used by our cells to build their membranes. The tendency of Saturated Fatty Acids to aggregate (stick together) balances the tendency of unsaturated fatty acids to disperse. Therefore both kinds of fatty acid are required in cell membranes. However, the long-chain SaFAs are needed in moderation only, as excess causes platelets in the blood to become sticky, leading to cardiovascular disease.

Diets high in beef, mutton, pork, dairy ../Products/, cakes, biscuits, pies and fried foods cause excess long-chain SaFAs to be deposited within cells, organs, and arteries.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)

MUFAs are unsaturated fatty acids with one double bond. The length of their carbon chains can vary.

The most important MUFA in nutrition has an 18-carbon chain, and its double bond is always between carbons 9 and 10. It's called oleic acid (omega 9) and is found in the oils of the olive, almond, peanut, pistachio, pecan, canola, avocado, hazelnut, cashew and macadamia. It's also found in the membranes of plant and animal cell structures and in the fat deposit of most land animals. Because it is fluid, it helps keep our arteries supple. It's a fairly stable oil (only having one double bond) and is therefore not so easily damaged by heat, light or oxygen.

In excess, however, oleic acid can interfere with essential fatty acids and prostaglandins.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids with More Than One Double Bond

These are the most interesting fatty acids, in so far as they have numerous functions and effects on health.

Among the Unsaturated Fatty Acids are the two which are called 'Essential'. They are extremely important in nutrition and vital to our health.

One, linoleic acid (omega 6) has two double bonds. Usually this is called polyunsaturated.

The other, alpha-linolenic acid (omega 3) has three double bonds. This is sometimes known as superpolyunsaturated.

These are so important to our health, that the next few chapters are devoted to them.

Trans Fatty Acids

"Trans fatty acids are probably the most unhealthy substance eaten in quantity by modern people - and modern people do eat them in quite a quantity. Margarine is a major source. From cookies to bread, trans fatty acids appear as either a hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil.

"Medical studies consistently show that trans fatty acids are associated with damage to our arteries and higher rates of death. In Europe, studies also show that they're responsible for reproductive irregularities, such as low birth-weight babies, abnormal sperm, and reduced testosterone levels."

 

Mary Enig, Ph.D. Researcher of fats and oils. Well Being Journal, May/June 1995

Trans Fatty Acids are unnatural and will cause disease in the body. They are made when Unsaturated Fatty Acids (liquid consistency) have hydrogen atoms attached to them in an artificial manner by the oil industry. This is called hydrogenation. When the artificial hydrogenation process is total (that is, all double bonds in the oil are saturated with hydrogen atoms, it becomes a very hard fat (used in the industry for frying, baking, roasting etc). In this new fat, there are no unsaturated fatty acids, and no 'essential' fatty acids left. Our body can store this new fat, as padding and insulation, or in membranes, or we can use it for energy. This fat contains either aluminium or nickel which is used in the hydrogenation process, and our bodies do not need it. It is, however, a manufacturer's dream: an unspoilable substance that lasts forever.

Worse than fully hydrogenated fats, are the partially-hydrogenated fats. Udo Erasmus states in his book Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill:

"Partial hydrogenation produces margarines, shortenings, shortening oils, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These ../Products/ contain large quantities of trans-fatty acids and other altered fat substances, some of which are known to be detrimental to health because they interfere with normal biochemical processes. Other altered substances have not been adequately studied regarding their effects on health. Trans-fatty acids have now been shown to increase cholesterol, decrease beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL), interfere with our liver's detoxification system, and interfere with EFA function."

One alternative to partially hydrogenated margarines is to dip our bread in fresh, unrefined olive, flax or other fresh oils. The dipping custom of Mediterranean countries makes hydrogenation and processing to manufacture spreads completely unnecessary and is therefore a step towards better health.

Herbert Dutton, one of the oldest and most knowledgeable oil chemists in North America states:

"If the hydrogenation process were discovered today, it probably could not be adopted by the oil industry.  . . . the basis for such comment lies in the recent awareness of our prior ignorance concerning the complexity of isomers formed during hydrogenation and their metabolic and physiological fate."

Udo Erasmus claims that now that we know some of the ways in which fats are changed by hydrogenation, and the fact that our body can't use them in the same way it uses normal fats and oils, that if this were a new process, governments would forbid the use of this process for making 'edible' ../Products/ if it were introduced today.

He continues:

"However, because partial hydrogenation has been used commercially on a large scale since the 1930s and now has a long tradition behind it, and because the oil industry has powerful lobbies in government, hydrogenation is allowed to continue to supply unnatural fat ../Products/ to our foods."

He adds the worrying observation that just 60 grams (2 ounces) of margarines and shortenings, which is the average amount a person eats per day in one way or another, contains more than twice as many toxic 'food additives' as the whole of the rest of the day's food intake.

 

And to round off this chapter, animal experiments have shown that Trans Fatty Acids may make you fatter by increasing the size of fat cells.

This was reported in The Omega Diet, by Artemis Simopoulos, M.D.

 

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER FIVE (back to article contents)

Good verses Evil

Oils exposed to light, oxygen and heat become evil. They arm the free radical terrorists in the body, and kill.

Of course, not all free radicals in the body are terrorists. Many are created during normal metabolic processes in the body, do their job, and are controlled by antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, selenium, manganese, zinc and so on.

But it's a case of numbers and control.

A free radical is a fragment of a molecule which has lost its electron mate. Udo aptly describes our free radical as a 'sub-atomic, free-wheeling, loose-living electron bachelor playing the field for a mate to settle down with, and willing to break up other pairs to find that mate'.

It's hard to stop them, when they're so miniscule (a thousand of them can hide behind a hydrogen atom), and they constantly flit from place to place at the speed of light (300,000km or 186,000 miles per second). They steal electrons wherever they go, causing plenty of damage along the way.

The only thing that can stop them are the anti-oxidants such as: Vitamins C, B3 and E, carotenes, cysteine, selenium, bioflavonoids and coenzyme Q10, as well as several enzymes containing zinc, manganese, and copper.

Free Radical Chain Reactions

Take a bottle of oil you find on the supermarket shelf. It's packed in a clear plastic or glass bottle. A ray of light (photon) hits the bottle. Meanwhile, a bachelor free radical happens to be sitting on a carbon atom right next to a double bond in a molecule of unsaturated fatty acid. The light gives the electron more energy than it had before, and it gets excited and takes off with a hydrogen nucleus, leaving behind a lone electron desperate for a partner. This electron will now grab a new partner from wherever it can, leaving another electron unpaired and desperate, and so on and on and on. Eventually the loose electrons may be trapped by a passing antioxidant, but before you know it, another light photon hits the bottle and another electron goes wayward.

When light starts exciting electrons to go off and cause mayhem, the results are broken and changed bonds in the fatty acid molecules, making new and different molecules from the ones we started with. Billions of photons are present even on a cloudy day. Each photon can alter, denature, and destroy oil molecules exposed to light, especially if the natural antioxidants were removed during processing.

Oxygen is equally harmful

Oxygen destroys oils in a similar way to light. Light first steals an electron from oxygen, creating a singlet oxygen radical. The singlet oxygen radical then goes off on a search of a new electron partner, and pairs up with an electron it steals from an unsaturated fatty acid.

If there are enough antioxidants available (which there usually aren't because most oils have had them removed in the refining process), then the free radicals will be stopped in their tracks.

The lesson here is that we need to use only unrefined oils, which have been extracted in the absence of light, oxygen and heat.

Ensuring we get antioxidants in the diet, by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, and also taking a variety of supplemental antioxidants is a necessary safeguard for good health. We'd be remiss in not mentioning that a cup of tea with a couple of squares of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) will provide valuable antioxidants too!

Frying and Deep-Frying

Very little is more damaging to health than frying and deep-frying using unsaturated fatty acids (such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, vegetable oil, etc.).

When we fry, first of all any antioxidants that may be present are used up. The heat produces free radicals and starts chain reactions, producing trans-fatty acids. If these weren't harmful enough, other, even more harmful and unnatural changes are made in the oils. Click here for our more detailed article about toxins in fried food for more details.

Minimising the damage of frying

Deep frying is never recommended. Minimum stir-frying on the other hand, using the right oils might not be too bad. Saturated fats are far more stable and therefore less prone to damage than unsaturated oils.

The least damaging in terms of the high heat of frying are the saturated fats, such as coconut, palm, palm kernel, cocoa butter and butter. Use them in small quantities, for the minimum amount of time.

Lard has now been largely replaced by shortenings and margarines. These are not to be recommended in any circumstances.

Monounsaturated fatty acids, such as cold pressed olive oil, are acceptable for low temperature frying.

A few tips

  • Traditional Chinese cooks first put water in their wok, not oil. Water keeps the temperature down to 100oC which will not destroy the fat.

  • In European gourmet cooking, vegetables placed in the frying pan before oil is added protect the oil from overheating and oxidation. You do need to keep your eye on the pan though, but it's worth it because not only is it healthier, but also the food tastes less burned and retains more of its natural flavours.

  • Add sulphur-rich garlic and onions in frying. This helps minimise free radical damage.

Never, never, never, never, never!

Never, never, never use polyunsaturated oils in frying. Neither the cheap toxic varieties you find on supermarket shelves, nor the healthful fresh, unrefined, mechanically pressed, light- and oxygen-protected EFA-rich seeds oils which we will benefit from adding to our diet.

Never, never, never pour oil into an empty frying pan, let it heat, shimmy and smoke before adding the foods you want to fry. During this time, the oil is being destroyed. The temperature is too high.

A reminder from a previous paragraph: Use saturated fats such as coconut oil or butter, or mono-unsaturated oils such as olive oil (but not too hot).

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER SIX (back to article contents)

Fats are Big Business, and Big Business can be Greedy

If you count up all the fat that is carried around in the bodies of the world's population of about 5 billion people, it comes to about 100 billion pounds of fat.

This body fat is constantly being used up in biological functions, and has to be replaced by food. We calculate that this amount of fat would fill over 677 million double-decker buses.

That's big business for the Fat and Oil Industry.

In the aggressive advertising campaigns carried out by the various oil companies, truth and health are not always uppermost in their list of priorities, even though some advertising might lead us (or mislead us!) into thinking they care.

About one-third of all edible oil produced is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, which end up as cheap vegetable oils, margarines and shortenings. These are used in baked goods, ice cream, chocolate, crisps, French fries, and so on.

Even though some people in the know suggest that if hydrogenation were a new process, it would be forbidden by Governments due to health risks, the edible fats industry has developed powerful political and economic lobbies to protect the sale of ../Products/ for profits, whilst hoodwinking the consumer into thinking some of their ../Products/ are 'good for the heart'.

Commercial Oil Making Methods

It starts with a super-nutritious seed which has been created by nature to provide all the nutrients to bring forth a whole new plant.

It ends up with a dead, toxic remnant - bland, colourless, rancid and deadly.

What happens in between involves:

  • destructively high temperatures of 240 to 270 degrees centigrade (464 to 518 degrees fahrenheit)

  • oxidation at a rate 1000 times faster than at room temperature

  • solvent extraction, using solvents such as hexane or heptane (gasoline), some of which remains in the final product

  • degumming, which removes healthy phospholipids, including lecithin, as well as chlorophyll, calcium, magnesium, iron, and copper

  • refining, using caustic soda, known in North America under the trade name of 'Drano' - drain cleaner. More nutrients are removed during this refining process

  • bleaching to remove pigments (chlorophyll and beta-carotene, as well as aromatic substances). Toxic peroxides are formed at this stage

  • deodorizing removes more aromatic oils, free fatty acids and molecules that impart pungent odours and unpleasant tastes that were not present in the natural oil before processing began. Deodorizing is carried out at extremely high temperatures for 30-60 minutes during which time unsaturated fatty acids become mutagenic, which means that they can damage our genes and those of our offspring.

  • To extend shelf life in the supermarket, these refined oils may have synthetic antioxidants added, such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), or others. These replace the natural antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin E that were processed out of the oil.

  • If the oils are going to be used as margarines, then an added, artificial saturation is used - hydrogenation.

What you find in all supermarkets and even most health food stores

Virtually all the oils you will find in the supermarket, with the exception of Virgin Olive Oil, will have undergone the above processes. This includes almond, avocado, canola, corn, grape seed, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean, safflower, vegetable and anything else you can think of.

Sometimes they are advertised as 'low cholesterol' (all plant oils are cholesterol free). However, once they have been processed in this way, they can cause a rise in cholesterol levels in the body even though they don't contain cholesterol.

They may be recommended for 'frying, baking and cooking' - almost no liquid oils can safely be used to fry or cook.

They'll often be described as 'high in polyunsaturates'. By the time they have been processed, they're more likely to be full of trans-fatty acids, and devoid of the antioxidants needed to prevent free radical damage.

These are only a few of the ways in which advertisers of inferior ../Products/ tell only the part of the story they want to tell. If we knew all the facts, most of us might think twice about buying and using these cheap oils.

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER SEVEN (back to article contents)

Vitamin E and polyunsaturates

In nature, seeds and nuts always contain vitamin E and other natural antioxidants. Generally, the more essential fatty acids (EFAs) an oil contains, the more antioxidants accompany it to help protect the oil from destruction by light and oxygen, both in the seed and in our body.

When we eat fresh nuts and seeds, there will be no shortage of vitamin E to protect the oil.

When we press nuts and seeds to extract the oil, the antioxidants remain in the oil. And so long as the oils were pressed in the absence of light and air, these antioxidants will remain intact, and these oils will not go rancid in our body.

If the oils are exposed to light and air, however, during careless processing and storage in clear glass or plastic bottles, the vitamin E and other antioxidants will be rapidly used up (within hours or days), and then the oils become rancid.

In Chapter six we discussed processed oils - degumming, refining, bleaching, deodorising, and so on. During these processes, all antioxidants, including vitamin E, are removed. The oil-refining industry doesn't throw this vitamin E away though - they collect the sludge, separate and concentrate the vitamin E, and sell it separately!

When we eat these refined oils, we may well end up short of vitamin E, and the oils will be unprotected from free radical damage. If our diet isn't naturally high in vitamin E to make up for the deficit in the processed oils, uncontrolled free radical chain reactions will occur in our body, causing degeneration and ageing.

The kinds of foods which contain antioxidants which help protect us from free radical damage are most fruits and vegetables, and many herbs and spices. Especially good sources include broccoli, turmeric and garlic.

Some writers have suggested that we reduce our intake of polyunsaturated oils, in order to conserve our vitamin E, but this is not good advice. The vast majority of us are deficient in essential fatty acids - we just need to ensure that the oils we consume are of high quality (that is, prepared with health in mind, and not profit first and foremost). These healthful oils still retain their natural antioxidants, although in this day and age it would benefit many of us to take extra antioxidant supplements, especially if our diet is less than perfect.

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER EIGHT (back to article contents)

Fresh Vegetable/Seed/Nut oil - The Best Oils of All

It's a very odd thing

As odd as can be

That whatever Miss T eats

Turns into Miss T

De La Mare

Methods are available for extracting healthful oils, and when health-conscious, educated consumers demand such oils and refuse inferior oils, the oil industry will more widely develop and adopt such methods.

Meanwhile, there are a few, relatively small manufacturers who do produce oils with health in mind.

To make fresh oils, that stay fresh for many months if kept in the right conditions, several factors have to be addressed:

Light and Air Free

Conventional oil pressing does not, and cannot, exclude light and air. But the fresh-pressed technology introduced over twenty years ago is both air and light-free.

Low temperature

High temperatures destroy enzymes and cause free radical damage, especially in the presence of light and oxygen. The temperatures must be kept low, ideally below body temperature.

Processed without toxic solvents

Solvents aren't necessary to extract most of the commonly used vegetable, seed or nut oils. The use of solvents arises from the motivation to extract every last drop of oil. This, of course, makes for cheaper oil. But it also requires tremendous heat to drive off the solvent - as much as 518 degrees fahrenheit - and the solvent residues that remain are certainly toxic and probably carcinogenic.

Bottled in opaque black plastic or brown glass with cardboard containers

Black polyethylene (PE), thickened to make it completely opaque to light and ultraviolet (UV) rays, completely protects the oil from its most destructive influence. Brown glass bottles are necessary for people with allergies or sensitivities to synthetic materials. Keep the glass bottle inside the cardboard box in which it comes.

Cold Stored, Short-shelf Date, and Quick-Delivery

Refrigerated storage before delivery. Freezing is even better.

Refrigeration and Rapid Use After Opening

Opened bottles of oils should be kept in the fridge and used up rapidly (3 to 6 weeks for flax, 6 to 12 weeks for hemp, longer for less sensitive oils).  Unopened fresh oils will last about 6 months in the fridge and between 3 and 5 years in the freezer. Generally, omega 3 oils need to be used more rapidly after opening than omega 6 oils, and omega 9 oils (olive oil) will last 2 years. Coconut oils are much more stable and do not spoil quickly.

Fresh oils are as different from the ordinary expeller pressed oils found in health and natural food stores as freshly ground whole wheat flour from your local stone mill is from white. Like whole wheat flour, fresh oils will hopefully become the standard for health conscious consumers as the true facts become from widely known.

Freshness and flavour

Fresh vegetable/seed/nut oil is full of flavour and aroma. This is in vivid contrast to the bland vegetable oils that the vegetable oil industry wants us to consider normal. The bottle you open is literally fresh from the press. As soon as you try the fresh oil, you'll experience flavour, aroma and nutrition surpassing anything you're likely to have experienced before in terms of oil.

Cost

Fresh oils cost more than ordinary vegetable oils. Here are some reasons why:

  1. Usually fresh oils are made from certified organically grown seeds, which cost more than non-organic seeds.

  2. Fresh oils are made on a small scale, using exacting procedures that prevent the formation of free radicals, trans-fatty acids, and other kinds of distorted molecules.

  3. In order to keep pressing temperatures down, pressure is reduced, which means all the oil is not extracted - quality is emphasized, not quantity.

 

Advantages of FRESH Oils

  Solvent Extract Oils Expeller Pressed Oils FRESH oils
Where found? Most food shops Occasionally found in health food stores direct from manufacturers or here
From certified organic seed? No Probably not Usually
Protected from light and air? No No Yes
Pressed at temperatures resembling body heat or lower? No No (don't believe the term 'cold pressed'. This usually mean the pressing was low temperature, but ignores the fact that extremely high temperatures may have been used later in the process!) Yes
Enzymes and other important nutrients intact? No No Yes
Free of trans fatty acids? No No Yes
Flavourful and aromatic? No Not usually Yes
Good for our health? No No Yes

 

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER NINE (back to article contents)

Individual Requirements

Each human being is unique. Each of us has somewhat different requirements for building, maintaining, and regaining health. We must find out for ourselves what our requirements are, by trial and error, and by noticing how we feel.

While all humans need proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and we all need the same 50 essential substances mentioned in chapter one, each of us is also biochemically unique.

A fascinating book, 'Biochemical Individuality' by Dr Roger Williams describes in detail how we each differ in the efficiency of our enzymes, our ability to digest, to assimilate and to metabolize foods. We differ in our nutritional requirements. We differ in the quantities of each essential nutrient that leads to optimum health. Even the size, shapes and relative positions of our organs vary significantly from one another.

Because we are unique, there is no single diet that is right for everyone.

We need to experiment, to see what we like, what makes us feel good, and what seems to give us the best health.

We have different requirements at different times of our lives, not least according to whether we are athletes, sedentary or during pregnancy. As we age, we may have lower calorie requirement, but we still have high nutrient needs as we digest less well and therefore obtain fewer nutrients than we used to. As we get older we particularly need to supplement with digestive enzymes and probably HCl (hydrochloric acid for protein digestion).

One example of many given in the above mentioned book, is that of calcium. Dr Williams writes:

"In balance studies performed on 19 healthy males, they found that one man given 225mg of calcium daily was in calcium balance, while at the other extreme another individual given 261 mg of calcium daily was losing 256 mg per day. The total requirement for calcium balance varied for the 19 individuals in experiments of at least 20 days' duration from 222 to 1018 mg per day. On the basis of the requirement per kilogram of body weight per day, the range was 3.52 to 16.16mg. On either basis the range is over 4.5-fold."

It appears that some nutrient requirements vary more significantly than others from one individual to another.

There is also not complete agreement between the experts as to how much, and the precise balance of oils we need. However, an interesting comment was made as follows:

"Food processing practices in the last 100 years have caused the dietary ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 to become seriously out of balance. While omega-6 has remained relatively unchanged, omega-3 intake has decreased by nearly 80%."

John Diamond, M.D., Biological Therapy, vol.13, no.2, 1995

The ratio of fatty acids found the body's tissues is between 1:1 and 4:1 (omega-6 is always the first number, omega-3 the second number - so this would be 4 parts omega-6 to one part omega-3).  

The ratio 1:1 applies to fatty acids found in brain tissue, and other areas of fast metabolism such as sense organs, adrenal glands and sex organs. The 4:1 ratio is found in other parts of the body.

Many experts in Essential Fatty Acids believe the balance of oil we consume should be close to 1:1 or 2:1 of good quality, functional omega 6 and omega 3.

Amounts will vary as well, in line with the biochemical individuality described above. Udo Erasmus suggests as an average 1 tablespoon (15ml - American measure - the UK equivalent is dessert spoon) per 50 pounds of weight. Therefore a person weighing 150lb would take approximately 3 dessert spoons of Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend per day.  Take a little less in warm weather.

In his book 'Choosing the Right Fats' Udo suggests taking up to 10 tablespoons (UK dessert spoon) which is 150ml per day, or 50% of calories, to lose weight, speed healing, build muscles, and help reverse degenerative conditions caused by getting too little essential fat.

He finds it useful to gauge the amount by the quality of his skin - when he feels he is getting enough oil, his skin is soft and velvety.

The better the quality of our food, the more likely we are to know what our body needs:

Macy has found in extensive experiments involving giving small children a free choice of sugar in their diets that, when the children are adequately nourished with a diet containing the proteins, minerals, and vitamins that they need, they voluntarily eat less sugar. It is evident that good nutrition promotes this wisdom of the body.

 

Icie G Macy, Nutrition and Chemical Growth in Childhood, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, III, and Baltimore, Md., Vol.I, 1942

 

Many experts in EFAs suggest that as the majority of people are now (in the last 100 years) deficient in omega-3 EFAs, that they first supplement with omega-3 for approximately 5-6 months. This would ideally be fish oil which provides DHA and EPA.

 

Flax is sometimes a good alternative for vegetarians, although not everyone will be able to make the important conversions in the body from the LNA content into EPA and DHA. Children in particular need high levels of DHA for brain development, and may not get the full benefit from flax.

 

CHILDREN

 

There are special blends available for children. Two options are:

 

Eskimo Kids

 

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Pure natural omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 with vitamins D & E

Derived from fresh deep-sea fish and purified to reduce environmental heavy metal toxins.

 

This blend is designed to be taken as a supplement, rather than added to recipes, although it can be added to cold food if desired.

Omega Nutrition Essential Balance Junior

 

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

A bestseller since Professor Winston's TV Programme. Omega 3 fatty acids are vital for the brain and many body functions including healthy skin. Essential Balance Junior offers a high ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids, with a naturally sweetened blend of certified 100% organic flax, olive and pumpkin seed oils with added lignans. Blend with desserts or fruit, or add to shakes.

 

 

 

USE OF FRESH OILS IN THE KITCHEN

  • Healing oils can be added to cold, warm, or hot dishes such as soup or steamed vegetables, but they should never be used for frying or baking.  Fresh healing oils are delicious drizzled over lightly scrambled eggs.

  • Add the oils to the food AFTER they have been cooked, but if you like, while they're still hot.

  • Enjoy healing oils in the traditional Mediterranean way - drizzled fresh on salads, pasta, steamed vegetables or grains. Dip crusty wholemeal bread in a mixture of oil, crushed garlic and herbs. Healing oils make great salad dressings - experiment with different dressings.

  • The oil will bring out the full flavour of the food.

  • You can also add healing oils to yoghurt and kefir, or protein shakes or smoothies. Add some fresh fruit, like a banana or peach, and you'll have a delicious snack.

  • For a super healthy start to the day, or for a between meals boost, add some greens and enzymes. We recommend Flora Beyond Greens.

  • If you're looking for a spread, mix healing oil 50:50 with virgin coconut oil or butter.

 

Udo's Choice Essential Balance Flax Garlic Chilli Flax Coconut Oil

Eskimo Kids (Tutti Frutti Flavour)

Omega 3/6 Junior blend

 

CHAPTER TEN - RECIPES (back to article contents)

 

 

Ice cream with blueberries

3 tablespoons of Fresh Flax Seed Oil

2 tablespoons of milk

1 tablespoon honey

100g Quark

3 tablespoons blueberries

1 handful walnuts

Flax

Method:

Mix the Quark, Flax Seed Oil, milk and honey in a blender. Puree with the blueberries. Add a handful of walnuts and mix briefly so that the walnuts are well chopped, but still remain granular. Pour this cream into the ice-maker and freeze. This mixture is exquisite.

(Recipe from 'The Oil-Protein Diet Cookbook' by Dr Johanna Budwig. (Discover how to utilize the healing powers of Flax Oil in over 500 deliciously possible recipes.)

 

Fresh Seeds Dressing

2 tablespoons of fresh ground sunflower seeds*

2 tablespoons of fresh ground sesame seeds*

2-3  tablespoons of Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil (or Omega Nutrition Essential Balance Oil)

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons of soy or tamari sauce

1-2 teaspoons in total of the following mixed herbs (oregano, basil, celery seed, tarragon and thyme)

  

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Essential Balance

Method:

Grind the sunflower and sesame seeds in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Mix all the ingredients together in a jar and shake. Store in the fridge.

 

 

 

Mediterranean style Salad Dressing

Juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons of Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil, or Fresh Pumpkin Seed Oil, or Omega Flax Oil

1 clove of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs (try oregano, marjoram, rosemary, basil and thyme) (use more if fresh herbs are used)

Half a teaspoon of tamari sauce if desired.

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

 

Flax

Method:

Mix all ingredients together, leave a few minutes whilst flavours are infused into oil, and blend with green salad.

 

Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

Serves 4

1/2 cup (125ml) Udo's oil

1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice

1 tsp (5ml) apple cider vinegar

1 tsp (5ml) Dijon mustard

Vegetable salt, to taste

1 1/2 tbsp (25ml) shallot or onion, minced

1 tbsp (15ml) red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced

1 tbsp (15ml) chives or green onion, chopped

1 tsp (5ml) fresh thyme

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Method:

To make the vinaigrette, blend oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and seasoning with a whisk or hand blender to emulsify. Stir in shallot, pepper, chives and thyme.

Toss with vegetables and serve. Save any remaining vinaigrette in the refrigerator for up to one week.

(Recipe from Choosing the Right Fats for Vibrant Health, Weightloss, Energy, Vitality by Udo Erasmus)

 

Vegetables with Dhal Sauce

Serves 4

8 oz (225g) of red lentils

1 pint (600ml) of vegetable stock or water

1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil

1 chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 inch piece (2.5cm) of ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend, or Omega Nutrition Essential Balance Oil

Coconut Oil

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Essential Balance

Method:

Place the lentils in the saucepan with the stock, coconut butter and the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the Oil Blend which is added later.

Bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat to a very slow simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if necessary. Aim for a soft, not too thick dhal sauce.

Just before serving, stir in one tablespoon of Udo's Oil or Omega Essential Balance Oil.

Serve with steamed vegetables and wholegrain rice.

NOTE: If preferred, pour the oil over the steamed vegetables and rice, instead of mixing with the dhal. A little extra coconut oil can then be used in preparing the dhal.

 

Tabbouleh Cracked Wheat Salad

Serves 4

5 oz (150g) bulgar cracked wheat

half pint of cold vegetable stock water*

4 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cucumber, diced

bunch of spring onions, sliced

handful of parsley, chopped

a few sprigs of mint, chopped

1 lemon, both juice and finely grated rind

3 tbsp (45ml) Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil

small handful black olives

4 eggs, hard-boiled and quartered

3 tbsp of sunflower seeds, lightly toasted

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Method:

*for the stock water, use either left-over water from steaming green and other vegetables, or a vegetable stock cube

Cover the cracked wheat with this cold stock water and leave to soak for up to an hour, drain well and press out all excess liquid. Add the chopped tomato, cumber, spring onions, parsley and mint.

Mix together the lemon juice, rind and Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil, pour over the cracked wheat mixture, and toss together to mix thoroughly.

Cover and leave in the fridge for a while before serving to allow flavours to blend.

Serve garnished with hard-boiled eggs, olives and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds.

 

Sauted Green leaves

Serves 4

2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 red onions, sliced or chopped

1 cup small button mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

10 cups of various greens (try kale, spinach, Swiss chard, beet tops, etc)

1 cup of feta cheese, crumbed in small lumps

2 tbsp (30ml) of Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil

         (or Omega Garlic Chilli Flax Oil)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Garlic Chilli Flax

Method:

Gently heat the virgin coconut oil and cumin seeds in a large wok or pan. Add the onion to soften a little, stirring frequently. Add the mushrooms and gently stir-fry gently for a few moments. Add the garlic and spices, and gently stir until onions and mushrooms are almost done.

Now add the greens and mix everything well. If the spinach yielded much water, drain off a little if necessary.

Stir fry gently for a few minutes until vegetables are done to your liking.

Add the feta cheese and let it melt into the greens.

Serve into a dish and drizzle Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil  (or other oil as above) and fresh lime juice over the greens.

Serve immediately.

 

Alternative Pesto

This version of pesto would complement grilled fish or chicken

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh coriander leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons Omega Garlic Chilli Flax Oil (or other fresh oil of choice)

black pepper, freshly ground

Garlic Chilli Flax

Method:

Mix and puree all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Adjust seasonings to taste and store in the fridge until ready to use. Do not cook the mixture. Spread over fish or chicken after cooking and allow the heat of the cooked food to permeate through the pesto.

 

Scrumptious Coconut Treats

Serves 4

1/2 cup of chopped nuts of choice

6 tablespoons of unsweetened coconut flakes

4 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil

4 tablespoons of freshly ground flax seeds (grind in coffee grinder or similar)

1 or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

1 or 2 teaspoons of pure almond extract

2 tablespoons of Xylitol (XyloSweet) *

Pinch of sea salt

Pinch of cinnamon

 

Coconut Oil

‘Xylitol is the ONLY sugar alternative I recommend. It’s 100% natural, low in calories, won’t disrupt your blood sugar and actually protects your teeth!’ Patrick Holford, Nutritionist    (Available in good health food shops, approximately £6.50 per lb.

Method:

Combine all ingredients, except 3 tablespoons of the unsweetened coconut flakes. Mix well. Form into small balls and roll in the left-over coconut flakes. Place in a small dish and freeze for about 10 minutes.  Share with your best friends and pop into your children's school lunch boxes. (After freezing, keep in the fridge until ready to eat)

 

Houmous

1 15 1/2 oz (440g) can chick peas

1 garlic clove, crushed

1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) organic tahini

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons (45ml) Fresh oil of choice (e.g. Udo's Choice Ultimate Blend, Omega Garlic and Chilli Flax Oil)

Sprinkling of Paprika

Wedges of lemon

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Garlic Chilli Flax

Method:

Drain the chick peas, saving the liquid. In a blender or food processor, place the chick peas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and fresh oil. Blend into a smooth thick paste. Add a little of the saved liquid if the mixture is too thick.  Taste, and add more tahini, lemon juice or a little sea salt, if necessary. Transfer to a suitable serving dish, drizzle a little extra oil over the top, with a sprinkle of paprika and wedges of lemon.

 

 

 

Brown Rice Salad

Serves 4

4 oz of wholegrain organic rice

2 stalks of celery, sliced

2 or 3 carrots, coarsely grated

1 orange, cut into segments

1 or 2 apples, chopped

2 tablespoons of walnuts

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley

1/2 tablespoon of fresh chopped coriander

1 tablespoon of omega flax seed oil, or Udo's Choice Ultimate Balance Oil

Flax

 

 

 

 

Udo's Choice

Method:

Cook the rice, drain and rinse with cold water. When completely cooled, add all the other ingredients and mix gently. Serve with chicken and a green salad.

 

 

GLOSSARY (back to article contents)

 

alpha-linolenic acid (LNA)

Alpha-linolenic acid is one of the two essential fatty acids. An 18-carbon fatty acid with 3 double bonds, positioned between w carbons 3 and 4, 6 and 7, and 9 and 10. Our body cannot make it, requires it for life and must therefore obtain it from food. Alpha-linolenic acid is vital to optimum health. LNA sources include flax and hemp seeds and their oils, as well as walnut and pumpkin seeds and their oils.

 

antioxidants

Antioxidants are a large group of substances which slow down oxygen-and free radical-induced deterioration of fatty acids. Antioxidants are naturally found in many fruits and vegetables and available as supplements. Examples of antioxidants are vitamins C and E, selenium, lipoic acid and many more.

 

arachidonic acid (AA) (20:4w.6)

Arachidonic acid is a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid from the omega-6 family. Arachidonic acid contains 20 carbons and four double bonds. It is the brain's principal omega-6 fatty acid. Arachidonic acid is found primarily in animal fats and is often too high in modern diets. This fatty acid can be converted into the powerfully inflammatory PGE2 prostaglandins. Alpha-linolenic acid, EPA and DHA can counter the effects of arachidonic acid. GLA from borage or primrose oil is often used to counter the PGE2 substances as well.

 

butyric acid (BA, 4:0)

Butyric acid is a short-chain (4-carbon) saturated fatty acid found in butter. Butyric Acid is beneficial to normal intestinal bacteria.

 

caprylic acid (8:0)

Caprylic acid is a medium-chain (8-carbon) saturated fatty acid found in tropical oils and to a small extent in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)

 

carbon chain

Carbon atoms linked to one another in a chain by bonds formed when atoms share electrons

 

carboxyl (-COOH)

Carboxyl (-COOH) is a weak acid group found at one end of fatty acids (and many other molecules found in nature)

 

cell membrane

A cell membrane is a double layer of fatty material (phospholipids) and proteins that surround each living cell of all organisms. Organelles found within cells are also surrounded by cell membrane.

 

chemical bond

Atoms held together by sharing electrons with one another to form molecules. Two shared electrons, one each from two atoms, constitute a chemical bond between those atoms

 

cis-

or cis-configuration. In a fatty acid, the natural arrangement where the single hydrogens on both carbons involved in a double bond are found on the same side of the molecule, producing a bend or kink in its shape. Also see 'trans-'

 

cold-pressed

Cold-pressed is a meaningless advertising term used to imply quality in edible oils. It is possible to call an oil 'cold-pressed' even if the oil has been heated to a very high temperature somewhere in the refining process

 

delta-5-desaturase

the delta-5-desaturase enzyme converts omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid and GLA into arachidonic acid. High carbohydrate diets may activate delta-5-desaturase enzyme, causing the body to make too much arachidonic acid. This feeds the inflammatory pathways.

 

delta-6-desaturase

the delta-6-desaturase enzyme that converts dietary linoleic acid to Prostaglandiin Series E1 (PGE1). It also converts alpha-linolenic acid to PGE3. Delta-6-desaturase enzyme is needed to make DHA from ALA. The two essential fatty acids Linoleic acid and linolenic acid compete for delta 6-desaturase so if there is too much of one fatty acid, the ../Products/ of that fatty acid predominate.

 

desaturation

Desaturation is the enzyme process by which 2 hydrogen atoms are removed from neighbouring carbon atoms in a fatty acid chain and at the same time, an additional bond is created between these 2 atoms

 

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) (22:6w3)

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long-chain highly unsaturated (6 double bonds) polyunsaturated fatty acid derived from dietary alpha-linolenic acid. DHA is also found in foods such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines. It contains twenty-two carbons, six double bonds, and is an omega-3 fatty acid (22:6w3). DHA is the most important omega-3 fatty acid found in the brain and is highly concentrated in the retina, brain, adrenals and testes. Due to the contamination of almost all fish, it is now often recommended that we obtain DHA from fish oil supplements which have been screened for purity. DHA is very susceptible to damage. Children in particular have high requirements for DHA.

 

double bonds

Usually, the carbon atoms strung together in a chain to form a fatty acid are linked by one pair of shared electrons. This is a single bond. A double bond is the linking of adjacent atoms in the carbon chain by sharing 2 pairs of electrons between the carbons instead of the usual 1 shared pair of a single bond.

 

EFA balance

Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) balance is the relationship between the two EFAs, usually expressed as the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3. Generally speaking, the optimum range is probably somewhere between 1 to 4 parts of omega-6, to 1 part of omega-3. The average Western diet over the past 100 years has become grossly imbalanced, to in the region of 20-25 to 1. This is largely due to eating more fried foods, margarine and general consumption of cheap sunflower and vegetable oils.

 

eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5w3)

EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) is a 20-carbon fatty acid with 5 double bonds in its chain. It is found in large quantities in cold-water fish and marine animals. EPA is the parent substance from which the body makes series 3 prostaglandins that decrease inflammation, water retention and blood pressure by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory, water-retaining, artery-constricting series 2 prostaglandins. EPA can be converted into DHA for use in the brain. EPA is important in the brain's blood supply.

 

emulsify

Emulsification is the breaking down of fats into smaller droplets by the action of detergents such as lecithin. Lecithin acts as a natural washing-up liquid in the body.

 

enzyme

Enzymes are proteins produced by the body to enable particular chemical reactions to take place. Digestive enzymes are also found in foods, but are easily destroyed by cooking. Digestive enzymes include amylases, proteases, lactase, etc. but there are many other enzymes. An example is delta-6-desaturase (D6D) which converts w6 linoleic acid (LA) to gammalinolenic acid (GLA), and w3 alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) to stearidonic acid (SDA). Enzymes usually require vitamins and minerals as cofactors and catalysts.

 

essential fatty acid (EFA)

Essential fatty acids are either of 2 fatty acids which the body requires, cannot make from other substances found in the body, and which must therefore be supplied by the food. The names of these 2 essential fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA) (18:2w6) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, LNA 18:3w3).

 

essential fatty acid deficiency

shortage of one or both of the essential fatty acids and the attendant effects on health of this shortage

 

essential nutrient

any of about 45 nutrients that are known to be necessary for the body structure and physiology. 20 or 21 minerals, 13 vitamins, 8 to 11 amino acids (depending on age), and 2 essential fatty acids must come from foods we eat, since the body cannot manufacture them in the body out of other substances. Other factors also necessary are water, oxygen, light, a source of calorie energy (usually carbohydrate, but also protein and certain fats). Fibre and intestinal bacteria are also included in this list. This makes about 50 essential factors required by the body.

 

fat

Fats comprise three fatty acids hooked to a glycerol molecule. Also called lipid and triglyceride. In common terminology, it usually refers to hard fats, which are mostly saturated.

 

fatty acid

Fatty acids comprise a chain of carbon atoms with an acid group at one end and hydrogen atoms attached to the other. The length of the fatty acid carbon chain can vary from 4 to 26 carbons or more.

 

fatty acid profile

The composition of an oil regarding fatty acid content, usually presented in percentages. For example, sunflower = 12% saturated fat, 19% monounsaturated fat, 69% polyunsaturated fat. If the oil has omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated parts are usually separated. For example, Flax oil = 9% saturated, 16% monounsaturated, 18% omega-6 polyunsaturated, and 57% omega-3 polyunsaturated. (Note that percentages can change somewhat according to growing conditions of the seed.)

 

flax

Flax is an ancient plant whose seed oil is the richest source of alpha-linolenic acid (LNA; 18:3w3) known. The seed also contains protein, minerals and vitamins. Flax is a rich source of mucilage and fibre, which help the body eliminate cholesterol, and help prevent reabsorption of toxic wastes from the large intestine. Used along with plenty of water, flax is a wonderful help in constipation. Flax is also the richest known source of lignans, which have anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. Flax oil has been used by many well-known nature Doctors, not least of which is Dr Johanna Budwig (seven time Nobel Prize nominee, world-renowned scientist and biochemist who worked for many years connecting the relationship between cancer research and fat metabolism. See 'Flax Oil as a True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer and Other Diseases' by Johanna Budwig.)

 

free radical

A free radical is a molecular fragment with a single, unpaired electron. Stealing another electron makes a free radical whole again, so they attempt to grab electrons from whole molecules. In vegetable oils, free radicals are created by light in the process known as photon decay, and oxygen in the process known as oxidation. (Udo Erasmus estimates that photon decay from light is 1,000 times more damaging to oils than oxidation.) Free radicals change the structure of oil molecules (as well as protein and carbohydrate molecules), making them unsuitable for the functions they would normally perform. This is the probable connection to the theory that free radicals help cause some diseases and the aging process. However, free radicals are essential to the function of the human body. Problems only occur when free-radical production begins to exceed the body's ability to protect against them, and this occurs in many disease processes. Antioxidants protect against free radicals.

 

free radical chain reaction

Uncontrolled free radical reaction that is damaging to the body

 

gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3w6)

GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) is made in the body from essential linoleic acid (LA; 18:2w6) by the healthy body. If certain vitamins or minerals are deficient in the body (for example, vitamin C, B3, biotin, magnesium), or the enzyme delta-6-desaturase is not functioning, the body is unable to convert LA into GLA. In this case it can be obtained from Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil, Black Currant Oil or Hemp Oil. It has been used very successfully for Premenstrual Syndrome and Eczema. GLA should be used with great caution (under supervision of a physician) in cases of seizure or cancer.

 

glycerol

Glycerol is a molecule that consists of 3 carbon atoms, hydrogen and oxygen. Glycerol is the backbone of the fat or oil molecule and of the membranes' fatty components. Two glycerol molecules can be hooked together to make a sugar molecule.

 

glycogen

Glycogen comprises glucose molecules hooked together in long-chains and stored in the liver and muscle of animals as energy reserves.

 

hydrogenated oils

Hydrogenated oils are fats which have been industrially saturated with hydrogen to alter their chemical make-up, usually to make the fat hard or stop it from going rancid. Hydrogenated oil is worse for you than naturally saturated fat and should be avoided. Most margarines are hydrogenated and many processed foods contain hydrogenated fats and oils.

 

lecithin

Lecithin contains fatty acids, glycerol, a phosphate group and choline. Soybeans and egg yolk are the usual source of lecithin containing both essential fatty acids. Lecithin is found in the structure of membranes of cells. Lecithin is also known as phosphatidylcholine.

 

linoleic acid (LA)

Linoleic acid is one of the 2 essential fatty acids. 18-carbon fatty acid with 2 double bonds, positioned between w carbon atoms 6 and 7, and 9 and 10. The body requires Linoleic Acid for life itself, but cannot make it, and must therefore obtain it from food. Linoleic Acid deficiency causes severe problems in every cell, tissue and organ. In its absence, the body will die. The body makes several other important substances from Linoleic Acid. LA-rich foods include safflower, sunflower and hemp seeds and oil, and soybeans. Modern diets provide too much of this omega-6 linoleic acid in relation to the other essential fatty acid omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid. However, this excess is usually in the form of the detrimental trans-fatty acid, and therefore, whilst we can have too much omega-6 linoleic acid in our diets, we can still be functionally deficient due to poor quality.

 

linolenic acid

More properly called alpha-linolenic acid. One of the two essential fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid is an 18-carbon fatty acid with 3 double bonds, positioned between w carbons 3 and 4, 6 and 7, and 9 and 10. Our body cannot make alpha-linolenic acid, requires it for life and must therefore obtain it from food. It is vital to optimum health. LNA sources include flax and hemp seeds and their oils, as well as walnut and pumpkin seeds and their oils. It is highly sensitive to destruction by light, oxygen and high temperatures. Modern diets contain only about one-fifth of that found in diets in similar Western cultures a hundred years ago.

 

lipid

Also called fats, oils, phospholipids and waxes and other fatty substances. Cholesterol is technically not a fat, but a sterol. However, it is still considered a lipid. Lipid is the collective name used by chemists.

 

lipid peroxide

A lipid peroxide is a damaged fatty acid (or other lipid) molecule that develops when free radicals or free oxygen reacts with an unsaturated fatty acid. Lipid peroxides are very damaging to biological systems, especially the cell membrane. Lipid peroxides in the nervous system are very detrimental. Lipid peroxides are also found in rancid cells. We might think of lipid peroxides in the body as rancid fats.

 

long-chain fatty acid

A long-chain fatty acid has more than 14 carbons atoms in its chain

 

medium-chain fatty acid

A medium-chain fatty acid has from 6-12 carbon atoms in its chain

 

metabolism

Metabolism refers to all chemical changes that take place in the body that make physical life possible

 

methyl (-CH3)

Methyl (-CH3) is the free end of a fatty acid. Methyl is a carbon singly bonded to the three hydrogen atoms

 

molecule

Molecules comprise 2 or more atoms held together by means of electron pairs shared between them

 

monounsaturated fat (or fatty acid) (MUFA)

A monounsaturated fat is a fatty acid with one kink (double bond) in its chain of carbon atoms. If monounsaturated fatty acids are dominant in the fatty acid profile - as in olive, sesame and canola oils - they are referred to as monounsaturated oils.

 

oil

Oil is a liquid fat. The more saturated the fat, the less liquid it is. Coconut oil (91% saturated) only becomes liquid at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. The more double bonds present in the fatty acid chains, the more liquid the oil. Superpolyunsaturated fatty acids (omega 3 oils such as fish or flax) retain their liquid state even in the freezer.

 

oleic acid (OA, 18:1w9)

Oleic acid is the monounsaturated fat most common in olive, sesame, peanut, pecan, macadamia and canola oils. Oleic acid is an 18-carbon fatty acid with one double bond between carbons 9 and 10.

 

omega

Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, signifying the last carbon atom (methyl end) in the chain that comprises a fatty acid. Symbolized by the letter w.

 

omega 6

The family of polyunsaturated Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) in which the first double bond occurs 6 carbons from the end. This Essential Fatty Acid is one of 2 which are essential for human life, and which we must get from our diet as our bodies can't make them. Most Western diets favour omega-6 over omega-3 by 20-25 times. This is highly unbalanced. From omega-6 our body makes series 1 and 2 prostaglandins, and an excess of series 2 prostaglandins is associated with health problems such as inflammation, water retention, high blood pressure, sticky blood and decreased immune response. Even the omega-6 fats we eat in our modern Western diets have been spoiled by light, oxygen and heat, as well as artificial hydrogenation, so that we can be functionally deficient in omega-6 in spite of consuming too much (especially in relation to omega-3). The answer is to eat much less 'damaged' omega-6, enough FRESH omega-6, and more omega-3.

 

omega 3

The second family of essential fatty acids which are essential to human life. The first double bond occurs 3 carbons from the end. Omega-3 are sometimes called superpolyunsaturates, because they have 3 or more double bonds, whereas omega-6 have only 2. Omega-3 is generally deficient in modern Western diets, intake having decreased to about one-sixth of that 150 years ago. From omega-3 fatty acids, our body makes series 3 prostaglandins, which have mild anti-inflammatory action.

 

omega 6:3 balance

To have optimum health we must have the correct balance of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. Research suggests that approximately four or five omega-6 for every one omega-3 is a good balance, although dietary intakes in different cultures has differed over the years and the body appears to be able to adapt to a certain degree. Most modern Western diets are between 10 and 25 to 1 in favour of omega-6, which is far too high in omega-6. This encourages overproduction of pro-inflammatory prostaglandin series 2, with consequent negative effects on health. It is generally considered that therapeutic omega6:omega3 balance for Western diets is about 1:2.

 

oxidation

Exposure to air (oxygen) causes unsaturated oil molecules to oxidise, causing them to become rancid

 

partially hydrogenated

Partially hydrogenated oil is an oil in which some but not all double bonds have been destroyed by adding hydrogen to the fatty acid molecules, using pressure and high temperature. Many chemical changes take place in the fatty acid molecules during the hydrogenation process (for example the creation of trans-fatty acids), and this partially hydrogenated fat (partially artificially saturated) may be even more harmful than fully hydrogenated oils, and certainly more harmful than naturally saturated fats.

 

phosphatidylcholine (PC)

Phosphatidylcholine is a component of the nerve cell membrane made up of two fatty acids, phosphate and choline. Phosphatidylcholine is also known as lecithin. Lecithin is found in particularly high amounts in eggs and soy. Phosphatidylcholine is used as a supplement in a number of brain disorders.

 

phospholipid

A phospholipid is a fatty compound found in membranes, comprising two fatty acid molecules, a glycerol molecule, a phosphate group, and some other groups hooked to the phosphate. The best-known example of a phospholipid is lecithin.

 

photon decay

Photon decay is the process by which light rays excite oil molecules, causing electrons to spin off to form free radicals. These trigger a chain reaction that damages the oil. Opaque containers, or dark brown coloured glass in a cardboard box prevent photon decay.

 

polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)

A polyunsaturated fatty acid is an unsaturated fat that has two or more double bonds in the chain of carbon atoms. These can include natural, health-enhancing oils such as FRESH oils, or unnatural, health-destroying oils such as supermarket quality vegetable oil or margarines.

prostaglandin (PG)

Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances derived from Essential Fatty Acids that regulate many body functions. Prostaglandins are made all over the body and live for only a very short time (seconds), as opposed to hormones which are made in glands (e.g. thyroid/thyroxine) which last much longer. They fine-tune functions in the body. Prostaglandin Series 1 and 2 are produced in the body from omega-6, if sufficient vitamins, minerals and relevant enzyme is present. Series 3 is produced from omega-3, under similar conditions. Some have strong inflammatory action, while others tend to be anti-inflammatory. As well as this, they have many other functions in the body. The most commonly described prostaglandins include:

PGE1: made from LA and GLA - anti-inflammatory

PGE2: made from AA (arachidonic acid) - powerful inflammatory substance

PGE3: made from ALA - mildly anti-inflammatory

 

rancidity

Rancidity refers to oil molecules combined with oxygen, resulting in poor quality and flavour, to the detriment of health.

 

refined

processed sugars, starches and fats and oils are refined. Essential substances are removed from foods, and yet these foods require these nutrients in order to be metabolized. Consequently the body is left in a state of deficit, in the same way as withdrawing more money from the bank account than is put into it. Deficiency diseases and degenerative conditions result from these nutrient-impoverished foods.

 

saturated fat (or fatty acids) (SaFA)

Saturated fats are fatty acids without double bonds in the carbon chain, and every possible position taken up by hydrogen atoms. Without kinks, the flat structure allows the relatively inactive molecules to stack up in solid form. Found mainly in animal fats, butter and tropical oils. Saturated fats are stable and not easily damaged by light, oxygen or heat, and are therefore suitable for cooking, in moderation. They are only unhealthy if eaten surplus to energy requirements (i.e. what is not used in the body for energy, will be stored as fat).

 

short-chain fatty acids

A Short-chain fatty acid is a fatty acid with 6 or less carbon atoms in its chain

 

superunsaturated fatty acid (SUFA)

Another name of omega-3 fatty acids, which distinguishes them from omega-6 fatty acids. A superunsaturated (or superpolyunsaturated) fatty acid contains three or more double bonds.

 

trans-configuration

Trans-configuration occurs where hydrogen atoms on the carbons involved in a double bond are found on opposite sides of the molecule. The unnatural arrangement caused by pressure, heat and unnatural chemical reactions (such as artificial addition of hydrogen molecules). Trans-configuration as opposed to cis-configuration, which is the natural form found in nature.

 

trans-fatty acid

Trans-fatty acid is where the extra electrons in a double bond in the carbon chain are 'transferred' to the other side of the carbon chain through pressure, heat and unnatural chemical reactions. Researchers suspect that this structural change into an unnatural form makes the fat harmful to our health.

 

triglyceride (TG)

A triglyceride is a molecule of fat or oil. It consists of 3 fatty acid molecules, hooked to a glycerol backbone. Fats are stored in the body's fat tissues and in the seeds of plants in the form of triglycerides.

 

unsaturated fat (or fatty acids) (UFA)

An unsaturated fat is a fatty acid with one or more double bonds between carbons in its chain

 
APPENDIX 1 - Further Reading (back to article contents)

 

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill

Udo Erasmus

 

The Facts About Fats

John Finnegan

 

Flax Oil as a True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer and Other Diseases

Dr Johanna Budwig (seven time Nobel Prize nominee)

 

The Oil-Protein Diet Cookbook

Dr Johanna Budwig

 

Brain-Building Nutrition

Michael A Schmidt

 

Biochemical Individuality

Roger Williams

 

Essential Fatty Acids in Health & Disease

Edward Siguel

 

Trans-Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: a comprehensive report covering 60 years of research.

Mary G Enig

 

Lipids in Human Nutrition

G J Brisson

 

The Omega-3 Phenomenon

Donald Rudin MD and Clara Felix

 

Essential Fatty Acids: A Review. In: Horrobin, D.F. (ed) Clinical Uses of Essential Fatty Acids. Eden Press 1982

D F Horrobin

 

 

APPENDIX 2 - Research (back to article contents)

 

Large number of research studies have been carried out over many years, much of which has been published and is available to read in detail on the internet. Just a few examples are mentioned below.

 

Fatty Acid Make up of the brain

In the brain, nearly one third of the fatty acids are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, and these must be obtained from the diet.

Bourre, JM et al. The effects of dietary alpha-linolenic acid on the composition of nerve membranes, enzymatic activity, amplitude of electrophysiological parameters, resistance to poisons, and performance of learning tasks in rates. J.Nutri 1989; 199:1880-92

 

Balance of Essential Fatty Acids Required in the Human Body

Ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the diet is important. It has been estimated that the ratio used to be 1:1 many years ago, which scientists believe to be more or less ideal for the human brain. These days, the ratio is estimated to be between 20 and 30:1 (thirty parts omega-6 for every part of omega-3). In human breast milk the ratio can be as high as 45:1.  Infant formula generally had a ratio of about 10:1, but until fairly recently none of this was in the form of the vital DHA.

Simopoulos, AT. Omega-3 fatty acids. Handbook of Lipids in Human Nutrition.

Innis, S. Essential Fatty Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition. Can. J. Physiol Pharmacol 1993;71(1):699-706

Innis, S. et al. Development of visual acuity in relation to plasma and etythrocyte omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in healthy term gestation infants. Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 60(3):347-52

 

Vitamin E to help prevent free radical damage of Essential Fatty Acids

Vitamin E supplementation is especially important when the diet is high in essential fatty acids, of when supplementing with essential fatty acids.

Laganiere, S, Fernandes, G. High Peroxidizability of subcellular membrane induced by high fish oil diet is reversed by vitamin E. Clin Res 1987;35(3):565A

 

Low-fat, low-cholesterol diets lead to more violent, aggressive behaviour

Kaplan, JR et al. The effects of fat and cholesterol on social behavior in monkeys. Psychosom Med 1991;53:634-642

 

Violent, antisocial men in a prison environment low on DHA

Violent male offenders in a prison system were monitored for fatty acids. Violent, antisocial men showed very low blood measurements in DHA (as found in fish oil). Their serum cholesterol was also very low. All the men consumed alcohol (which damages DHA in the brain and prevents it being made from its parent fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid).

Virkkunen, ME, Horrobin, DF et al. Plasma phospholipid essential fatty acids and prostaglandins in alcoholic, habitually violent, and impulsive offenders. Biol Psych 1987; 22:1087-96

 

High Blood Pressure

Supplementation with borage oil and fish oil, which are sources of GLA and DHA respectively, reversed the rise in blood pressure often associated with psychological stress.

Mills, DE, et al. Dietary fatty acid supplementation alters stress reactivity and performance in man. J Human Hypertension 1989;3:111-16

 

Phosphatidylserine reduces physical stress response

Two studies show that Phosphatidylserine (PS) supplementation significantly reduced the stress hormone response to physical stress.

Monteleone, P, et al. Effects of phosphatidylserine on the neuroendocrine response to physical stress in humans. Neuroendocrinology 1990;52:243-48

Monteleone, P, et al. blunting the chronic phosphatidylserine adminstration of the stress-induced activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy men. Eur J Clin Pharmacol (Germany) 1992;42:385-88

 

Dementia

According to this study, people with low blood levels of DHA have almost twice the risk of developing dementia over the next nine years than people whose blood levels of DHA is high.

Schaefer, EJ. Decreased plasma phosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid content in dementia. Presented at: Keeping Your Brain in Shape: New Insights into DHA. Cornell University Medical Centre, New York, April 8, 1997. 

 

Vegetarian and Vegan diets provide inadequate EPA and DHA

Vegetarian, especially vegan, diets are relatively low in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) compared with linoleic acid (LA) and provide little, if any, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Clinical studies suggest that tissue levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are depressed in vegetarians, particularly in vegans. Omega-3 fatty acids have numerous physiologic benefits, including potent cardio-protective effects. These effects have been demonstrated for ALA as well as EPA and DHA, although the response is generally less for ALA than for EPA and DHA. Conversion of ALA by the body to the more active longer-chain metabolites is inefficient: less than 5-10% for EPA and 2-5% for DHA. Thus, total omega-3 requirements may be higher for vegetarians than for non-vegetarians, as vegetarians must rely on conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA. Because of the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids, it is recommended that vegetarians make dietary changes to optimize omega-3 fatty acid status.

Davis, B.C. and P.M. Kris-Etherton (2003). Achieving optimal essential fatty acid status in vegetarians: current knowledge and practical implications. Am J Clin Nutr 78(3 Suppl): 640S-646S.

The information on this website is not a substitute for diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. We do not advise anyone to stop taking medications without the advice of a doctor.

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