{"id":88020,"date":"2013-05-03T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=88020"},"modified":"2013-05-02T12:25:40","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T17:25:40","slug":"fat-fix-getting-your-omega-3s-back-in-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/05\/fat-fix-getting-your-omega-3s-back-in-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Fix: Getting Your Omega 3s Back in Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life<\/a> lead nutritionist<\/em><\/p>\n

How\u2019s your fat? Don\u2019t worry\u2014I\u2019m not talking about your thighs or belly. I\u2019m referring to the fat on your fork. You\u2019ve heard about all the great things omega-3 fats<\/a><\/strong> can do for you, including boosting your mood, keeping your brain sharp and reducing your risk for heart disease. One reason for its stellar health creds: It fights chronic inflammation. But it can\u2019t do its job if it\u2019s outnumbered by its chief rival\u2014omega-6 fats.\"omega<\/p>\n

These two polyunsaturated fats compete for entry into your cells, and for most Americans, omega-6 is winning handily. Our bodies evolved to thrive off an omega-6 to omega-3<\/a> <\/strong>ratio anywhere from 1:1 to 4:1. Instead, the ratio is 16:1 or higher. That imbalance may literally be killing us.<\/p>\n

Where does all the omega-6 come from? Soybean oil is a major source; processed and fast foods are rife with it, and it\u2019s the oil in \u201cvegetable oil\u201d sold in the supermarket. Meanwhile, we eat very few omega-3 rich foods, like fatty fish, chia seeds and flaxseed<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to get back in balance<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as your primary fat<\/strong>. Although it has no omega-3 fats, it\u2019s rich in monounsaturated fat, which should be the primary fat in your diet, and it\u2019s low in omega-6 fats. Use it in salads, saut\u00e9ing, broiling, even for baking<\/a><\/strong>. It doesn\u2019t work for deep frying because it burns\u2014but you\u2019re not doing much of that, I assume! I recommend it over another mono-rich oil\u2014canola oil\u2014because EVOO contains antioxidants and other beneficial compounds.<\/p>\n

Limit high omega-6 oils<\/strong>, which includes corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, soybean (\u201cvegetable oil\u201d) and walnut oil.\u00a0 (\u201cHigh oleic\u201d sunflower and safflower are OK because they\u2019re bred to be high in monounsaturated fat.) Although soybean and walnut oils contain omega-3s, their omega-6 levels are so high that you\u2019re still better off limiting them.<\/p>\n

Have chia seeds, ground flaxseed or walnuts daily<\/strong>. These contain alpha linoleic acid (ALA), the plant form of omega-3s. Sprinkle a tablespoon on cereal, soups, salads, pilafs, shakes and other foods.<\/p>\n

Have two to three servings of fatty fish weekly<\/strong>. Arctic char, salmon (fresh or canned), sardines and tuna (go for canned \u201cskipjack\u201d or \u201clight,\u201d which have less mercury than albacore) are very rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These two omega-3s are even more potent health-promoters than the plant-based ones.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n

No Bake Cookie Chia Bar Recipe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Approved Fish and Seafood List for Pregnant Women<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

3 Healthy Fats You Should be Eating<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist How\u2019s your fat? Don\u2019t worry\u2014I\u2019m not talking about your thighs or belly. I\u2019m referring to the fat on your fork. You\u2019ve heard about all the great things omega-3 fats can do … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695,804],"tags":[5503,533,2777,9717,23,361,827],"class_list":["post-88020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-heart-disease","tag-best-life-diet","tag-bob-greene","tag-chia-seeds","tag-flaxseed","tag-guest-blog","tag-omega-3","tag-saturated-fats"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88023,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88020\/revisions\/88023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}