Essential Fatty Acid Supplementation

 

• Lack of dietary essential fatty acids probably plays a significant role in the development of many chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and strokes.

 

• Estimated that 80% of our population consumes an insufficient quantity of essential fatty acids.

 

Cause of Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency

 

• Refinement of fats, oils and food containing them has eliminated the EFAs from our food chain.  Also an increase in the amount of unnatural fats and oils added to our diet in the form of trans fatty acids, partially hydrogenated oils.

 

• Consumption of natural unaltered essential fatty acids has decreased and consumption of refined fats and oils has increased.

 

• The refined and processed compounds inhibit the body's ability to use essential fatty acids it consumes.

 

• The essential fatty acids transform from life sustaining and health promoting in their natural state to life taking and deadly when processed.

 

• Factors contributing to deficiency are:

 

• Lack of availability of quality oils rich in essential fatty acids due to mass commercialization and refinement of fats and oil products.

 

• Transformation of healthful omega 3 and 6 oils into toxic compounds (hydrogenated and trans isomers)

 

• Metabolic competition of hydrogenated and trans fatty acids with the essential fatty acids.

 

Signs of Deficiency

 

• Symptoms are not as obvious and may very well go unnoticed

 

• Even if it was recognized few clinicians would know how to treat it.

 

• Symptoms are so vague and broad that they are written off as something else.

 

• Surveys suggest Americans are up to 90% deficient in essential fatty acids....we are obtaining only 10% of what we need for optimal health.

 

Signs

 

Fatigue, malaise, lackluster energy

Lack of endurance

Dry skin

Cracked nails

Dry, lifeless hair

Dry mucus membranes, tear ducts, mouth and vagina

Maldigestion, gas, bloating

Constipation

Immune weakness

Frequent colds and sickness

Aching, sore joints

Angina, chest pain

Depression

Lack of motivation

Forgetfulness

High blood pressure

History of cardiovascular disease

Arthritis

 

Important to balance consumption of oils....

 

Regulate the following

 

Inflammation, pain and swelling

Blood pressure

Heart function

Gastrointestinal function and secretion

Kidney function and fluid balance

Blood clotting and platelet aggregation

Allergic response

Inflammation

Nerve transmission

Steroid production and hormone synthesis.

 

Principal uses of supplementation

 

Acne

Aids

Allergies

Alzheimer's

Angina

Angioplasty

Arthritis

Atherosclerosis

Autoimmune diseases

Behavioral disorders

Breast cysts

Breast pain

Breast tenderness

Cancer

Cartilage destruction

Coronary bypass

Cystic fibrosis

Dementia

Dermatitis

Diabetes

E. coli infection

Eczema

Heart disease

Hyperactivity

Hypertension

Hypoxia

Ichthyoids

Immune disorders

Infant nutrition

Inflammatory conditions

Intestinal disorders

Kidney function

Learning

Leprosy

Leukemia

Lupus

Mastalgia

Menopause

Mental illness

Metastasis

Multiple Sclerosis

Myocardial infarction

Myopathy

Neurological disease

Obesity

Osteoarthritis

Post viral fatigue

Pregnancy malnutrition

Psoriasis

Refsum's syndrome

Reye's syndrome

Rheumatoid arthritis

Schizophrenia

Sepsis

Stroke

Vascular disease

Vision