Healthy Fats

Did you know that your brain is 60% fat and for it to work properly it really does matter what kind of fuel that you feed it. Today I would like to concentrate on the healthy unsaturated fats that your body needs to function and I’ll explain how to incorporate these fats into your diet.

The body can make saturated fats and cholesterol and can also make its own monounsaturated fats in the form of omegas 7's and 9's. However the body cannot make polyunsaturated fats omega-3 and omega-6 and they are considered essential and therefore must be obtained from the diet in the correct balance.

All cell membranes contain omega 3 and omega 6 fats for their normal structure and function but these are especially concentrated in brain and nerve cells.

There are both long chain and short chain omega 3 and omega 6 fats and it's long-chain ones that are biologically essential particularly for healthy brain function. However it is the short-chain omega 3's and 6's that are usually essential for the diet. This is because the body is capable of converting them into long-chain forms. However in practice this can be limited due to genetics, diet and lifestyle. Typically modern diets are high in omega 6 - vegetable oils, meat, eggs and dairy and seriously low in omega 3, particularly the long chain forms. Fish and seafood are the main sources of omega 3's.

Research has shown that low blood levels of omega 3, which directly reflect the diet, is linked to poor health. Higher intakes of omega 3's play a key role in brain and body health.

Here are three ways to increase omega 3's

1. For snacks choose fresh oily nuts and seeds that are rich in omega 3's such as walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds. And choose raw nuts over roasted ones as high temperatures used for roasting can destroy the delicate long chain omega 3's fats.

2. Choose oily fish such as salmon or mackerel over cod or prawns as the oily fish contain more omega 3's.

3. Use cold pressed oil such as walnut or flaxseed for salad dressing instead of pre-prepared salad dressing or sunflower oil as these are rich in omega 3's and have a mild taste.

Hope you found this interesting and useful!