"Fatty Acids" for "Weight Loss"

So the question for today is this . . . do you think that "all" fats are alike and the enemy to losing weight???

Well . . . let's take today to figure out the answer to this important question.

Okay . . . so first . . . what are "fatty acids" anyway and why are they important???

Well . . . "fatty acids" are the building blocks of the "fat" in our body and in the food we eat.

You see . . . during digestion . . . the body breaks down "fats" into "fatty acids" which can then be absorbed into the bloodstream. And these "fatty acids" are joined together in groups of three forming what we know as . . . "triglycerides".

And "triglycerides" are the primary form of "dietary fat" found in the body. With most containing "saturated", "polyunsaturated" and "monounsaturated" fats.

Now . . . "essential" fatty acids cannot be produced in the body in the amounts that are needed for optimal health. Therefore . . . they must be obtained through our diet. And the 2 fatty acids we're going to talk about today are classified as "omega-3" and "omega-6" fatty acids.

Now . . . a healthy ratio of "omega-6 to omega-3" would be 1-to-1 and to give the average adult some wiggle room . . . it could go as high as 4-to-1.

But . . . guess where this Western diet puts up???

In a ratio of 17-to-1. This meaning we consume about 17 times more "omega-6's" than we do "omega-3's". Not good . . .

Why???

Because . . . too many "omega -6's can cause excess "inflammation" in the body, raising the risk of various diseases including weight gain.

So you can clearly see . . . maintaining the correct ratio of "essential fatty acids" is important to optimal health

But . . . what about losing weight???

How does it affect that process???

Okay people . . . listen up . . . by adding more of the "correct" "essential" fatty acids . . . meaning omega'3s to our diet in the correct ratio . . . the body has the ability to go "longer" periods of time between meals, "which will further support "burning fat" and weight loss. And this happens because we are now "forcing" the body to use fat for fuel during this time period.

Now . . . we get our dietary omega-6's (more than we need) from the saturated fats in our Western diet . . . but our omega-3's must come from consuming a compliant "oily fish" such as salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, mussels and trout. Or from a compliant "fish oil" supplement.

And why is this important???

Well . . . omega-3 fatty acids . . . "reduce" inflammation and "decrease" heart disease risks.

And . . . can help you "lose" body fat!!!

How you ask???

Well . . . "omega-3's" increase the body's "metabolism". And as we know . . . our metabolism measures our metabolic rate which determines the number of calories the body burns each day. The higher the metabolic rate . . . the more calories the body burns and the easier it is to lose weight and "keep" it off.

So let's concentrate on getting the correct ratio of "fatty acids" to lose the pounds.

Tomorrow we'll talk about "simple" carbohydrates.

As always, feel free to contact me here