The following article is from guest writer Ian N from nutritionalsupplementshq
There’s a good chance that either you, or someone you know has suffered from chronic inflammation. It’s one of the natural ways your body fights off germs, toxins, stress and all that other bad stuff that we have to go endure. If you thought that was bad, it gets worse!
Inflammation can have serious effects on your body. The big three: cancer, heart disease and diabetes, have all been linked to high levels of inflammation in the body. When you add in Alzheimer’s, and a whole host of other degenerative diseases, you can see that inflammation sucks! Big time.
Why so many people have high levels of inflammation
There are tons of factors and causes that lead to inflammation, but the big one, the one that seems to slip beneath the radar, is….
Vegetable oil!
People consume vegetable oil like it’s going out of fashion. It’s a wonder people don’t drink it straight from the bottle! It’s used in almost all fried, fast foods and people cook their dinner with it on an almost religious basis. From crisco and sunflower oil to canola oil and soybean oil, this silent killer is jam packed full of inflammation causing omega-6.
These oils are so far removed from the vegetables that they don’t deserve to wear the name. Just how much oil is there in a sunflower? Not a whole heck of a lot. When compared to the glorious olive – chocked full of enriching oil – it’s a no-brainer. Or so you’d think.
How to lower your inflammation and feel great
Did you know that the optimum omega-3 to omega-5 ratio is about 1:1? And what do you think the ratio is for the average American?
If you said 1:30 (which isn’t likely) then you’d be bang on the money! It’s no wonder heart disease, diabetes and cancer numbers rise every year with the amount of junk we eat. So what can you do about it?
First of all you can stop using vegetable oils to cook with. To ease the transition into healthier eating I’d recommend organic extra virgin olive oil as a fantastic replacement. Far more nutritious, less omega 6 (replaced instead with the more neutral omega 9) and just generally better for you. If you’re feeling exotic and adventurous then you might want to experiment with my oil of choice – coconut oil. It’s very low in omega 6, has incredible stability at high temperatures, and just tastes great too!
The other way many people like to reduce the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio is through fish oil supplements. Without boring you with the details, they tend to be way cheaper than eating fish every day (although if you can afford it, nothing beats a fresh, organic salmon steak), quicker and easier to consume, and they contain the exact right amount of the essential fatty acids to significantly lower your inflammation.
In short, the omega 3 in fish oil capsules is one of the very best ways to lower the ratio and you will feel the benefits very quickly – due to all that nasty inflammation fading away into a distant memory!
If you’ve got any questions on omega-3, 6 or 9, eating healthier or fish oil sources and so on, please drop me a note in the comments and I’ll be happy to elaborate further.
About the author
Ian N is a fish oil aficionado that could talk the hind legs off a donkey when he gets into a discussion about the benefits of fish oil and other natural health supplements. He also hates doctors, prescribed drugs and talking about himself in the third person!
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