Getting the right fat is essential to good health. But in today’s world, that’s getting harder and harder. Foods that claim to be high in healthy omega-3s often fall short of the mark. I’ve recently learned that even fish are not immune to this modern trend.
In today’s Health Alert, I’ll show you how to get more good fats into your diet. You’ll also find out why the over consumption of omega-6 fat is getting worse.
Where Does Your Salmon Come From?
Omega-6 fats are not inherently bad. It is unhealthy to eat them in the wrong amounts. For good health, you need the right ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s. In the days of our ancestors, we ate foods that had a ratio of about 2 to 1. Modern meat from animals raised on wheat, corn and soy has twenty times the omega-6s you need. Without the omega-3s to balance things out, the excess omega-6s stimulate the inflammatory pathways in your body. Inflammation, not cholesterol, is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke.
Thousands of years ago, man thrived on red meat. Our metabolisms perfectly complement this natural protein and fat ratio. So why are those same foods making us sick today?
Animal husbandry practices are producing sick animals. Cattle do not eat grains naturally. Every day an animal spends on a feedlot, the fewer omega-3s its meat will contain. This type of unhealthy diet creates an imbalance of essential fatty acids. The result is meat that has all of the bad fats and little – or none – of the good.
When humans eat diseased animals on a regular basis, we too become sick.
Now we are learning that the same process holds true for fish. Fish farming provides fish for millions of consumers, but once again, we’re sacrificing quality for quantity. Deprived of their natural environment, salmon raised on fish farms eat commercial feed – much like cattle. This feed contains grains like wheat and corn and soy. As you might guess, these grains drive up their omega-6 levels.
Because these salmon are unable to eat their natural diet (smaller forage fish, algae and seaweed) their levels of omega-3s are much lower than naturally eating fish.
Eat the Right Meat and Fish
Giving up meat – or fish – is not the answer. Red meat and fish are the original health foods. They are still the best source for many important and hard to come by nutrients.
These include:
1.) Balanced Amino Acid Proteins
2.) Omega-3 Fatty Acids
3.) Absorbable Iron
4.) Coenzyme Q10
5.) Vitamin B-12
6.) Carnitine
7.) Conjugated Linoleic Acid, (CLA)
If you want to avoid high levels of omega-6s in your fish eat wild seafood. Wild fish caught in Alaskan waters are one of the best sources of omega-3s on the planet. It’s one of the few places on earth that still has unpolluted protein and fat.
You’ll do more than just prevent heart disease. My patients who eat grass-fed beef and Alaskan seafood gain muscle and lose fat. That’s right. High quality meat actually helps you bulk up muscle and trim down body fat. Many top body-builders already know this.
This new distortion of the fats in farm raised fish is disturbing. Yet I take it as more evidence that a sound foundation for good health starts with figuring out what your natural environment was – then mimic changing it back.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
P.S. – In your next Health Alert, I’ll give you a new system for finding and rating anti-inflammatory foods. Stay tuned…