Essential Fatty Acid Facts Everyone Needs To Know

There have been thousands of studies that reveal the importance of having essential fats in our diets. A lot of people think "FAT" oh no! Please let me explain.
I personally had the extreme anguish of watching my daughter go through 4 years of an eating disorder where at 70 lbs and 14 years of age, she was tormented by the thought of fats. It's much too long of a story to delve into here but the end of the story is that she has fully recovered, has been at her goal weight and above for over a year now.

During this time I learned that fats make up over 30% of our brain. That without fats we positively cannot live. Ok, so in western industrialized nations, we have overdone it a bit. We have, for the last 80 years, used the wrong kinds of fats in our diets, in our baking, in our cooking. Fast foods are economical, quick, easy, tasty but "bad", sorry to say.

If you can stay away from pastries topped with sugary icing, dough nuts, deep fried foods, McDs, BK, stay away from trans fats and learn to consume Omega-3s in sufficient quantity then you are making a dynamic shift that can completely alter your life, extend your life and improve your chances for meaningful contribution while you grace the earth.

Curb Cravings With Essential Fatty Acids

Society has finally gotten over the "fat free" craze and realized that fats are important to human development.

In fact, there are certain fats called "Essential Fatty Acids" that play an important role in your body's functioning. These fats are so important that you should take extra steps to get them into your daily diet. These essential fats are found in polyunsaturated fats.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are necessary fats that your body can't make on its own. They must be part of your diet. You may have heard of Omega-9s. These are not "essential" like the Omega-3 and Omega-6, and are thought of as "good" fatty acids.

Benefits of Essential Fatty Acids
EFAs help support your cardiovascular, reproductive, immune and nervous systems. You need them to help manufacture and repair cell membranes. They help your cells get the most out of the foods that you eat and get rid of the chemicals and toxins that are in your body.

What Foods Contain Omega-3s?
Omega-3 is also known as Alpha-Linolenic Acid (LNA).

Omega-3 is found in oily fish, such as salmon, herring, sardines, trout, tuna, and rainbow trout.

Other sources include canola oil, flaxseeds, and hempseeds.

You can also find Omega-3 EFAs in dark green vegetables like broccoli, kale, seaweed and spinach.

What Foods Contain Omega-6s?
Omega-6 is also known as Linoleic Acid (LA).
Omega-6 is found in safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, sesame oil, hemp oil, pumpkin oil, soybean oil and walnut oil.

Boost Your Immune System And Stay Healthy

Your immune system is your guard against diseases and infections. A person with a weakened immune system is an easy pray for various infections and diseases which will not only catch the person easily but will take more time and efforts than a person with strong immune system to cure.

Therefore it is really necessary to take care of your body immune system in order to stay healthy and away from diseases. In general, this system is a synchronized network of cells and other organs that work together to defend and protect you against various diseases and infections.

To fight off the diseases and infections of all kinds, a strong immune is the key. If you are experiencing a weakened immune system, which is exposing you to these threats, then it is time to boost it as it is the only way to stay healthy. There are many reasons that cause a weak immune.

The major of them are due to stressed routines and lack of a healthy and balanced diet. The others can be hereditary but all of them are vital in deciding your health in general.

There are many symptoms like fatigue, lethargy, repeated infections, slow wound healing, allergies, thrush, colds, and flu are important symptoms that the body's immune mechanism is functioning below par.

So what is essential for immune boost and to stay healthy? There are many ways and methods to boost your weakened immune mechanisms. The task of boosting it starts with a disciplined and proper routine. Exercises and workout helps a lot in regaining your lost immune.

Omega-6 May Be In Our Diets In Excess

Because so much oil is used in the North American diet - you may have an excess of Omega-6 in your diet. The ideal ratio of EFA Omega-3 to Omega-6 is 3:1. In other words, you should have 3 times as much Omega-3 as Omega-6.

Most people actually need to reduce their Omega-6 and increase their Omega-3 intake.
In all cases, you should keep your fat (and even Essential Fatty Acids) - to less than 25% of your daily dietary intake.

Omega-3 and Weight Loss
Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial because of the role they play in weight loss.

They help regulate your blood sugar levels, and help with cravings and excess hunger. This could contribute to lowering your risk of diabetes and obesity.

A recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed a link between Omega 3 fish oil and the number of calories burned in a day. The study compared the calories burned by a control group versus the calories burned by test subjects who received 1.8 grams of fish oil supplements per day.

The results showed that the test group burned 26% more calories each day. The researchers also found that the group that took the supplements experienced 50% lower insulin levels. Not only were they burning more calories, but also their bodies were producing less fat due to the fish oil. Insulin increases the activity of enzymes that store fat. Less insulin means less fat storing activity and less weight gained.

Omega-3 Supplements
Taking Omega-3 fish oil capsules is a great way to get the benefits of fish oil without eating fish. You can also use one tablespoon per day of flaxseed oil to get your daily dose of Omega-3. Adult men need roughly 1600 mg of Omega 3 fatty acids per day. Women need at least 1100 mg per day. If you're a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding, you should increase your daily intake to 1500 mg.

While excess consumption of other types of fat can lead to obesity, heart disease and high cholesterol, essential fatty acids like Omega 3 and Omega 6 can improve your health and well being.

Complete Essential Fatty Acids

To compliment that, the diet should be proper and balanced to give you all the vital elements which are beneficial for the immune. Stress should be avoided as it eats out your immune exposing you to many infections and diseases. If you are facing certain problems due to your immune it is better to consult your physician and get the proper medication.

A weakened immune is not only healed by medication but is a significant process that requires consistent efforts so as to maintain as well. To boost the immune system there are many immune supplements, foods and vitamins which will keep your immune strong to fight against diseases and other infections. There are various supplements, foods and vitamins which boost our immune systems.

Vitamin C is believed to be one such supplement that increases our immune to infections. Vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and increases levels of interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces, preventing the entry of viruses.

Vitamin E is also an antioxidant and immune booster, which should be taken regularly. Beta-carotene increases the number of infection-fighting cells, natural killer cells, and helper T-cells, and also is a powerful antioxidant that cleans up excess free radicals that accelerate aging. It also helps a lot to boost your immune system by supplementing your diet with bioflavonoid, zinc, garlic, selenium, and omega3 fatty acids.

What If Your Immune System Stops Working?

Immunodeficiency disorders happen when one or more components of your immune system are missing or when the system is not working as supposed to be. Defects in one's immune system can be congenital or acquired. Either way, having problems with the immune system permits harmful microorganisms to easily penetrate the body's defenses and make anyone suffer various diseases.

Congenital Or Primary Type
If you are born with deficiencies in your immune system, you are said to be suffering from primary immunodeficiency. If you have the primary type of this disease, you may not be able to enjoy life like other people do. Your predisposition to contract all sorts of contagious diseases may start in your childhood days or it may not make its presence known until later in life. The following are two of the most common examples of inborn immunodeficiency disorder.

IgA Deficiency
IgA refers to your Immunoglobulin A which is basically a group of antibodies that are mainly found in your respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. These antibodies are largely in the form of fluids secreted in the areas mentioned and are often described as your body's first line of defense against harmful invaders. You can also find these antibodies in your saliva and the tears in your eyes.

For people who have IgA deficiency, the body is not producing adequate amounts of this particular class of antibodies. Meaning, all harmful microorganisms may be allowed to enter your body with less or no opposition at all. Having this disorder will make you prone to most allergies, cold viruses, and other infections in the respiratory tract.

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Also known as SCID, this immune system disorder is defined by a severe defect in the body's production of T-cells. Your T-cells, basically, may be thought of as the Marines of your whole defense system; T-cells do not just provide a defensive wall but they are the elite fighting units that actually attack unwanted intruders in your body. Now, you can just imagine what will happen if your body has only a few of these soldiers; it will be totally impossible for your body to keep off infections.

A classic case of SCID has been experienced by a young boy in Texas who tried to live inside a sterilized plastic bubble to prevent microorganisms from getting inside his body. This boy even became a stuff of medical legend and has been known as the Bubble Boy, which later on paved the way for this disease to be referred to as the bubble boy disease.

Acquired Or Secondary Type
Most are born without any defects in their immune system. However, factors like malnutrition, severe infections or nasty side-effects from some medication may cause disorders in some people that can weaken the body's immune system. This type of immunodeficiency may include the following.

Immune Disorders Caused By Medication

Sometimes, secondary immune system disorders may be brought about by some medical treatments. Take the case of chemotherapy in patients with cancer; this process is known to wipe out not just cancerous cells, but healthy immune cells as well. Also, people who have undergone organ transplants need to take medicines that are designed to suppress the body's resistance against the new organ; which can only mean withholding immune cells from performing their functions.

Indeed, the health of your immune system is very important for your own survival. So never take it for granted. To boost your body's disease-fighting capabilities, you can take supplements like Immunitril. Visit www.immunitril.com for more details.