Essential fatty acids (EFAs) serve crucial functions in growth and development and are required for the maintenance of every cell in your body. EFAs transport oxygen from your lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the oxygen to every cell in your body. EFAs also transport the oxygen from your bloodstream through the cell walls into the cells.
Your body cannot synthesize essential fatty acids, so you depend on the food you ingest to obtain the essential fatty acids your body needs. There are two kinds of EFAs, omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Although you need to get both, ideally on a ratio of about three omega-6 fatty acids for every one omega-6 fatty acid, most Americans tend to get between 10 to 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids, according to the website AnnCollins.com. In other words, most Americans tend to lack omega-3 fatty acids in their diet. The following foods can provide the essential fatty acids your body requires.
Seafood
Many types of fish and seafood are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Deep-water fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel burst with omega-3 and are low in omega-6. Anchovies, sardines, cod, halibut, herring, mullet and trout also are rich in omega-3. Other pleasures from the sea that are high in omega-3s include shrimp, Alaskan king crab and mollusks.
Fresh Fruit
A few fruit are high in omega-3 fatty acids, including cantaloupe, acai berries and papaya. Among the fruit you can find easily on your grocer's shelves, both cantaloupe and papaya have more omega-3 than omega-6 acids, but papaya has a ratio of over four to one in favor of omega-3 acids, according to Self Nutrition Data, helping to restore the imbalance that most Westerners have.
Vegetables
Several vegetables serve as reasonable sources of omega-3 acids. Dark green vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, spinach and seaweed, increase your omega-3 acids when eaten routinely. Other green vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, grape leaves, Chinese cabbage, parsley and spring greens also provide omega-3 acids. Cauliflower and winter squash aren't green, but they still enhance your EFA balance.
Oils
Not all oils are created equal. The primary source of omega-6 fatty acids in Western diets come from nuts and seeds, oils extracted from nuts and seeds, and vegetable oil, according to health and nutrition expert, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. Dr. Weil reports that soybean oil has so inundated the diet through its use in fast foods, snack foods, crackers, cookies and sweets that it now accounts for 20 percent of the calories in Americans' diet.
On the other hand, flax oil and olive oil provide significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Olive oil adds a wonderful, nutty flavor to your cooking, and unlike many other cooking oils, enhances your heart health. One study, reported at DrSears.com, found that children who ate a half teaspoon of flax oil every day had fewer missed school days and fewer, less severe respiratory infections. Dr. Sears suggests that one way to enhance omega-3 intake is to mix in 1 to 3 teaspoons of flax oil into a yogurt and fruit smoothie.
Seeds and Nuts
Flax seeds and pumpkin seeds add crunch to your salad or munch well as a snack plus they punch up your omega-3s. Whether you eat them as a snack or garnish your salad, walnuts increase your omega-3s. Other nuts, such as hazelnuts, cashews, almonds and Brazils, provide omega-6 fatty acids but only trace amounts of omega-3 acid, according to AnnCollins.com.
Legumes
Legumes such as pinto, kidney and mungo beans provide essential fatty acids in a favorable omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, especially when you use dried rather than canned beans.
Member Comments