Taking Essential Fatty Acids to Lose Weight
The Need for Essential Fatty Acids
Your body needs essential fatty acids (EFAs) so that you
can lose weight and keep it off. They help with many
metabolic processes in the body:
- Hormone production.
- Brain function, including regulating brain neurotransmitters
that give you healthy moods and higher energy.
- Regulating
the transport of oxygen and energy through your body.
- Forming
new cells, particularly in the nervous system.
- Increasing
your body’s fat-burning metabolic rate.
- Improving
skin and hair.
- Helping
reduce high blood pressure.
- Helping
lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Our Bodies Need an EFA Boost
The Essential Fatty Acids that are missing from our daily
food intake are the omega-3s. Omega-3s consist of
docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and alpha-linolenic
acids. The first two are considered to be the most important
omega-3s and are found only in deep-water fish like salmon.
Alpha-linolenic acid is found in deep-water fish, emu, fish
oil, and some vegetable-based oils, including flaxseed and
walnut oil.
Supplements Can Make-Up for Lack of Omega-3s in Your
Diet
Obtain your daily helping of omega-3s by taking fish oil,
either in capsules (5 capsules per day) or liquid (1-2 TB).
Liquid fish oil naturally contains vitamins A and D, which
is great - vitamin D is helpful in preventing chronic health
disorders.
Vegetable-based essential fatty acids, such as flax seed oil,
don’t supply DHA or EPA and you need these two fatty acids most.
Other Essential Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fatty acids consist of linoleic and gamma-linolenic
acids. They are found in raw nuts, seeds, and legumes and in
such unsaturated oils as borage, grape seed, primrose,
sesame, and soybean. The omega-6 fatty acids in these oils
are destroyed when heated, so they should be consumed in an
uncooked and unprocessed form. You eat plenty of these in
processed foods, so you don’t need to supplement these.