Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko & A. William Menzin M.D. (Foreword)

Author:Victoria Boutenko & A. William Menzin M.D. (Foreword) [Victoria Boutenko]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nutrition, Beverages, Health & Fitness, Diets, Medical, Cooking, Natural Foods, General, Specific Ingredients, Health & Healing, Vegetarian & Vegan, Raw foods, Smoothies (Beverages)
ISBN: 9781556439308
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2010-10-05T06:00:00+00:00

16

Greens: The Original Source of Omega-3s

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

—ALBERT EINSTEIN

What is one of the most striking differences between a hummingbird and a hibernating bear? Their metabolism. One animal moves extremely fast and the other is extremely slow, largely due to differences in the composition of fat in their bodies. According to recent scientific research on factors affecting metabolism, “the fats of high-speed animals such as the hummingbird are loaded with the omega-3 fatty acids.”1 In contrast, bears have to accumulate a lot of omega-6 fatty acids in their fat before they can go into hibernation.* Omega-3s and omega-6s are seemingly alike substances and are even united under one name: essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, there are major differences between them.

The omega-3 molecule is unique in its ability to rapidly change its shape. This exceptional flexibility is passed to organs that absorb it. Omega-3s thin the blood of humans and animals as well as the sap of plants. As a result of these qualities, omega-3s are utilized by the fastest-functioning organs in the body. For example, omega-3s enable our hearts to beat properly, our blood to flow freely, our eyes to see, and our brains to make decisions faster and more clearly.

The omega-6 fatty acids, on the other hand, serve the opposite function: they thicken the blood of humans and animals as well as the juices of plants. Omega-6s solidify and cause inflammation of the tissues. Some scientists link an excess of omega-6s in the human diet with such conditions as heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, menstrual cramps, diabetes, headaches, and tumor metastases.2

After I first heard about the significance of omega-3s in the human diet, I began searching for more information and read everything I could possibly find on the subject. The Queen of Fats, a book written by Susan Allport in 2006, has been particularly useful to me; it contains a wealth of reference material, most of which I was able to find online and research further.

According to Allport,3 there are numerous studies looking into the role that omega-6 fats play in the promotion of certain cancers, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer, and exploring the benefits of omega-3s in treating psychological disorders such as depression and postpartum depression, attention deficit disorder, and bipolar disorder. A growing number of diseases are being associated with an imbalance of the essential fats; not just heart disease, cancer, depression, immune disorders, and arthritis but obesity and diabetes as well.

For many decades, nutritionists have been linking obesity to the overconsumption of foods high in fat, particularly in saturated fat. Since then, many people have been trying to reduce the percentage of fat in their diet. From 1955 to 1995, Americans reduced fat consumption from 40 percent of their total calorie intake to 35 percent. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), while Americans decreased their consumption of saturated fats, they increased their consumption of salad and cooking oils from 9.8 pounds per person in 1955 to 35.2 pounds per person in 2000.

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