Disclaimer

Manufactured vegetable seed oils are full of omega 6's. These include canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, soy, vegetable and cotton seed oils. Too much omega 6 in the diet will lead to inflammation in the body which leads to a host of diseases and wreaks havoc on the blood vessels of the heart. Take a look at the ingredient label for the items you eat throughout the day, and you will see these oils listed. They are in everything. Omega 6's are good for us and we need them, however, we are getting entirely too much, and largely from these manufactured oils. Eating food that has omega 6 in it naturally, allows for a more balanced amount in our diet. Another reason to avoid these seed oils is that the fats in them are oxidized and this isn't good for our health.

 Just how much do we need in our diet? Experts aren't exactly on the same page for the exact ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 we need daily, but generally say we need to have a ratio somewhere around  2:1 to 4:1.  Americans are eating a ratio as high as 30:1 Way too much! 

When using oils, go for these Omega 3 winners: olive, coconut and avocado oils.  For more information, watch Dr. Ekberg's video below.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Eating a diet high in processed or refined carbohydrates, which would include grains, breads, cereals, rice, pastas and pastries needs to go! Not only are these foods highly processed, but they are full of added sugars and lack fiber. A diet high in processed carbs causes inflammation in the body.

We need carbohydrates but let's strive to get them from natural sources like fruits and vegetables as they come perfectly balanced with just the right amount of fiber.  

Eat your fruit and vegetables whole, don't juice them. Juicing pulverizes the fiber breaking down the cell wall. Eating them whole keeps the fiber intact and helps to control insulin spikes in the body. High insulin levels from a high carb diet not only leads to inflammation but it raises our triglyceride levels and lowers our good HDL level, another factor in cardiovascular diesease. 

Fats, particularly saturated fats, have long gotten the short end of the stick largely due to Ancel Keys' Seven Country Study in the 50's. However, cherry-picking the data allowed Keys to make wrong assumptions for heart disease. Correlation is not causation. Do we say fire fighters are the cause of fires just because we see them at fires? Of course not. Even more unsettling, the study was taken from the Food and Agriculture Organization balance sheets based on food availability and not food actually eaten. Today, more cardiologists and other physicians are speaking out against this study as well as the untold truth from the Framingham Study regarding cholesterol and its relationship or lack thereof to heart disease. We need fats in our diet for hormonal regulation, to absorb our fat soluble vitamins and for cell structure.

Strive to eat saturated, unsaturated, and natural sources of polyunsaturated fats. Avoid trans-fats like the plague! 

Know your triglyceride to HDL ratio. This is where the latest research is leading the health experts regarding cardiovascular health. Having a high triglyceride level with a low HDL level can put you at risk of a cardiovascular event. High triglycerides come from a diet full of sugars, fructose  and refined carbohydrates. Low HDL levels are a result of excess weight, not enough exercise, refined carbs and smoking. One can get a good Trig:HDL ratio by exercising, eating healthy non-manufactured oils, increasing omega 3 intake, reducing refined carbohydrate intake, losing excess weight and if you smoke, stop. To know your ratio, divide the triglyceride number by the HDL number. You want a ratio of 2:1. 

Dr. Jamnadas is a cardiovascular surgeon in Orlando, FL. He has a series of lectures on heart disease and foods that are killing us located on his website orlandocvi.com. Here is his lecture called "The Fat Lies" that is on youtube.

Dr. Nadir Ali is a cardiovascular surgeon in Webster, Texas. His channel on youtube, Eat Mostly Fats, is full of information. Here is a link to his talk "Regulation of Cholesterol in Humans."

What is fat toxicity? Should you just roll out the fat carpet if you are in this category? Listen to this lecture by Dr. Ali to find out. Then discuss with your physician how to reverse your metabolic syndrome.

Watch Dr. Ekberg's video The Top 10 Cooking Oils, The Good, Bad, and Toxic!