Nutritional imbalances and chronic inflammation are more closely linked than they appear to be at first glance.
Chronic inflammation is the root of a wide range of problems including arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, heart diseases, stroke, psoriasis, asthma and eczema. Chronic inflammation is often caused when there is a deficiency of essential fatty acids in the body.
Omega 3 and Omega 6
Essential fatty acids are comprised of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. Both of these nutrients are required by the body for your metabolism rates to be satisfactory. The optimal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 for humans is 4:1.
However, improper diets have resulted in a 20:1 ratio of these fatty acids in the body. So it’s important to balance out this ratio to avoid any adverse effects on your health.
Before you take a step forward for balancing the essential fatty acids levels in your body, make sure you do your homework. This is important when it comes to anything that you change in your daily diet because even small changes can have a big impact on the body – so seek your health professionals advice too.
While omega 6 causes inflammation (and potentially chronic inflammation), omega 3 has anti-inflammatory properties. Mistaking the identity of one for the other can have dire consequences. Too much of omega 6 in the system causes your cells to become hyperactive and move in a frenzied fashion. When in this state, the cells collide and inflammation grows.
Calculating Fatty Acids In Your Diet
In the past, estimating the amount of omega 3 in the body was as simple as calculating the amount of meat, fish, walnut and flax seeds that were consumed.
However, modern times have altered these simple equations and made understanding nutritional balances much harder. With processed foods, and our polluted environments it has become almost impossible to safely and reliably consume as much omega 3 in our diet as the health experts are now recommending we need!
The Big Problem
For example, fish is one the best sources of omega 3 available to us. But only the larger cold water oily fish at the top of the food chain provide significant levels of omega 3. That would be fine except these tend to be the very fish that are suffering most from our polluted oceans.
Fish at the top of the food chain eat smaller fish, who eat smaller fish etc, right down to the fish that eat plankton and algae. This is the mechanism in nature that concentrates high levels of omega 3 in those bigger fish.
Unfortunately that same mechanism is now also concentrating toxic metals such as mercury in our fish supplies. Which is exactly why the Government say we should not eat more than 2 portions of this kind of fish in a week!
Polluted Oceans
It is truly sad that have let our oceans become polluted. Organisations like Greenpeace are doing their best to try and reverse the damage. But the danger to our health is already real. The dangers of toxins in our fish is recognised by Governments all over the world. There have even been cases of mercury in fish oil capsules, which gives a swift answer to are all fish oil tablets the same.
So What Can You Do?
Fish oil capsules are still the simplest solution to a lack of omega 3 in your diet. And studies have shown there is a very real connection between omega 3, nutritional imbalances and chronic inflammation.
But you just need to buy carefully. Only choose brands that are transparent about what you are buying. Look for fish oil capsules with a high DHA quantity, and make sure they are very clear about the filtering they do on the oils they use.
Companies such as Extend Life fish oil start with fish from cleaner oceans anyway, but then go on to use a molecular filtering process to ensure there are no traceable pollutants at all. If your supplier doesn’t shout about this, then be concerned.
After all, we’re trying to improve our health here not increase the amount of toxins our bodies have to endure!