January 2011

Essential Fatty Acids: Essential To Losing Weight?
Essential Fatty Acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that our body cannot produce by itself, but which are very important to supplement our diet. It might sound weird that our body benefits from something that it doesn’t produce by itself, but that is certainly the case with essential fatty acids. Most importantly essential fatty acids have been shown to improve the metabolic processes. There is also strong evidence to suggest that low levels of essential fatty acids, as well as unhealthy ratios of EFAs, could very well be a large factor in illness, including but not limited to osteoporosis.
This being said, and as strange as it may sound, it is very important to eat the right kinds of fats to lose weight! Many people still think that you need to have a fat free diet to lose weight, but this is only partly true. The real trick is to eat the correct ratio and the correct type of fats. If you do this, losing weight will never be easier! So, lesson one, all fats and not created equal! Lesson two, all fats aren’t bad for your diet! Choose wisely.
You should know that there are definitely some fats that you need to stay away from. These bad fats include hydrogenated, oxidized, fried or heat-processed fats. These are typically found in vegetable shortening, margarine, and of course fried foods. All of the aforementioned foods have been inextricably linked to heart disease, cancer, and premature aging. Don’t worry though, there are good fats too! These good fats are essential fatty acids. EFAs are used to promote weight loss, improve cardiovascular health, immune health, reproductive health, and even skin health. What a great fat!
Many of these good fats can be found in yummy foods such as flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, fish oils, as well as avocados. These foods also help to keep your blood sugar levels stable, which in turn helps your body feel fuller longer. What this means is that you get fuller faster, all with eating less. They’re like the natural preventer from overeating. Likewise, the aforementioned foods can also help burn unwanted fat instead of storing it. So basically you get a natural fat burner coupled with a overeating preventer. So the best thing to remember is that some fats are good for you body, others are not. To learn the difference between the two is one of the most effective and beneficial things that you can do when you want to lose weight. Keep reading!
It’s no mystery that Americans are overweight. In fact there are some numbers that suggest that over 50% of Americans fall into the overweight category. Interestingly, and as strange as it may sound, the people that are overweight actually suffer from a fat deficiency! The types of fats that these people could be benefiting from are none other than essential fatty acids. EFAs are completely necessary to your body’s biochemical processes. The reason for this is because without them your body senses that it is without food, and as a result converts more carbohydrates into fat, essentially making your body a fat-making machine.
Many also believe that a lack of essential fatty acids may lead to many other health concerns such as arthritis, diabetes, skin disorders, PMS, breast cancer, fatigue, yeast problems, allergies, depression as well as mood swings.
However if you supplement your diet with essential fatty acids, you have so many health benefits to look forward to. Your hair will look better, your nails will look better, and even conditions such as psoriasis and eczema can be healed with the proper use of essential fatty acids.
For more information on essential fatty acids, please visit Top Form Healthy Fatty Acids.