12 Steps to Whole Foods

Avoiding Bad Fats, Enjoying Good Fats
In addition to flax, foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids also include walnuts, pumpkin and sesame seeds,
avocados, and leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collards. Eating these foods may be even better than eating
oil, because their nutrition will be utilized by the body throughout the day, absorption being slowed by the fiber
in the seeds. Uses for pumpkin and sesame seeds are found in Chapter 7 (page 199) and Chapter 10 (page 275).
Shouldn’t I Be Eating Fish Oil?
Fish oil enjoyed a lot of attention for about 10 years and has been considered to be a great way to prevent heart
disease. Fish oils are rich in Essential Fatty Acids, and many people think they are the best source. That’s
because most of the research on EFAs focused on the fish oils for many years. More recent studies show no
difference in heart disease between people who take fish oil and people who don’t. And Harvard-educated
M.D. Donald Rudin says that his own research yielded better results with flaxseed oil. 1
Furthermore, fish oil has risks associated with it. First, one
study shows that you could drink lake water for 100 years and
not get as much deadly PCBs as you could get from eating half
a pound of fish from that lake. 2 Relying on eating fish itself can
be problematic because some of the EFAs (linoleic acids) are
destroyed in cooking.
Also, fish oil is often rancid in the capsules. Try cutting one
open, if you have some—it will not likely taste fresh, and may
very likely taste horrible. And many people burp the fish taste
up for hours afterward, a sign of poor digestibility and possibly
rancidity.
Unlike fish oil, flax is a whole-plant food packaged with lots of fiber and other virtues—not least of which is
the fact that it’s much less expensive than fish oil. In fact, I believe flax seed to be potentially the most
nutritious food on the planet, with such a rare, full array of merits. You do not need to eat much of it: 1-2 Tbsp.
daily is plenty.
Flax is high in Omega-3 EPA but does not have as much Omega-3 DHA as fish oil does. However, you should
consider several factors along with that information. First, you need very little DHA. Second, your body stores
and recycles it rather effectively. Third, if you would like to supplement with DHA, you can get it
inexpensively from plant sources in tablet form at your health food store.
98 12 Steps to Whole Foods
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw