Alzheimer’s concerns grow

September 25, 2009 · Filed under fat is good for you, General, Nutrition, Omega 3 · Tagged essential fatty acids, grass fed meat, hydrogenated fats, Omega 3, trans fats

 

There is plenty in the news at present about the risks of various forms of dementia to an already ageing population. The number of people with dementia in the world is going to double every 20 years. There are obvious concerns about who is going to pay for this NHS care in the future and how to reduce the instances of dementia in the future.

Many studies now point to Omega 3’s being vital in reducing the risk of dementia, some studies into Alzheimer’s show upto a 70% reduction in risk for people who regularly eat oily fish.

As a result there has been a major campaign to promote Omega 3’s in our diet (you may have noticed). However, are we asking the right questions? Why not address the behaviour that is causing this imbalance in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids – not to mention many other essential fatty acids for so many people – THEY’RE CALLED ESSENTIAL FOR A REASON.

So what is the cause of this imbalance?

I blogged here about how the focus is always on adjusting for the imbalance rather than to remedy the cause.

Fresh fruit, veg and grass have a certain balance of Essential Fatty Acids so it makes sense for the herbivores that eat them to make use of these. In fact every cell in the animals body is made up of this particular balance of Fatty Acids.

Since we Humans also eat the herbivores and the fruit and veg, it is no surprise that we have evolved to rely on this balance of fatty acids as building blocks to EVERY CELL in the body – thats brain cells, muscles, everything.

So what happens when you remove the cattle and sheep from the grass, fatten them in a barn on corn concentrates giving an imbalance in their fatty acids which is passed on to us when we eat them?

What happens when you replace the perfect balance of fatty acids with hydrogenated trans fats?

What happens? Every new cell in your body  – Thats muscles, Brain Cells everything, starts to be built out of lard instead of natural fatty acids.

Is it a surprise that this causes problems?

So the big question is why doesn’t the Govt. push for grass-fed meat? Why does it seem reluctant to catch the problem before it manifests?

I think the simple reason is that we can’t produce enough grass-fed meat for everyone so it is politically difficult. However, I wouldn’t wait for the politicians to sort things out before addressing your essential nutritional needs.

MDAL