Health and Fitness

Some fats are good for you

Essential fatty acids are unsaturated fats that can not be constructed within the body and need to be obtained via your diet. They are one of the most vital nutrients, required for the normal growth and functioning of nerves, cells, muscles and organs of your body. The EFAs are required as raw materials for a number of compounds and hormones like prostaglandins and leukotrienes that help in many important functions of your body. Dietary deficiency of EFAs causes major health problems like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer.

Depending on the chemical composition there are two classes of EFAs, the omega-3 fatty acids and the omega-6 fatty acids.

Sources of essential fatty acids

The omega-3 fatty acids are technically alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), stearidonic acid, EPA and DHA. These are mainly found in flaxseed oil, canola oil, walnuts, hemp seeds, soybeans and dark green vegetables. EPA and DHA are found in cold water fish like sardines, salmon, trout and cod.

The omega-6 fatty acids are technically the linoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and arachidonic acid (AA). They are found in olive, almond, soybean, sunflower, hemp, safflower and sesame. Evening primrose oil contains GLA while AA is present in meat and other animal products.

Experts recommend a balanced use of the EFAs in your diet. Dietary deficiency of EFAs cause various disorders like high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, dry or scaly skin, dry hair, fatigue, aching joints, frequent infections and allergies, depression and poor memory. EFA supplements are used to treat and prevent more than 60 health related conditions including asthma, eczema, arthritis and menopausal problems.

What Vitamin E Does and why you need it. 

Tocopherols are naturally occurring fat soluble compounds. Vitamin E is the generic name given to these and some other closely related compounds. Biologically the most potent among these is the alpha-tocopherol. Vitamin E is widely available in foods. It is a good antioxidant that helps in slowing down the aging process. It acts like a scavenger in our body. It picks up the free radicals that are responsible for various diseases.

Sources of vitamin E

The richest sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils, sunflower seeds, cotton seeds, butter and egg yolk. Vitamin E is also present in those foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

Requirement of vitamin E

In adults, the plasma level of vitamin E that should be usually present is between 0.8 and 1.4 mg per 100 ml. About 0.8 mg of vitamin E per 1 gm of essential fatty acids are required for our body.

Deficiency of vitamin E

Undoubtedly, man requires vitamin E in his diet. But there is no indication of any dietary deficiency that can be seen specifically. At the molecular level, the role of vitamin E is little understood. In recent times, the cytotoxic effect of vitamin E at high concentrations on human lymphocytes in vitro has been reported. So keeping these in mind, one should be cautious enough against the excessive consumption of vitamin E.

Antioxidants you need them! 

By definition, an anti oxidant is a molecule that can either prevent or slow down the process of oxidation. Oxidative processes can generate free radicals that are notorious to health.

An accumulation of these free radicals inside any cell can slow down its growth markedly and eventually make the cell die. By antagonizing the oxidative process, an antioxidant prevents the natural aging process of our body. It also helps to treat some disease processes.

The Human brain is extremely susceptible to the free radicals generated by oxidative procedures owing to its high level of metabolic reactions and increased level of polyunsaturated fatty acids. This is why; doctors prescribe various forms of antioxidants to treat different forms of brain injury.

Any type of exercise produces an amount of free radicals. So athletes and other sportspersons require supplementation of antioxidants.

Different types of antioxidants include – Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Glutathione, Melatonin, Selenium, Molybdenum etc.

There are some naturally occurring antioxidants found in our body – ALC (Acetyl L Carnitine) and ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid).  Both of them are part of Omega-3 fatty acid group. Omega-3 fatty acids are well recognized as a potent antioxidant.

Foods that contain enough amounts of antioxidants are – broccoli, cabbage, spinach, yeast, beef besides the heart and kidney or dairy products.