acuteOptimising your health after cancer, includes reducing inflammation, which means eating the right type of fat.
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Trying to stay healthy means we want to avoid inflammation in our body. Inflammation appears to be at the core of all our lifestyle diseases and our modern lifestyle has resulted in a plethora of ways that our body ends up being inflamed.
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The type of fat we eat is one of those ways.
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The main types of fat:
Saturated fat – animal meat, eggs, dairy, coconut & palm oil
Monounsaturated fat – olives, avocados, almonds
Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) – the omega-6 and omega-3’s
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The only fat our body can’t make on it’s own are the PUFA, which is why you may have heard them called essential fatty acids.
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Omega-6 foods sources are highest in the vegetable oils (soy, sunflower, safflower, corn, canola, cottonseed) and are the oils used in nearly ALL processed and take-away foods because it is cheap.
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Omega-3 can be found in mackerel, salmon, sardines, flax-seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, soybeans (organic), pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and avocado.
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Eggs only have omega-3’s if they are grass fed or their feed has been fortified.
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So from looking at those lists you can see that we get massive amounts of omega-6 and depending on your diet, not many omega-3’s. The problem is that omega-6’s are inflammatory and omega-3’s are anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is necessary for your survival when you are faced with an acute infection or injury, but damaging when it’s chronic.
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Chronic inflammation is thought to be a major player in nearly all of our modern diseases including heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and many types of cancer. Optimally we need to aim for equal amounts of both.
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A hundred years ago the technology didn’t exist to make vegetable oils or to make processed foods. Plus our animals used to eat mainly grass which contains omega-3’s.
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Today our animal and chickens eat mainly grains, which are high in omega-6’s. So you can see why it’s so easy to consume more omega-6’s today than it was a hundred years ago and be more at risk of inflammation.
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My message is ALWAYS the same.
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Ditch the processed foods and if you are going to eat any animals foods choose the grass-fed or pasture raised meat & eggs. If you’ve had cancer then eating less animal protein and more plant based protein, from legumes (beans & lentils) and whole grains, is recommended.
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Striving to eat optimally is an ongoing journey, and I suggest you don’t try and do it on your own.
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‘Women Thriving After Cancer’, is a supportive group of women who have triumphed the cancer journey and are now encouraging each other to optimise their health so they can live a long & healthy life.
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Join this FREE group by clicking the link below.