QUESTION: There seem to a lot of different fats out there - monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, trans-fats, etc. What are the differences between them and which should I be eating or avoiding?

Great question! There are fats that heal and fats that kill. Our choices of which fats to eat and which to avoid must be made with consideration of two issues: Essential Fat Content, and Processing.

Essential Fats are of 2 kinds: n-3 and n-6. The body can't make them, absolutely requires them, and must obtain them from food. Lack of either one results in physical deterioration. Both n-3 and n-6 are polyunsaturated fats.

All other fats, including monounsaturated and saturated, can be made by the body from sugars and starches and therefore are not required in the diet.

The only fats we must eat to live are n-3 and n-6. Sources include greens (very small amounts), seeds like flax (rich in n-3, but too little n-6), sesame and sunflower oil (rich in n-6, virtually no n-3), fatty fish (herring, sardines, salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna), and oils carefully pressed from n-3 and n-6 rich seeds.

Processing can damage natural fats and make them toxic. Hydrogenation produces unnatural trans-fats (margarine, shortening, partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, CLA). Frying also damages oils. Cooking oils contain damaged fats due to harsh chemical treatment followed by overheating before such oils are bottled.

Processing can damage poly- and mono-unsaturated fats and can further damage already-damaged trans-fats.

Because of their sensitivity to damage by light, air and heat, oils for health and performance should be made under protection, pressed from organically-grown seeds to avoid toxic pesticide residues, bottled in brown glass and boxed for protection against light. Such oils are found in Health Shops or practitioners' dispensaries.

In summary, we should use oils rich in n-3 and n-6 fats (2:1 ratio) made and stored under protection from light, oxygen and heat and made from organically-grown seeds. I have found that about 15ml per 25 kg of body weight (about one Tablespoon for 50 lbs) is optimum, but as little as 5-10 ml per day has health benefits.

Fats are complex. I hope this helps to clarify your question.

QUESTION: What part do you believe the mind (not the brain) plays in grassroots health?

1. The heart - deals with feeling peace and contentment; does not need to be learned, only to be focused in on; discontent can lead to negative thinking which can translate into destructive actions.
2. The mind/emotions - deals with beliefs/survival; sets the direction in which we move, and therefore determines our destiny; if we don't like where we are heading, we need to change direction by changing our mind.
3. The body - made from food and for activity; genes, foods, toxins, and physical activity are the topics that need to be addressed here.
4. The environment - what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves; we incorporate the environment into ourselves as food, water, air, light, toxins; if we make the environment ugly, we are affected mentally/emotionally by having to look at the mess we've made.

Each of these 4 topics is unique in its nature, function, and failure, and therefore each require a different kind of intervention to set it back on a track of health. All 4 topics need to be appropriately addressed.