©Udo Erasmus 2002
Part Four: Excess or Deficit in EFA's
CAN WE GET TOO MUCH EFA?
All that said, can one get too much of a good thing when it comes to EFAs? If you take EFAs too close to bed time, you may have too much energy to sleep (many people would like that problem), so take EFA-rich oils before 8 p.m. if you want to sleep, and after 10 p.m. if you want to party.
If you take more oils at any one time than your liver can handle, you may feel full, heavy, or nauseous. That's the liver, which must process oils and EFAs, protecting itself from overwork, from what you put in your stomach. Take less oil at any one time, and mix it in foods. That way you will never give your liver more work to do than it can cope with.
If this problem arises because of weak liver function, it may help if you lower the dose to begin with, and gradually build up your intake as your liver improves in its capacity to handle oils. Often, liver weakness results from lack of the EFAs needed in its work. This is one of the results that adherence to a low fat diet can have.
Occasionally, someone has an allergic skin response from an EFA-rich oil; take it with digestive enzymes. If that does not work, find another source of EFAs.
Reaction to oil is rare, even in allergy-prone individuals. Proteins trigger most allergy reactions, but oils are protein-free. In fact, good oils usually helpful in relieving allergies. Your body will tell you. It is your most reliable expert.
Let's put these problems that EFAs can cause, into perspective. Of far greater concern is not getting enough of the EFAs, because so many cells, tissues, glands, and organs need them - desperately - to work normally. Getting them in altered, toxic forms due to careless processing procedures puts these altered molecules in harm's way in our body... or getting the ratio between them wrong - a problem for almost every affluent person who has not embraced the vital necessity of the Right Fat Diet™.
EFA DEFICIENCY
Every cell, tissue, gland, and organ will fail to function if sufficient levels of omega-6 EFA's are not present in the diet. In the past, such deficiency was rare, but since the advent of low-fat diets, lack of omega-6's has become much more common. Omega 6 deficiency causes the following symptoms:
1. Skin, hair, and nails become defective, leading to ...
- eczema-like skin eruptions
- dry skin and hair; hair loss
- water loss through the skin (dehydration) with attendant thirst
- impaired nail growth
2. Organs fall apart, resulting in ...
- fatty infiltration of the liver; kidney malfunction; dry eyes
3. The brain falls apart, bringing about many changes, including ...
- poor vision; decreased learning ability; lower intelligence
- mood changes; depression; poor handling of stressful situations
- problem behavior; attention deficit; hyperactivity; dyslexia
- motor incoordination; and poor physical performance
4. Glands dry up, failing to make their vital hormones and secretions
5. The immune system falls apart, producing ...
- increased susceptibility to infections; impaired healing of wounds
6. The reproductive system falls apart, and we get ...
- male sterility; and female miscarriage
7. Our joints fall apart, manifesting as ...
- arthritis-like conditions
8. The cardiovascular system falls apart, resulting in ...
- heart beat abnormalities that can lead to cardiac arrest
- sometimes, increased cholesterol
9. Digestion falls apart, leading to ...
- poor digestion of foods; inflammation; leaky gut; food sensitivities
- allergies
10. Growth becomes retarded.
The above list shows some of the serious health concerns from lack of essential omega 6 fats.
They are an absolute necessity for life.
Adequate Omega 6 intake reverses all of these deficiency symptoms.
Omega 3 deficiency causes:
- growth retardation;
- vision and learning problems; behavioral changes; mental deterioration;
- weakness; motor incoordination;
- tingling sensations in arms and legs.
Researchers agree on these omega 3 deficiency symptoms; but omega 3s often reverse the following conditions, which should therefore be added to the list above:
- high triglycerides; high blood pressure; sticky platelets;
- sub-optimal skin condition; inflammatory skin diseases;
- water retention (edema); inflammation in any tissue in the body;
- auto-immune conditions;
- low metabolic rate; weight gain.
Summary:
