©Udo Erasmus 2002
Part Six: EFA's - Recommended Intakes
Most traditional diets that kept people free of degenerative conditions contain about 15 to 30% of their calories as fats. The Inuit (Eskimo) diet contained up to 60% fats, much of it from raw whale blubber. Inuit were free of blood clot-induced heart attacks and strokes. They were free of cancer, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. Whale blubber fats are rich in EFA derivatives from omega 3, and contain some omega 6 derivatives as well. These traditional Inuit fats were completely unprocessed.
QUANTITIES
The fact that quantities of fat in traditional diets that kept people healthy varies quite widely is instructive for us. In my work, I've seen people use as much as 50% of their calories from the oils made with health in mind, and blended to get the right ratio. They tell us that they feel great-more energy, less joint pain, nicer skin, better thinking ability, greater calmness, and less weight are just some of the benefits these consumers of fat report.
Fats in other traditional diets also contained both EFAs. They were unrefined, and still had the 'minor' ingredients from seeds and nuts. Technology for removing health supporting 'minor' ingredients became widespread only in this century.
WHAT IS THE IDEAL RATIO?
Some researchers have suggested that the perfect ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 is 1:4. They base these figures on enzyme studies carried out in tissue cultures. Our more practical experience working with people, shows that the ratio that gives the best results consistently comes form oils blended to be richer in omega 3 than omega 6. This may be because human beings are more complex than tissue cultures. They use EFAs for brain function, hormone production, and many other functions that don't pertain in tissue culture.
Some people suggest that the traditional perfect balance was 1: 1. But ratios in traditional ratios varied widely. The Inuit ratio was 2.5:1. It did not produce omega 6 deficiency. The ratio in Mediterranean diets was about 1:6, and did not produce omega 3 deficiency. The brain of both traditions contains a balance of 1:1. Which tells us that the brain takes what it needs from what the body gets, provided that enough of both EFAs is present.
In practice, oils richer in omega 3s (but not too rich) consistently produce the best health support and improvement.
Flax oil (3.5 times richer in omega 3 than omega 6) can lead to omega 6 deficiency, because omega 3s and 6s compete for enzyme space in our cells. On unrefined flax oil made with health in mind (the first oil I developed in North America) I experienced dry eyes, skipped heart beats, joint pains, and fragile, thin skin. Others have suffered similar problems. The Inuit's 2.5:1 balance is the omega 3-richest traditional diet-nature's measure of the upper limit of safe omega 3 richness.
We have developed an Oil Blend for our work with people and animals, based on this information. It is twice richer in omega 3, but contains enough omega 6 to prevent deficiency.
Omega 3's have great therapeutic value in Western countries where they are lacking in common foods. The Oil Blend is packaged in brown glass bottles, in a box, and may be stored refrigerated or frozen.
The blend we use contains 9 ingredients. Flax supplies omega 3s. Sunflower and sesame provide omega 6s, Oils of rice germ, unrefined evening primrose, and oat germ provide 'minor' ingredients shown by research or clinical practice to have healing benefits. The six oils listed above won out over corn, pumpkin, and safflower. All oils in the blend are unrefined, quite a production feat, considering that some of them are not commercially available in unrefined form.
In addition to the six oils, the blend contains medium chain triglycerides, the good parts of coconut oil: easy on our liver, lower cholesterol, improve EFA absorption, inhibit tumor growth, and provide pleasant taste. It also contains lecithin, which has a long history of traditional use, and vitamin E, the oil-soluble free radical scavenger.
For different situations, we can modify the basic formula. We're more interested in the practical applications of oils to health improvement, than the academic issues. The blend provides a convenient way to get everything we need from oils without getting any anything we should avoid. What we need is not high fat; low fat, no fat, or fake fat. We need the right fat in our foods.
The blend is more stable than flax; and does a better job on skin. The latter improves skin at first, but skin problems return due to omega 6 deficiency.
Our reports on energy, stamina, performance, and recovery; skin improvement; and weight management come almost exclusively from feedback given to us by people using the blend.
The feedback from users covers the gamut of situations that reflect the many functions of EFAs in the body, in line with what you would expect from getting optimum amounts of EFAs made with health in mind and in the right ratio. They confirm what research published in the scientific literature claims. To refresh your memory of the wide range of possible benefits you can expect from getting on the Right Fat Diet, you might want to review that list again.
Note: In some European countries, the tablespoon (Tbsp) is different from that used in North America. One Tbsp, as used in this article, is 15 milliliters, weighing 14 grams. In winter, we recommend about one tablespoon of the oil blend per 50 pounds of body weight, or however much oil is required to make skin soft, smooth, and velvety. In summer we need less, and again skin is our indicator of optimum. Dry skin is a clear indicator that more of the oil is required.
Below, from feedback, are general guidelines of how much oil might be used to get results:
- skin; tanning & burning; eczema, psoriasis, and acne; 2-10 Tbsp/d;
- energy in the older population; 2-5 Tbsp/d;
- stamina, performance in strength and endurance sports; gains in body builders; recovery from fatigue after exercise; healing of sprains, strains, and bruises; 3-8 Tbsp/d;
- mood; depression; attention deficit, hyperactivity, stress; learning & intelligence; mental processing, color perception, visual acuity; communication; 2-5 Tbsp/d;
- healing; joint pain; stiffness; inflammation; arthritis: 2-10 Tbsp/d;
- dampening auto-immune response; up to 10 Tbsp/d;
- infections; 3-5 Tbsp/d; sometimes higher amounts short term;
- proneness to clots in arteries; high triglycerides; high blood pressure; 2-5 Tbsp/d;
- weight management; usually 3-5 Tbsp/d; sometimes up to 10 Tbsp/d;
- water retention; premenstrual symptoms; 3-5 Tbsp/d; sometimes up to 10 Tbsp/d;
- craving for cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, junk foods, & sugar; suppressing appetite; 2-5 Tbsp/d;
- tumor growth; energy in cancer patients; chronic fatigue; 3-10 Tbsp/d;
- insulin requirement in diabetics; glucose tolerance and stability; 3-5 Tbsp/d.
We recommend using EFAs, not because they reverse degenerative conditions or alleviate symptoms, but because EFAs are required for the normal functioning of all cells and tissues in the body.
We use them to normalize and optimize body function. When people use them this way, they notice improvements in many different situations.
