Most dietary oils come from seeds, and from leafy greens and sea vegetables. All of these are “good oils,” supplying essential fatty acids (EFAs) from three families: omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids. Omega fats are all classes of polyunsaturated fats.

The human body cannot manufacture omega-3s or omega-6s, so they must be supplied in the diet. They are therefore considered “essential.” Omega-9s can be made within the body and are not considered essential, although they have many health benefits. Relative ratios of omega-3s and omega-6s from our diet have shifted dramatically over the centuries, with the most pronounced shift occurring in the past 40 or 50 years. While the hunter/gatherer diet was high in omega-3s and lower in omega-6s, today our diets are higher in omega-6s than in omega-3s. We eat far too many omega-6 oils and too few omega-3 oils, and we are paying the health consequences.

Benefits of omega fats:

1. Keep cell membranes fluid and flexible which in turn affects the white blood cells that repel invaders of the body.
2. Promote normal growth, especially of blood vessels and nerves.
3. Keep the skin and other tissues youthful and supple through lubrication.
4. Are key components of nerve cells and hormone-like substances known as prostaglandins.
5. Improve nerve blood flow, nerve conduction and prevent neuropathy.

Omega-3s can be found in raw nuts, seeds, beans, fish oil, and unrefined vegetable oils such as flax, hemp, walnut and than mainstay of many of the world’s diets, the soybean. Experts advise us to add more omega-3 rich foods to our diet so that the proper ratios between omega-3s and omega-6s are restored.

Omega-3 rich dietary oils and the percent each contains are:

• Flaxseed (57 percent)
• soy (8 percent)
• walnut (5 percent)
• pumpkin seed (15 percent)

These oils, however, must be converted in the human body into longer chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs) needed for cell membrane transport and key cellular functions. They are not immediately available to the body upon ingestion, but adding them to your diet still increases your LCPs.

Fish supply “ready-made” omega-3 because their bodies have already converted the parent omega-3 EFA alpha linolenic acid (ALA) from various food sources. We can also get the preformed LCPs by consuming certain kinds of seaweed and algae, best gotten through supplementation with DHA.

Omega-6s can be found in certain vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower and sesame as well as hemp, walnut and soybean oils.

Omega-9s are monounsaturated fatty acids. Omega-9s can be manufactured by our bodies, so they are not considered an ‘essential’ fatty acid, but we still need to maintain healthy levels of this fat. Omega-9 can be found in flax, hemp, and fish oils.

The next time you are shopping, stock up on fishes, flax seed and other oils, seaweeds, and nuts. (You can find flax seed oil in the refrigerated section of your health food store).

Remember; store these oils in the fridge. Keep them cool and away from light and air. These three things can make your oil go rancid and transform some of the fat. And we all know what transformed fats are: the always bad-for-you trans-fatty acids.

Baked Tuna With Tomato Pesto
Blue ~ Serves 6 generously

6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (or use walnuts, almonds, or cashews)
1 28 oz can Italian-style peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
4 Tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
6 tuna steaks,* about 5 oz each, 1-inch thick

Preheat oven to 425F.

Place the first 7 ingredients into a food processor and grind until smooth. Put mixture into a bowl, add the tomatoes and carefully mash into a coarse paste. Whisk in the olive oil. Smother the tuna steaks with the pesto and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Place the marinated tuna steaks with the pesto marinara into a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the steaks are medium – still nice and pink inside – when checked with a sharp knife.

Serve immediately with the pesto and some nice steamed vegetables on the side. Accompany this with a fresh spring green salad with Italian balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

To make dressing, just add 1/4 teaspoon basil, and 1/4 teaspoon oregano to a small bottle of any balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Shake well and let stand for a few hours before serving.

*Budget tip – Prices for fish usually drop during Lent (starts Wednesday, February 25 this year). Check for sales, and stock up.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 8:26 am and is filed under Articles - Food, Good Fats - Bad Fats, Menu suggestions, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.