omega 3 6 9 Borage 19% GLA , Flaxseed 53% ALA , Fish Oils 30% EPA 20% DHA
Evening Primrose Oil
huile de saumon





Deer Velvet Antler

Ginkgo Biloba
St. John's Wort

Grape sseds extract
Milk Thistle Silymarin, Artichoke, Boldo, Curcumin

saw palmetto, nettle, pygeum africanum
 
 


EFAs and ADD/ADHD

by Udo Erasmus, Ph.D.

Table of Contents

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)

EFAs are the fats that heal. These are substances that every cell must have, cannot make, and must therefore get from foods. No-fat diets eventually kill. Low-fat diets can make us sick. We cannot live without EFAs.

Our fear of the fats that kill has made us fat-phobic, and is depriving millions of EFAs.

Two EFAs exist. One, the omega 3 (w3) EFA, is alpha-linolenic acid (LNA). The other, the omega 6 (w6) EFA, is linoleic acid (LA). If we get enough of both, and the ratio between them is right, the body makes several derivatives with important functions from each. From some of these derivatives, the body makes hormone-like substances that regulate biochemical activities in all cells and tissues on a moment-to-moment basis. (see page 20 of FATS THAT HEAL FATS THAT KILL for a comprehensive diagram of EFAs, their derivatives, and hormones made from them).

Processing

Processing determines whether fats (and especially EFAs) are beneficial or detrimental to health. EFAs are chemically active, and are sensitive to destruction by light, oxygen, and high (frying) heat. These can turn the healing EFAs into killing toxic fats. To retain their healing properties, EFAs must be treated with care. The w3 EFA is 5 times more rapidly destroyed than the w6 EFA.

A quick stability comparison. Sugar, starch, amino acids, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and fiber can be dried, powdered, and stored for years with little deterioration. Oils rich in EFAs, on the other hand, begin to spoil by light-enhanced oxidation (rancidity) within hours of exposure, and their rancidity can be smelled and tasted within a week or two of exposure at room temperature.

EFAs are a manufacturer's nightmare. The easiest way to create products with long shelf life is to remove EFAs. It is a main force that drives the low-fat food craze. The other main force that drives fat phobia and low-fat diets is 'experts' who know about the fats that kill, but are not clear about the fats that heal. They have not understood that most health problems that we blame on fats are actually due to destructive processing methods. Remember: Damage due to processing.

Our w3 intake has decreased to 1/6th its level in 1850. Our intake of the less sensitive w6 EFA has doubled in the last 100 years, mainly due to increased use of corn and safflower, oils very rich in w6, but containing no w3.

Sources of EFAs

Flax is the richest food source of the w3 EFA. High fat, cold water fish (albacore tuna, mackerel, trout, salmon, sardines) are good sources of w3 derivatives. We prefer fish (raw as sushi; or poached rather than fried) over encapsulated fish oils because of processing damage, rancidity (fish oils are 5 times more sensitive to destruction than LNA), and oil-soluble toxins in fish (liver) oils.

Sunflower and sesame seeds are good sources of w6 EFA. Almonds, peanuts, and olives also contain w6 EFAs but no W3s. Soybeans and walnuts contain lots of w6, and a small amount of w3. Most other seeds and nuts, such as pecans, macadamia nuts, and cashews, are poor sources of EFAs. One also gets w3 and w6 EFAs in fresh oils pressed from organically grown seeds, using special machinery for making oils with health in mind that was developed in 1987. Such oils are found in amber glass bottles, in the fridge, in natural food stores. 

A blend developed by the writer for use in his work, contains 9 ingredients: flax, sunflower, sesame, rice germ, oat germ, unrefined evening primrose, medium chain triglycerides, lecithin, and vitamin E. It is protected from light by a box surrounding the amber glass bottle. Fresh EFA-rich oils have a 6-month shelf life under refrigeration, should be used within 4 to 8 weeks of opening, and must be frozen solid to attain a 3 to 5 year shelf life (oils shrink when they freeze, so the glass bottles will not break). Warning: Frying can make EFA-rich oils quite toxic.

W3:W6 Ratio

W3 and w6 EFAs compete for space on the enzymes that convert them into derivatives. If we get too much w6, we become deficient in w3; and vice versa.
A wide range of ratios keeps healthy people healthy. Inuit (Eskimos) had 2.5 times more w3 than w6 in their traditional diet. Italians had 4 times more w6 than w3. Neither suffered from fat-related conditions. Present-day diets a ratio about 20 times richer in w6.

In our work, we use a ratio twice as rich in w3 as w6. We arrived at this ratio by experimentation. We found that a ratio of 3.5 times more w3 (flax oil), makes people w6-deficient. The Inuit ratio, 2.5 times more w3, does not. Our 2:1 ratio gives superior therapeutic results, because many people are EFA-deficient because of low-fat diets, and almost everyone is w3-deficient because of absence of w3s from most commonly eaten foods.

Supplements

EFAs and their derivatives can be obtained in 3 main ways: 
 
  • Mix and match oil seeds. 
  • Mix and match oils made with health in mind. 
  • Eat high fat, cold water fish. 

Amounts

Because we could not live if glands and organs were deprived of EFAs, but dry skin is survivable, Nature's wisdom dictates that skin gets EFAs last. We use this fact as an indicator of optimum EFA intake.

Dry skin, or the need for moisturizers, creams, and lotions are indicators of less than optimum EFA intake. Optimum amount and ratio of EFAs leads to soft, velvety skin. Then we know that the rest of the body has the EFAs it needs. Optimizing EFA intake makes cosmetics unnecessary. I don't use any. At 56, people tell me that my skin is remarkably youthful looking.

Most adults need 2 to 5 tablespoons each day to reach optimum. Body builders use up to 7 or 8 tbsp/day. People with degenerative conditions go up to 10 tbsp/day. They lose weight, reduce joint pain, and experience improved energy levels using this much. I use 3 tbsp in summer, about 4 in winter. When the weather gets colder in fall, many people notice their skin gets dry. That's nature telling you: You need more oil.

Children should get EFA-rich oils proportional to weight. For example, if the parent needs 3 tbsp/day for soft, velvety skin and the child weighs one tenth of the parent's weight, the child should get one tenth of 3 tbsp/day. 

How to Use EFA-rich Oils

EFA-rich oils made with health in mind are compatible with all foods: vegetables, proteins, starches, and fruit. 

Use them in salad dressings; on steamed vegetables; in soups; in mashed potatoes or on corn instead of butter; mix in yogurt or protein shakes (athletes get their EFAs this way); mix 50:50 with butter or extra virgin olive oil to enhance the EFA profile of these two good but EFA-poor oils; on pasta; in cereals, in veggie juices; and layered on fruit juices (we call this an oil shooter: EFAs enhance the juice flavor, the juice gets more body, and the oil flavor disappears). 

EFA Health Functions 

  • EFAs increase energy level, stamina, and performance; speed recovery from fatigue; and speed healing of injuries. We have seen this benefit in strength and endurance athletes, in performance dogs and horses, in older people, in those with degenerative conditions associated with low energy levels, and those complaining of fatigue.

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  • EFAs are the best kept secret for beautiful skin, hair, and nails. Soft, velvety skin; tan better and burn less; helpful in eczema, psoriasis, and acne; are useful for sweating out oil-soluble toxins through the skin; protect from the toxic effects of pesticides in tissues; and improve skin, hair coat, feathers, claws, hooves in dogs, cats, horses, birds, and other animals.

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  • EFAs improve digestion by slowing stomach emptying time; suppress appetite; reduce cravings for sugars, starches, and non-essential fats; make withdrawal from drugs, alcohol, and tobacco easier; support healthy bowel flora; prevent leaky gut and food allergies; enhance food flavors; and improve the absorption of oil-soluble phytonutrients from vegetables and other foods.

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  • EFAs are required by all glands and organs; required for insulin function, testosterone production, serotonin production; required for liver and kidney function; improve thyroid function; are required for lung function; EFAs provide glands and organs with the energy these highly active tissues require for their functions.

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  • EFAs decrease several cardiovascular risk factors; lower high triglycerides; lower high blood pressure; decrease platelet stickiness, making stroke, heart attack, and embolism less likely; EFAs sometimes help, but are not reliable, to lower cholesterol levels.

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  • EFAs are required for wound healing. 

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  • EFAs decrease inflammation.

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  • EFAs reduce water retention (edema).

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  • EFAs dampen the over-response of the immune system in auto-immune conditions.

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  • EFAs protect our genetic material (DNA) from damage.

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  • EFAs have anti-tumor properties.

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  • EFAs are required for mineral transport and mineral metabolism; prevent loss of bone minerals, and thereby keep bones strong and help prevent osteoporosis; work against protein-induced mineral loss.

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  • EFAs are required for protein metabolism; protein without EFAs becomes toxic. 

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  • EFAs are required for hemoglobin production, cell growth, and cell division. 

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  • EFAs reduce body fat; fat reduced under skin in body builders, to they get the 'shredded' look; 30-50 pounds of fat reduction/year in obese people on 3-5 tbsp of EFA-rich oil; sometimes up to 10 tbsp/day. 
NOTE: w3 EFAs do a better job than w6 EFAs on most of the above points. However, w6 deficiency from over-emphasis on w3s must be avoided, because w6 deficiency leads to deterioration of every cell, tissue, gland, organ, and system in the body. That is why getting the w3 to w6 ratio right is so important for health.

EFAs and ADD/ADHD

Three related areas of EFA functions are particularly important with respect to ADD/ADHD. These are: brain, women's health, and pregnancy. Most children with ADD/ADHD do not require Ritalin. In a fat-phobic world filled with junk foods, most kids do not get the EFAs they need for optimum brain function. Clearly, children should be given the essential nutrients required for brain function before drugs are even contemplated. Of these nutrients, w3 EFAs are the most likely to be lacking. Deficiency of either w3 or w6 EFAs is known to lead to changes in behavior. This has been known for years.

In addition to EFAs, the brain also requires several vitamins and minerals, as well as proteins. If the brain ain't made right, behavior cannot be expected to be normal.
 

  • EFAs are required for brain development and brain function. At 60% fat, the brain is the fat-richest organ in the body. We are fat-heads. It's a compliment. EFAs elevate mood and lift depression; bring calmness (in dogs, cats, horses, children, and adults); improve the ability to deal with stress and reduce the tendency to get stressed; improve focus; improve motor co-ordination; improve strength; speed learning; increase intelligence; improve visual acuity and color perception in older people; calm down hyperactive (ADD and ADHD) kids; make juvenile delinquents unresponsive to counseling counselable; make violent criminals less violent; decrease hallucinations in schizophrenics; improve Alzheimer's and senile dementias.

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  • EFAs are vital for women's health; women are depleted of EFAs because child's brain draws them from her body; each child gets less EFAs than the preceding child; researchers suggest that's the reason why on average, oldest children have the highest IQ; why on average, younger children in large families have more developmental and behavioral problems; a main reason why women get post-partum depression; and the main reason why women get more depression, inflammatory, and auto-immune conditions than men do; most women in North America have no reliable source of the missing EFAs in their food supply; it is vital that they get them, both for their own health and the health of their children. 

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  • In animals, EFAs have been shown to result in less difficult pregnancy, easier delivery, larger litters, healthier mothers and offspring, better milk production, quicker maternal healing, more activity and exploration in offspring (sign of intelligence); shown in dogs and horses; also true in mothers who enrich their food intake with EFAs. 

Resources

EFA Supplements:
 
  • Fresh high fat, cold water fish: salmon, sardines, mackerel, rainbow trout, albacore (white) tuna;

    •  
    • widely available; 
    • better steamed or poached than fried or canned; 
    • oil-richest part is meal along belly, around fins, and behind gills, as 
    • well as (gasp!) brain and eyeballs (retina); 
    • fish provide the EFA derivatives (w3:docosaheaxaenoic acid or DHA; w6: arachidonic acid or AA) specific to brain function; 
    • the oils in fish are fast-acting; 
    • easily spoiled by heat, light, and oxygen; 
  • Encapsulated fish oils: use with caution;

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    • processing damage makes fish oils smell and taste 'fishy', which is rancidity, and fresh fish does not smell or taste 'fishy'; 
    • fish oils are usually heated to high temperature to clean them up, resulting in changed molecules that can be toxic; 
    • the care needed to make fish oils with health in mind has not yet been taken; 
    • fish oil EFA derivatives are 5 times more rapidly destroyed than LNA, the already highly sensitive w3 EFA; 
    • fish oils can contain substantial levels of highly toxic polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs), cancer-causing industrial chemicals; 
    • fish liver oils are most likely to be ontaminated; 
    • from processed fish oils, you get benefits along with an uncertain degree of toxicity; 
  • Seeds: mix and match organically grown flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds;

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    • seeds are about one third to one half oil, the rest is mostly protein and fiber, with some minerals also present; 
    • flax is the only rich source of w3; 
    • many seeds contain w6; 
    • soybeans and walnuts contain both EFAs, but are much richer in w6; 
  • 'Udo's Choice' Perfected Oil Blend:

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    • provides both EFAs, but is richer in w3s; 
    • is packaged in brown glass protected from light by a box, refrigerated in natural food stores; 
    • contains everything you need from oils (9 ingredients) and nothing you should avoid; 
    • made by processes designed to protect EFAs from damage; 
    • the blend provides the starting material from which the body makes the EFA derivatives, as well as 'minor ingredients' with major health benefits; 
    • minor ingrdients are removed when oils are refined and deodorized into colorless, odorless, tasteless commercial oils;


    EFA derivatives from fish oils do not retro-convert to the EFAs themselves, which are important in cell membrane functions, but the body will convert EFAs into the derivatives that fish oils contain; oils from fresh fish can be used in additon to the blend;

Reading:
Erasmus, Udo. Fats That Heal Fats That Kill.
 
 

Web Page: http://www.udoerasmus.com/
 

 

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