Omega 3-6-9 defined

This week, I would like to feature a guest columnist: Cecelia Frenette. Cecelia has been an avid health and fitness advocate for many years and is a native of British Columbia, Canada.

After years of "fat-free" burned into our brains, it's refreshing to learn how omega 3-6's balance our hormones, which is so important in all aspects of our life. Dr. John Gray, in his upbeat and humorous book, "Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice," takes an in-depth look at the crucial role hormones play in our everyday lives. With daily stress increasing at an alarming rate, healthy eating just makes sense. Dr. Josh Axe recommends eating a slice of avocado each meal for nutrient absorption. Avocados are high in omega 9, another good fat. (http://draxe.com/)

Good fat is essential for normal growth and development. "Dietary fat provides energy, protects our organs, maintains cell membranes and helps the body absorb and process nutrients. Even better, it helps the body burn 'bad' fat," says nutritionist Keri Glassman, RD, who recommends that about a third of any weight-loss plan's calories come from dietary fat. I discovered that our bodies "can synthesize most of the fats it needs from the diet. However, two essential fatty acids, linolenic and linoleic acid, cannot be synthesized in the body and must be obtained from food. These basic good fats, found in plant foods, are used to build specialized fats called omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are important in the normal functioning of all tissues of the body." I looked into several sources, I first found flax and wild salmon. (www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/essential-fatty-acids)

I started eating cold milled flax in 2000 because of the omega 3-6 balance and the fiber, highly recommended from a health food store. As I learned more and more about the importance of good fat, I have been following an omega 3-6 plan for two years now and feel very even-keeled and healthier. This has become so important to me that I even take my 'special breakfast' with me on vacation! The omega 3-6 seeds chart I follow is based on the cycles of the moon. Men and women are opposite which makes sense because our hormone levels are different.

The best sources of omega 3's are: cold milled pure flax (not flax-meal which is the "fat-free" leftovers when flax oil is made), raw pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, raw walnuts and wild salmon (with bones for extra calcium). A tablespoon of cold pressed virgin coconut oil taken with the seeds aids in omega 3 absorption. All are smoothie compatible. The chia seeds will fluff up like tapioca and soak up about 3x their volume in liquid if not consumed right away. Therefore, it is always good to drink extra water with a "chia shot" which are handy little nutrition on-the-go single servings that most health food stores carry.

The best sources of omega 6's are: Hemp hearts, sesame, sunflower, evening primrose oil and raw almonds.

Our bodies do need an omega 3-6-9 balance and luckily hemp hearts and flax seeds do this naturally, so I eat them daily. What I do for this diet is take 2 tablespoons of hemp hearts during the omega 6 phase and 1 tablespoon during the omega 3 phase. Then milled flax, I take 2 tablespoons during the omega 3 phase and 1 tablespoon during the omega 6 phase. The milled flax is the only whole food mentioned that must be refrigerated.

Women use the omega 3's from new moon to full moon if they have very irregular monthly cycles or post menopausal women without cycles will choose to follow the moon cycles. Then the omega 6's from full moon back to new moon. A woman's normal cycle would be day 1-14 for omega 3's and at ovulation on day 14, switch to omega 6's.

For the men, you likely have a spouse, sister, mother, daughter or female co-worker that can benefit from this. Men can support a healthy balance of hormones as well by reversing the moon cycle described above. So from the new moon until the full moon: 1-2 tablespoons of omega 6's like ground sesame, hemp hearts and sunflower seeds. From the full moon until the new moon: 1-2 tablespoons of omega 3's as in the ground flax and pumpkin seeds.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corporation.