1. Essential fats, specifically EPA and DHA (found in fish oil supplements and cold water fish), work to keep your blood from getting too sticky, which decreases the likelihood of clots that can lead to heart attack and stroke. EPA also supports production of hormone-like prostoglandins, which also helps reduce the risk of clotting, and problems that may arise from clotting such as cardiovascular complications accompanying diabetes. Prostoglandins also help to keep the heartbeat regular, preventing arrhythmia that could lead to cardiac arrest, and they lower excessively high levels of lipoprotein, a very strong risk factor for heart and artery disease.
2. Essential fats lower blood pressure by producing the kinds of prostoglandins that decrease blood pressure and block the production of blood pressure raising agents. Essential fats also lower blood pressure by relaxing arterial muscle tone.
3. Essential fats reduce your risk of cancer and other immune system diseases. Not only have studies shown that Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids from plant and fish oils inhibit the growth of tumors, but they also protect you at the cellular level against toxins by sacrificing themselves to harmful substances that would otherwise damage vital cell structures. Essential fats can also carry toxins out of your body through the skin, which helps lighten the work of your liver and kidneys, which might otherwise become poisoned.
4. Essential fats reduce high cholesterol, lowering excessive triglycerides by up to 65%—which is better than any drug—and increasing good HDL cholesterol. The nutrients found in organic, unrefined essential oils also block cholesterol absorption and re-absorption into the gut. All in all they can lower your total cholesterol count by up to 25%.
5. Essential fats aid and improve our digestive systems, acting as anti-inflammatory agents within the stomach and improving gut integrity, which helps prevent leaky gut and food allergies. They protect beneficial gut bacteria, and encourage the growth of beneficial bowel flora. And by reducing loss of water through the skin, they make it unnecessary for the body to pull water from the bowel, which reduces constipation and the toxic consequences of colon dehydration.
6. Essential fats improve all areas of brain function. Not only do they promote seratonin production in the brain, which decreases anxiety and lifts depression, but they also improve your mental processing, learning skills, visual acuity and color perception. Further research has also indicated a connection between Omega-3 fats and decreased risk of hyperactivity disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, dementia and clinical depression.
7. For the women out there, essential fats can ease, and often completely reverse pre-menstrual syndrome.
As you can see, the benefits to your health are as many as they are invaluable. Get the essential fats into your diet, and your body will thank you inside, outside, and for years to come.
