Lets talk about essential fatty acids

I see so many people on OH who are eating super low fat diets.  Fat has more calories per volume than protein or carbs, but you need fat in your diet!  I was trying a million different things to solve my constipation issues - I listened to my PCP and upped the fat a little - no more miralax, colace, magnesium pills, or suppositories here - unless I drop below about 25-30g of fat per day.  Then I have to resort to chemical intervention and misery.  Since increasing my fat intake my skin is no longer dry, and it looks a heck of a lot clearer and healthier.  But if you want to add a little fat back into your life, do it right.  Go for the essential fatty acids, not saturated fats and processed foods.  Many people are deficient the EFAs (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids - omega-9 is also essential but can be made as long as you get enough omega-3 and omega-6).  Most Americans are still omega-3 deficient, even with all the press its gotten.  The number one symptom is depression.  We have a lot of that in the good ol' USA. Omega-3s are important for a lot of things, but here is one that we might find especially helpful - joint pain and arthritis.  My good friend, an osteopath, recently presented a paper about fish oils and joint mobility.  I know a lot of us have knee and hip issues especially so I thought this was interesting.  She took 200 people, 1/3 ate as they always had, 1/3 added a serving of salmon or other oily fish to their diet 3x per week for 2 months, and the third group took fish oil supplements of equal amounts to that much salmon for 2 months.  They did a bunch of tests on their joint strength and mobility before and after the experiment, and the salmon people had a big improvement.  The fish oil people also improved but not quite as much.  The regular diet people showed no change.  EFAs raise your HDL and lower your LDL, improving your cholesterol profile.  EFAs support the cardiovascular, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems. The human body needs EFAs to manufacture and repair cell membranes, enabling the cells to obtain optimum nutrition and expel harmful waste products. A primary function of EFAs is the production of prostaglandins, which regulate body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility, conception, and play a role in immune function by regulating inflammation and encouraging the body to fight infection. Essential Fatty Acids are also needed for proper growth in children, particularly for neural development and maturation of sensory systems, with male children having higher needs than females. Fetuses and breast-fed infants also require an adequate supply of EFAs through the mother's dietary intake.  Finally, and I can attest to this, being quite vain, they give your skin a dewey healthy glow.  Post-ops often look like crap for a while, right?  I'm sure the super low fat diet isn't helping.  EFA deficiency is common in the United States, particularly Omega-3 deficiency. An ideal intake ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids is between 1:1 and 4:1, with most Americans only obtaining a ratio between 10:1 and 25:1. The minimum healthy intake for both linolenic (Omega-3) and linoleic (Omega-6) acid via diet, per adult per day, is 1.5 grams of each. One tablespoon of flaxseed oil can provide this amount, or larger amounts of other linolenic-rich foods. Because high heat destroys linolenic acid, cooking in linolenic-rich oils or eating cooked linolenic-rich fish is unlikely to provide a sufficient amount.  Omega-3 deficiencies are linked to decreased memory and mental abilities, tingling sensation of the nerves, poor vision, increased tendency to form blood clots, diminished immune function, increased triglycerides and "bad" cholesterol (LDL) levels, impaired membrane function, hypertension, irregular heart beat, learning disorders, menopausal discomfort, itchiness on the front of the lower leg(s), and growth retardation in infants, children, and pregnant women. So how do you increase your intake of EFAs?  (Especially omega-3) Flaxseed oil is a great source, and vegetarian.  Personally, I've tried the refrigerated oil, added to smoothies and such, and it tastes terrible.  There are flaxseed oil pills, haven't tried those.  And remember we malabsorb some fat, so if you have a lot of fat at once, you are going to see the oil slick in the commode later on.  Other sources of omega-3 include flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, avocados, some dark leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, purslane, mustard greens, collards, etc.), canola oil (cold-pressed and unrefined), soybean oil, wheat germ oil, salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, albacore tuna, and others.  Sources of omega-6 include flaxseed oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, hempseed oil, hempseeds, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds (raw), olive oil, olives, borage oil, evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, chestnut oil, chicken, among many others. Omega-9 food sources include olive oil (extra virgin or virgin), olives, avocados, almonds, peanuts, sesame oil, pecans, pistachio nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, etc. There is also evidence that getting these EFAs from food is more effective than oil supplementation - having the oils time released throughout the day allows them to be absorbed and utilized more efficiently.  Avoid hydrogenated versions and processed versions of the foods listed above - go as natural as possible!  Heat and light destroy EFAs so freshness and proper storage is key.  For instance, buy and eat raw nuts - or if you roast them, do so shortly before consumption.  Don't cook with flaxseed oil. Replace butter and margarine with olive oil and grapeseed oil (my favorite).  Sprinkle flax seeds or flax seed meal on your food.  I keep flax seeds in the freezer and grind some in a coffee grinder to add to food at the last minute.  Then clean your grinder with crackers or bread to absorb extra oil so it doesn't go rancid in the grinder.  Also, I keep a grinder just for this purpose.  I have one for coffee, one for flax, and one for spices.  For recipes with shortening (which we shouldn't be eating anyway) replace half the shortening with olive oil or canola oil, and a little salt.  Eat fish, but try to get some of those EFAs from veggie sources too because they are slightly different.  Cover all your bases.  Eat your avocados and walnuts and flax.  Ok finally, what prompted this post?  I am trying to increase my husband's EFA consumption also - so I have been sending him to work with a delicious snack.  Take 2c of raw walnuts and toast them, add 1/4c maple syrup and coat the nuts.  Add a pinch of salt, then move the nuts somewhere else to cool.  Finally I portion them out into serving sizes (1/4-1/3c) in plastic bags and send them in my husband's lunch.  He adores them, and they are so much better for you than the afternoon candy bar from the vending machine.  I cook with olive oil, unrefined canola oil, or grapeseed oil.  I use grapeseed oil as a spray on veggies in place of butter, and also in salad dressings.  It has a light texture and flavor that goes really well with veggies.  We eat a lot of avocado, and he eats fish.  I am trying to incorporate fish into my diet, but I'm picky about how its cooked.  Sushi is even better because raw tuna and salmon have more EFAs.  I don't eat sushi.  We usually have nuts and seeds around and I add small amounts to salads.  Remember, most of these are high calorie foods, so don't go overboard.  Too much of a good thing is never good.  Moderate amounts of healthy fats in your diet are very important though, and I hope this helped you see why. 

Thanks Jenn!  That was some great and educational information.  I'm glad to hear you (and some others) say that they incorporated nuts into their diets post-op.  One of my friends went through a program that doesn't advise nuts.  Mine said nothing, but I wasn't sure how well people tolerated nuts.  Hopefully in a few months nuts and I can be friendly. :) I am a *huge* butter fan and am going to have to work my way away from that.  I will try some of the grapeseed oil.  Does it come in a spray bottle or do you pour it into one?  Do you find it with the other oils in the grocery store?

It usually comes in a metal tin because it breaks down in the light - I see it in good grocery stores.  I use an oil mister http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Cuisipro_8_oz_Gourmet_Oil_Mister It sprays a fine mist.  Nuts and nut butters are great, and as long as I chew them well I have no digestive problems.  The absolute KEY though is moderation.  These are nutrient and calorie-dense foods, so you can't just munch on them all day.  Take out one serving, and put the rest AWAY.  A handful of most nuts is about a serving, and its easy to overdo it. 

So glad to see this post.  I have almonds almost most every day and was surprised that they weren't part of the O3's.  I use real butter, olive oil, full fat mayo, regular salad dressings (although I've found the spray ranch dressing to be really good!)  I cook with olive oil when I do use oil.  I also eat avacados once a week or so. I've pretty much removed the animal fats except for the butter.  And I'm not switching to low fat mayo.  I use so little of it, it doesn't matter. I just don't eat the high fat, fried, refined sugar, junk anymore and that's a positive for everyone to eat that way whether they've had weight loss surgery or not.

Great post.  I do know that when I had the guts to start taking that HUGE fish oil capsule that I hoped one of the added benefits was a decreased need for colace.  Not as of yet, but I'm still working on that end (pun intended).  I can say that my whole life I had good total cholesterol numbers, but my good cholesterol was always too low.  I started taking fish oil and coenzyme Q and the good # improved to normal and stayed there.  That is until I stopped all supplements for the surgery and my labs came back and guess what?  Good cholesterol was down again.  That was my big motivation to get back on those supplements. -dawn

i've never been an advocate of low fat diets! when i am eating right, i eat healthy fats as well. i've never had a constipation problem since surgery. and flax meal is great. you can make flax meal bread very quickly. here is the recipe i use: http://www.recipezaar.com/160607 there are a bunch of other recipes on recipezaar related to flax meal. a 90 second muffin, stuff like that.

Nice post Jen!  I just went to the health food store yesterday and got the girls some flax seed...when i got home my niece said to me...Where is your coffee grinder?  I was kind of shocked lol   So we all had a lengthy conversation about EFA's My daughter went vegan and my niece already was...so on with the torture cooking lol

Great post!  I'm copying and pasting and filing it in my WLS/Diet e-folder.  :)