When it comes to losing weight I don't know what to believe anymore. It's taken me years to figure out what foods to eliminate from my diet and every day I'm hearing something new. What's the latest healthy dieting tip? Apparently, incorporating more natural fats like omega-3s, can help you not only lose weight, but increase your energy levels, and even improve your skin. Um … what?
Read more ¿Qué más?: Is this silly string REALLY going to help you lose weight?
According to Redbook magazine, you can get a wide range of benefits from incorporating more of the fats found in fish like salmon, walnuts, flax seeds, and olive oil into your diet. Not having enough omega-3 in your system can cause your body to go out of balance and affect everything from your memory to your mood, skin, weight, and even sex drive. Who knew?
You're probably thinking, okay so I'll just add some more nuts and fish into my diet and that's it, but unfortunately it gets a little trickier than that. There are omega-3s and omega-6s out there that we need to keep our bodies going. But because Omega-6s are inflammatory and Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, if you're having too much of one it can lead to health problems like allergies or even autoimmune disease.
Don't freak out, though! According to Dr. David L. Katz, MD, Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center at the Yale School of Medicine, you don't need to drive yourself crazy. Just make a few changes to your diet and you'll be fine. "The solution is to focus on dietary patterns, not individual food choices–then the nutrient composition will take care of itself," says Dr. Katz who recommends having a healthy, balanced Mediterranean diet filled with fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and three servings a week of omega-3 fatty fish.
He suggests making changes like sprinkling some flax seeds on your cereal, having a slice of avocado with scrambled egg whites, or substituting extra virgin olive oil for canola oil or vegetable oil and, before you know it, you'll see a change in both your mood and your weight. Cheers to healthy fats!
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