Increase your ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids.
Omega-3s fight inflammation and muscle tenderness, improves brain function, and fights heart disease. Omega-6s helps stimulate cell growth, maintains bone health, and regulates metabolism but increases inflammation. We need both from food since our body makes neither. The ideal ratio of Omega-6s to Omega-3s is between 2:1 and 4:1. While the standard American diet puts us closer to 20:1.
What are some swaps you can make in your diet to put you back into balance? To start: switch up your cooking oils. Avoid oils that are high in omega-6s like corn oil, soybean oil, which is found in a lot of processed foods, peanut, grape seed, and sunflower oil. Switch to oils that are high in omega-3s like flaxseed, and avocado oil. You could even try blending oils to create the ideal combo.
Number two: Swap grain-fed proteins for grass-fed. Try grass-fed beef or bison or pasture-raised chicken.
And lastly, increase your intake of unsaturated fats like nuts, seeds, foods that are high in omega-3s instead of saturated fats which tend to be found in animal sources like red meat and butter. A quick rule of thumb is if the fat is solid at room temperature, it’s a saturated fat.
Comment below with ways that you fight inflammation.
