You hear a lot about essential fatty acids, but did you know certain ones can damage your metabolism and set you up for obesity, heart disease and worse? Download Interview Transcript | Download my FREE Podcast
STORY AT-A-GLANCE Linoleic acid (LA) makes up the bulk — about 60% to 80% — of omega-6 and is the primary contributor to nearly all chronic diseases. While considered an essential fat, when consumed in excessive amounts, LA acts as a metabolic poison
Polyunsaturated fats such as LA are highly susceptible to oxidation, which means the fat breaks down into harmful subcomponents. OXLAMS (oxidated LA metabolites) are what cause the damage
Over the last 150 years, the LA in the human diet has increased from about 2 to 3 grams a day to 30 or 40 grams. LA used to make up 1% to 3% of the energy in the human diet and now it makes up 15% to 20%
The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is also very important, but simply increasing the amount of omega-3 that you eat is ill advised. You really need to minimize your omega-6 to prevent damage
At a molecular level, excess LA consumption damages your metabolism and impedes your body’s ability to generate energy in your mitochondria In this interview, Tucker Goodrich and I discuss what will be the topic of my next book, namely linoleic acid (LA), which I believe is likely the leading contributing cause of virtually all chronic diseases we’ve encountered over the last century. Unfortunately, this is a topic that most clinicians and health care practitioners who focus on natural medicine have only a superficial understanding of….