Fight fat with fats– the right kind of fat, that is.  Several clinical studies (one is in the May 2007 edition of “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition”) have shown that adding Omega 3’s to your diet, along with exercise, can give a major boost to your fat-burn.  The Omega 3’s give your fat-burning enzymes a poke and set them to moving faster and more efficiently.  Not only that, these particular fatty acids trigger your leptin production. Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain “I’m full.  You can stop eating now.”

In our western diet we get way too much of some fats, but not nearly enough of others, like Omega 3’s.  These fatty acids are found in the greatest amount in fatty fish like tuna or salmon.  You can also get them in walnuts, flaxseed, beans, and winter squash.

The trouble with eating fish is the danger of mercury contamination.  Pregnant women are now cautioned against eating fish and other folks are often warned not to eat too much. (Conflicting opinions on varying Web sites, of course.)  The other sources don’t give the amount you need, unless you eat a lot of them consistently.  You may need a good supplement to get the amount of Omega 3 you need to boost your metabolism.

Another word of caution.  Most Omega 3 supplements come from — you guessed it — fish. And so the mercury contamination danger is still there.  Frustrating I know, but we live in an extremely toxic society.  If you want to avoid being sick and fat, you have to work at it!  Check out the company that manufactures the supplements you are thinking about buying.  I’ll be doing a series later on vitamins and minerals and how to know if you have good ones, but in the meantime look to see what the company says about their purification process.

It’s expensive to produce high quality, natural vitamins and minerals, so don’t bother with the cheap ones.   I personally take an excellent Omega 3 with added D3 from a company that has the highest standards and who, unlike most supplement companies, have their own laboratory which you can actually visit.  Graduate students from nearby universities do their internships there, and the company spends millions on research and clinical trials. And, yes, their supplements are more expensive than the ones you get at Wal-mart.  However, I think that it is more cost effective to get the best, which works, rather than to buy something cheap which might do more harm than good.

Regardless of which way you get them, adding Omega 3’s to your diet will give your metabolism and definite boost, so it is worth checking out.  And the hunger control they give is a bonus!

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown