By now you may have heard about Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) AKA THE GOOD FATS that are necessary for health and cannot be manufactured by the body. I first heard about them after 9/11 when I was feeling, there is no better word for it, toxic, and was looking for a boost. I met with a kinesiologist in New York called Michael Konig, who uses applied kinesiology for nutritional analysis. In his own words, he explains the principles behind Kinesiology:

"Think of the body as a complex electrical system. Nutritional deficit or disease will cause certain wires in the system to stop working– and the muscles that are connected to these wires have been effectively `turned off.’ Individual muscles have specific ties to other body systems. Therefore, weak responses help us determine the proper nutritional therapy."

Along with muscle testing which revealed all sorts of weaknesses in my system he also gave me a list of how I should prioritize food and right near the top was a seed I had never heard of before…. Flax.

Michael liked to talk about Flax and told me about the brown flax and the golden flax which in his opinon, and I agree, felt finer on the system. He explained that I should grind the flax daily with a coffee grinder and sprinkle it over granola, or salads or mix it in yogurts. For my first pregnancy, I ate a lot of freshly ground flax and I am convinced that has helped my daughter’s fine motor skills. She was eating with a fork, kicking a football and threading cotton into a small hole from a very young age.

With my second pregnancy, I have not liked the idea of grinding flax and to try and compensate, I am taking a lot of flax capsules and flax oil which are inferior in value I am sure, since you aren’t getting the pure whole food and as Dean Raffelock writes in ‘A Natural Guide to Pregnancy and Postaprtum Health,"’ "Flaxseed oil is one of the least stable oils known. In other words, it spoils easily and goes rancid. If you eat rancid oil, you are ingesting toxic free radicals that have to be soaked up by your antioxidant stores, leaving few antioxidants to control the rest of the free radicals that are constantly forming throughout your body." But it is better than nothing and as I am writing this blog, I am thinking I should go out and get a new coffee grinder (I left the last one in our summer house with good intentions but not enough action) and buy some lovely golden flax and granola at the local health food store.

There’s a lot to talk about EFAs and I don’t want to bore you all to tears, but I think I would like to look at good sources for EFAs, the benefits of EFAs and why you should be taking it for your unborn fetus and during breastfeeding.

Good Sources of EFAs

The best sources of essential fatty acids are fish oils, flaxseeds and flaxseed oils, Emu oil, grape seed oil and primrose oil. Other good sources are walnuts and pumpkin seeds. These oils must be consumed in pure liquid form and should be stored in the fridge. Always check the sell by dates, especially for flax oil which can go rancid quite quickly. Another good source is high-DHA omega 3 eggs, which have a great supply of EFA and and Vitamin A.

Fish is by far the best source of DHA but not all fish are created equal. Look for fish that live in deep cold water such as salmon, cod, sardines, anchovies, albacore tuna, herring and mackarel and unfortunately because fish have become polluted like everything else on this planet, you should limit consumption to three times a week. Avoid swordfish, tile and shark altogether during pregnancy because they have prohibitively high levels of toxins and mercury which can be harmful to the fetus and you. Your best bet is to vary the type of fish you eat, but I am particularly fond of eating wild salmon (about 3oz) and I like to broil it with either a little butter or olive oil and some lemon and pepper.

Why you should be taking it

I am going to quote Dean Raffelock again because his explanation is so clear, "When you are pregnant, the developing fetus requires large amounts of two specific fatty acids, arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to build brain and nerve cell membranes. Once a baby reaches about six months of age, his or her body will be able to make DHA and AA from other fatty acids, but while still in utero and in the first six months of life, these fats must be supplied in exact form by the mother’s body — first through the placenta, then through the breast milk. More than half of the nerve connections in baby’s brain form during the first year of life, and the integrity of these connections is dependent upon the fatty acid supply from the mother. Ideally, mother’s milk supplies DHA and AA to her baby through nursing for at least a year."

I managed to nurse my daughter for 8.5 months. All the way through that period and while she was in utero I was consuming large amounts of flax. Raffelock goes on to write, "The omega-3 DHA, is the most important structural and cognitive (brain function - related) fat for your brain and for your baby’s brain. The placenta draws DHA from the mother’s body like a vacuum cleaner, and the milk ducts continue to drain her stores for as long as her baby nurses. If you do not keep replenishing your supply, your emotional and physical well-being will most likely be compromised in the postpartum period and beyond.

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November 8th, 2006 | Permalink