Pharma Chemist

by Dave
(Wake Forest, NC, USA)

I suffer from chronic muscle soreness and stiffness in my neck, shoulders and back. Every day of the last 15 years or so I have been sore.

I also suffer from a series of inflammatory conditions - allergies, asthma, eczema. There's a lot of heart disease in my family, so this had me very concerned.

So a few years ago I started following the Healthy Eating Pyramid (Eat, Drink and be Healthy - Dr. Walter Willet, Harvard School of Medicine), which recommends relatively high intake of non-hydrogenated vegetable oils as a way to lower heart risk. However, my muscle soreness and inflammatory conditions got much worse.

I began to wonder, "If this keeps getting worse, it will become debilitating!" I couldn't exercise because even the lightest workout would leave me painfully sore for a week or more. Then

I learned about the physiological effects of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. I was shocked! I started minimizing my intake of omega-6s and started adding omega-3s, and my muscle soreness imeediately went down by 90%! I can work out again and only experience soreness for a day or two.

I feel 10 years younger!

Unfortunately my allergies and asthma appear unchanged, but I do suffer from less eczema now.

I achieved the dietary change by switching from factory-farm dairy products to grass-fed whole-milk products (6:3 ratio about 4:1), switching from factory-farm eggs to omega-3 enhanced ones or better yet, eggs from free-range hens that eat bugs and vegetables; switching from factory-farm beef to grass-fed, minimizing my intake of processed foods containing corn, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed oils; and adding flaxseed oil.

I make my own buttery spread by gently melting some grass-fed butter in a saucepan, removing from heat, stirring in an equal volume of flax oil, and refrigerating. I make vinaigrette salad dressings with flax oil.

I was already a fish eater, but now I ensure that it's wild-caught (farmed fish are often fed foods rich in omega-6s). On a bad day I'll take a fish-oil supplement but generally avoid these, as I'm concerned about oxidation - some research seems to indicate oxidized unsaturated fats may strongly promote atherosclerosis, and polys like omega-3s oxidize very easily. I keep my flax oil refrigerated.

I also eat lots of antioxidants.

I hope this testimonial helps someone! This knowledge has changed my life. No joke.