The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Frequently Asked Questions


Omega Fatty Acids

In response to some questions about Omega fatty acids, Deborah writes:
Omega 6 does come from polyunsaturated vegetable oils, but Omega 3 fatty acids are also polyunsaturated, and are found in wild salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, etc. Canola oil, which is illegal, and a horribly harmful oil, has some Omega 3, and flax seed oil does, also, plus walnut oil has a small amount. However, these are all types of Omega 3 that the body can't use, and most of us do very poorly at converting them into EPA and DHA (the types in fish, and also in meat from grass fed/pastured animals), so end up with an overload of ALA in our bodies, which is *not* good.

I would recommend avoiding canola oil (SCD illegal) completely, and also avoiding flax seed oil (which goes rancid so quickly it's impossible to keep it fresh, even in the freezer), as you would end up with too much ALA accumulating in the body (and canola oil is extremely harmful in other ways).

> I guess from reading your posts that coconut butter contains also
> Omega 3 ?!?! But what about olive oil, hazelnut oil, etc. Does it
> contain Omega 3 or Omega 6.

Olive oil and hazelnut oil are primarily monounsaturates; monounsaturated oils are not Omega 6 *or* 3. But they are only primarily monounsaturated. Butter would have some Omega 3 (and also, always some Omega 6) if it were from grass fed cows, plus it would have a lot of conjugated linolenic acid (CLA), which is also very good for us. Factory farm butter, or butter from grain fed cows has much less.

> If I remember correctly you said that olive oil, coconut butter,
> hazelnut oil, etc are saturated oils. Is this correct ?

Coconut butter is a saturated fat. The other two are monounsaturates. Coconut butter is not only good because it's saturated (we *need* a good amount of saturated fat, contrary to the nonsense we've been fed), but because it has anti-pathogenic properties.

> Also, we should avoid Omega 6 oils and prefer Omega 3 fat acids.

It's not that we should avoid all Omega 6. We need both Omega 6 and Omega 3. However, our modern food has such a vast overload of Omega 6, we should definitely cut out as much as possible. Therefore, we would be healthiest if we completely avoid polyunsaturated vegetable oils. We already get way too much Omega 6 in our meat from grain fed animals, and of course, we get some from nuts.

> If we want to put on weight, we should prefer mono-insaturated fats.
> If we want to loose weight, we should prefer saturated oil.

Yes, this is correct, but you also have to think about your health. While monounsaturates such as olive and hazelnut oil are not bad for the health, an excess wouldn't be great. While you can't have too much butter, coconut butter, saturated fat from beef, etc., for good health, you could have too much monounsaturated fat. So while it is fine to have some avocado and mayo from olive or hazelnut oil in your diet if you want to gain weight, I wouldn't go overboard.

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    Dr. Samuel Gee

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