Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good festive season and 2019 is treating you well so far. As always it’s a time for reflection, consolidation and resolution.
This update is a bit later than I planned as the omega-3 blood test results took longer to come back than I anticipated. Apologies!
I have started seeing clients from home for my 1:1 Diet business, which is great. So far I’m not missing the daily bustle of an office which is a big surprise. I thought I’d struggle with spending so much time in my own company but as yet that’s not been an issue. However do I ensure I get out of the house regularly for both exercise and a change of scenery.
You may remember that I was looking into improving my health and vitality and started taking a wheatgrass supplement in November (see previous post here for more information). I also subscribed to a good quality omega-3 supplement that provided a blood test to identify your levels of omega-3 and -6. I started taking this on 10th December and sent my blood test off the same day. They did say it could take 15-20 business days for the result to be returned, and mine came through yesterday.
As expected, this was not good, but worse than I thought. The analysis measures the amount of omega-3 and omega-6 oils in the red blood cells. You are given two scores: an Omega-3 Index result and an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.
The Omega-3 Index is on a scale from 0-12. Anything under 4 indicates a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. A score of 8 and over is good. I scored 2.
A good ratio between the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the cellular membranes is important for a strong immune system and aids the body in dealing with infection and injury. A desirable goal is 3:1 or less. A ratio of 5:1 is borderline. However it’s common in the West for a ratio between 10-20 due to the amount of processed food and vegetable oils in the diet. A ratio higher than 5 can increase the amount of chronic inflammation in the body, which may lead to the development of joint problems, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and obesity.
The scale used to illustrate the results ranges from 1 (good) to 15 (poor). My result was 37.1:1. Clearly room for a lot of improvement!
They recommend taking omega-3 every day and a second test after 4 months, as the life span of a red blood cell is 120 days. I bought a six-month supply and will do another test around the five-month mark. I am very aware that the information is provided by a company with a commercial interest in selling omega-3. However, regardless of where I source the supplements, I think it’s pretty obvious that I need to do something about the lack of omega-3 in my diet. The health community is clear that the majority of people suffer a deficiency (here and here) so I’m not alone. I don’t regularly eat fatty fish or marine fatty acids as part of my diet. I will investigate where these can be sourced from, other than the obvious fish which I don’t like (except Nemo, he’s cute) and continue with the supplements and see if my test results improve.
I am definitely feeling some benefits of taking both wheatgrass and omega-3 daily for the last month (six weeks for wheatgrass). I have more energy and am sleeping better. I have also noticed an improvement in the strength and condition of my hair and nails. I tend to suffer with hormonal skin breakouts linked to my menstrual cycle and these have reduced. So far, so good. It’s not cheap, but what price health?
As always, if you have any questions about the 1:1 Diet, wheatgrass or omega-3 oil get in touch for information or a referral. Thanks for reading 🙂