iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll thsbc dte“Something, somewhere is causing inflammation in your
body, which leads to an immune imbalance.”
—Dr. Izabella Wentz, PharmD, FASCP8: Inflammation
Inflammation is present in most autoimmune conditions and can trig-
ger adrenal fatigue as well as the autoimmune cascade. There may be a
multitude of reasons for inflammation in the body, including infections,
food intolerances, injuries, internal flora, and a pro-inflammatory en-
vironment created by an imbalanced omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Thus,
to restore balance, we need to be sure that we are promoting an anti-
inflammatory environment in our bodies.
Our bodies require the essential omega-3 and omega-6 fats, and their
ratio should be 1:1 for proper immune function. Omega-3 fatty acids
reduce inflammation, while omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation.
Inflammation serves a protective role in our bodies, but in excess it can be
problematic. Most Americans get too many omega-6 essential fatty acids
and not enough omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Omega-6 acids are most often obtained from vegetable oils, nuts, and
seeds. Vegetable oils include canola, corn, soybean, peanut, sunflower,
safflower, cottonseed, grapeseed, margarine, and shortening.
These same oils are often found in processed foods such as salad dress-
ing, store-bought condiments, mayonnaise, chips, artificial cheese, store-
bought roasted nuts, cookies, crackers, snack foods, sauces, and almost
everything in the middle aisles of the grocery store.
Recommended for years as a healthy and cheap alternative to satu-
rated fats, vegetable oils and margarine have now been recognized
to be dangerous to human health and should be eliminated from
the diet.
Vegetable oils have high level of omega-6 acids, and eating them can
cause an imbalance. Omega-6 acids can easily oxidize not only in
body cells but also when exposed to heat or light. These oxidized fats
can cause inflammation and mutation in cells while also increasing
the risk of cancer.