Flaxisaplantthathasblueflowers,andseedsthatyieldlinseedoil.Italsohasslenderstemsfrom
whichatextilefiberisobtainedforclothing.FlaxformedanintegralpartoftheAncientEgyptian
dietandinthismannertheAncientEgyptianpeoplereceivedmuchbenefitfromreceivingtheessen-
tialfattyacids(EFA)whichhaveinmoderntimesbeenreferredtoasOmegafattyacids.Thereare
severalkindsoffats,howeveronlytwokindsareessentialfatsneededforhumanhealth:omega 3
(n-3orw3)andomega 6 (n-6orw6).Bothoftheseareunsaturatedfats.TheEFAsareconvertedinto
severalelementsbythebody,iftheyareprovidedtothebodyinsufficientquantityandintheright
ratio.Also,thequalityinwhichtheyhavebeenpreparedisimportant.Onceagain,thepreparation
mustbethroughacold-pressprocessifitisprovidedinaliquidform,anditmustnotbeheatedbey-
ondroomtemperature.Also,itmustbekeptrefrigerated.Alltheotherfats,suchas,omega7,omega
9 (monounsaturated)andsaturatedfatareconsideredasnon-essentialbecausethebodycanproduce
them on its own from sugars and starches.
EverycellinthebodyneedsEFA.Theyarenecessaryforrebuildingandproducingnewcells.They
arenotmanufacturedbythebody,andthereforemustbetakeninthroughthediet.Thus,adeficiency
inEFAwillleadtomanydisordersinthebody,andconversely,supplementationwithEFAhave
manybeneficialeffectofalleviatingdiseaseconditionssuchasarthritis,pain,highcholesteroland
triglyceridelevels,hardeningofthearteries,memoryloss,impairedlearning,eczema,andheartdis-
ease,tonameafew.Flaxseedisavailableathealthfoodstoresinitsseedformwhichcanbepulver-
izedinacoffeegrinder,andthensprinkledontothefood,orasacoldpressedoil,foundintherefri-
geratedsection,whichmustbeusedinanuncookedform.Ittoocanbeaddedtothefoodjustbefore
oneeatsit,orusedindressings.Flaxcanalsobefoundinagelcapform,however,thegelcapsare
often non-vegetarian.
ItisnotablethatthepeopleofmoderndayOkinawaaresomeofthehealthiestand
long-livedintheworldeventhoughtheyreceivetheiromegafattyacidsmostly
fromeatingfish.TheOkinawansalsobelieveinahealthywholisticlifestylewhich
includesexercise,spiritualityandotheraspectswhichmakeitverysimilartothe
KemeticDietsystem.AnothersourceofoilfortheAncientEgyptianDietwasthe
fruit from the Horseradish tree. (Available at health food stores)
The Critical Need for Essential Fatty Acids
MedicalResearchhasfoundapositivecorrelationbetweenOmega-3fattyaciddeficiencyandover
50 diseaseconditions,includingthetopthreecausesofdeathintheUSA,heartdisease,cancerand
stroke. 239 OtherconditionswhichwerecorrelatedwithOmega-3deficiencyincludeDiabetes,Im-
mune disorders, Alzheimers, Psoriasis, Multiple Sclerosis, High BloodPressure, dry skin, PMS, etc.
Omega-3fattyacidisanEssentialFattyAcid(EFA).Thereamany“essential”nutrientsthatthehu-
manbodyneeds.“Essential”meansthatthebodyeitherdoesnotmakethesenutrientsatallordoes
notmaketheminsufficientquantitieswhichthebodyneedsforhealth,andsotheymustbeingested
infoodsorsupplements.ThetwoOmegafattyacidsthatareofprimaryinterestareOmega-3fatty
acidandOmega-6fattyacid.EFA’sarefoundineverycellinthebody,andareinvolvedinseveral