cognitive potential. If clear thinking is like coasting down a
multilane highway with no traffic and all lanes open,
inflammation creates lane closures and bottlenecks in the
traffic.
Having evolved over millennia, a competent and highly
adaptable immune system is vital to our survival—without
one, even the most minute infection could lead to death. The
immune system fights off these infections and is also the
mechanism that engorges injured parts of the body with
blood to help them heal—a sprained ankle, for example.
The ensuing heat and redness (the flame in inflammation) is
perfectly healthy—desired, even—under the conditions I
just described. Unfortunately, our immune systems today
are in a constant state of activation, not due to infectious
threat but rather to what we’re eating.
Whereas omega-3 fats like DHA and EPA are anti-
inflammatory, omega-6 fats are the raw materials used in
our bodies’ inflammation pathways—the very same
pathways that become activated when the body is under the
assault of infection. While it is speculated that our ancestral
diets incorporated these essential fatty acids in a ratio of
roughly one to one, today we’re consuming omega-6 fats
and omega-3 fats in a ratio of twenty-five to one.^12 This
means that every gram of omega-3 fat we consume is being
washed down with a whopping 25 grams (or more) of
omega-6. This kicks the aging process into high gear,
accelerating the degenerative processes that underlie many
of the chronic diseases burdening society today, and making
you feel like crap all the while.
How might you use fat to your advantage? Aside from