You’ve heard of the saying “fight fire with fire’, well now another rallying cry could be “fight fat with fat”. The findings are preliminary, but it looks like another healthy fat, Omega 7 can help reduce chances for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other obesity-related diseases.
The most promising component of Omega 7 is palmitoleic acid. Like other omega fats, palmitoleic acid is an unsaturated fat found primarily in plant foods such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. Palmitoleic acid plays an important role in regulating your metabolism and research has shown it to be the first fatty acid found to act as a hormone in the body. Before that, all known hormones were either based on proteins or steroids.
Omega-3 fatty acids are known for their anti-inflammatory properties but Omega-7 fats are different because they function by signaling molecules that facilitate communication between fat and muscle tissue in the body. This helps fat and liver cells travel to other organs in the body where it can help protect against metabolic syndrome, high triglycerides and blood fats that increase the risk of heart disease. It also aids in lower blood sugar levels and improved sensitivity to insulin.
Just a small amount of omega-7 has a profound effect on the body’s response to energy intake, fat storage and utilization of fats. Omega-7 can suppress the production of new fat molecules that damage tissue and raise cardiovascular risk by increasing glucose uptake by muscle cells and increase their ability to burn sugar for energy and store it in quick-release glycogen. This in effect can aid your body in lowering your blood sugar with its own natural insulin.
Omega-7’s effects resemble those of many drugs like Lipitor that are commonly used by people with high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Because high levels of palmitoleic acid can do more harm than good, it’s very important not to just go out and start binging on Omega 7 supplements. It’s recommended that you get Omega 7’s naturally in a balanced diet of whole foods with healthy fats like olive oil and nuts.
The best source for omega 7 is macadamia nuts, fish and oils concentrated from sea buckthorn berries. Sea buckthorn oil is extracted from the berries and seeds of the sea buckthorn plant grown in the Himalayan mountains and has the extra benefit of containing healthy bioflavonoids. Too much of it though can negate the benefits of Omega-7’s so it’s important that your oil is purified to reduce the palmitic acid concentration to less than 1%, and ideally concentrate the omega-7 content to below 50%.
