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Omega-3s: The Enemy of Restorative Sleep

by Matt Blackburn April 08, 2019


The biggest lesser-known factor that gets in the way of deeply restorative sleep is unsaturated fats. That is a class of long-chain fats primarily found in plant foods. Highly unsaturated fats are commonly known as omega-3s: DHA, EPA and ALA. While we have been taught that these are essential, they are exactly the opposite! They are the enemy of the thyroid gland, the heart, the brain, cellular respiration and autophagy. In the natural health field, many of us have become aware of the harms of “rancid fats” and vegetable oils. What most haven’t considered is what oxidizes a long-chain fatty acid. Lipid peroxidation from light, heat and oxygen. That is what our blood is full of! We can take the purest fish, krill, seal or algae oil cold extracted and preserved, but as soon as it reaches our blood stream, it oxidizes and becomes harmful to our health! Detrimental breakdown products of omega-3s include: ethane, pentane, malondialdehyde, hydroxynonenal, crotonaldehyde, acrolein, and neuroprostanes. A