- …the amazing discovery from so long ago (well the 1970’s anyway!)
- Why we all need some of this Kiwi tonic
- Balance is what health is all about
Way back in 2005 a much younger version of my good self set out to research, inform and entertain as many people as I could about natural remedies and other ways to keep you out of the doctor’s surgery.
I never dreamed that The Good Life Letter would still be going all these years later, or that the time and effort I spend searching for new information or advice would open quite so many doors and opportunities as it does.
It has always been the ambition to tell you about such things in an informative, if light-hearted manner.
But from time to time I do get a jolt back to reality when my attempts at jocularity get the cold shoulder…
…such was the case this week when I flippantly referred to a bar of ‘Cadbury’s Whole Nut’ as being a healthy treat.
Now I know it is only high cocoa dark chocolate which is good for us, I clearly know that a huge multi-national company like Cadbury won’t be making anything vaguely healthy and the last thing I would ever want is for any reader to be offended by anything I ever say…
…but blimey give a fellow a chance at levity once in a while!
However the furore over the chocolate scandal was nothing compared to the fury I received from one reader who felt I was deserting a fantastic natural remedy for arthritis in favour of a more costly option.
This is what GG wrote;
Re: Green Lipped Mussels
Just to say that despite the weather for the last year my osteoarthritis has been nothing no more pain in my hands, back, knees or neck, in fact only minor pain at best after a busy and heavy day of work. You have not advertised any of the green lipped muscle power tablets once, I have passed on to people who have osteoarthritis these tablets and the results are very much the same as they are for me.
Well that’s me told then! But maybe I do need to tell you too, so here goes!
One to remember
The general consensus these days is that our western diet is far too high in Omega-6 fats.
These are fats you get from high levels of vegetable oils in modern cooking processes.
This isn’t to say that omega-6s are bad for you – they’re actually ESSENTIAL for good health – it’s just that they need to be properly balanced out by an intake of omega-3 fatty acids (many experts believe the ideal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 should be 1:1).
Sounds easy doesn’t it? After all, you can find Omega-3 fats in fish, seafood, broccoli, cabbage, and walnuts and flaxseeds.
But guess what? It’s not as simple as that.
In fact, the average Western diet has a ratio of 20:1. This gets even worse for modern kids when the ratio is closer to 30:1!
How is this happening?
First off, we’d have to eat a lot of the above to get sufficient Omega-3 fats into our diet, and until chocolate covered cabbage gets invented (obviously not by Cadbury’s please!) I can’t see my kids eating more of the stuff.
Because of this, we’re a long way off hitting the perfect 1:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 oils. And it’s this huge imbalance which is being linked to many systemic
inflammatory problems.
So, we are talking here about joint pain, acne, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disorders and heart disease.
Perhaps the lesser known benefit relates to mental health.
Dr Joe Hibbeln, from the Nutritional Neurosciences Section at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, says that omega-3s alter brain chemicals linked with mood; plus they also regulate more than 100 genes involved in transmitting messages between brain cells.
This means an imbalance can exacerbate conditions such as dementia, and that is of real importance to me. You may recall that my dad is a sufferer and helping him manage his diet has become one of the key factors in looking after him.
So, it is clear that increasing our intake of Omega-3 oils has to be a good thing, but how can we achieve this easily and from a proven and sustainable resource… well here is where a humble sea creature from the warm oceans around New Zealand can play its part.
The magic ingredient hidden in the seas of New Zealand
Way back in the 70s (when The Sweeney was still on, I had plenty of hair and there were ‘nuts oh hazel nuts’ around… this stops now, Ed), research scientists noticed something very strange about the Maoris living in the coastal areas of New Zealand.
It seems that not one of them suffered from arthritis or joint pain of any kind.
Further studies showed that it was ONLY the Maoris who lived on the coast who showed this remarkable resistance to arthritis. Maoris who lived inland had the same percentage of arthritis as most of the Western world.
But the coastal Maoris were different.
And after years of studying the soil, the sea, the eating habits, the drinking habits and the culture of these coastal dwellers, the researchers finally cracked it…
Their diet was rich in green lipped mussels, and it was the oil from these mussels that was protecting them from inflammation and joint paint.
Can you guess what the oil was?
That’s right – it was Omega-3. By included Omega-3 oils in their diet, these Maoris had virtually wiped out the existence of arthritis.
So how exactly does Omega-3 fight (and by the looks of it beat) arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions?
The great balancing act…
Remember that perfect 1:1 ratio of Omega-6 vs Omega-3, and how we in the western world have an average ratio of 20:1…?
Well, by taking a green mussel extract, you can dramatically shift the balance of fats in your body.
The intense boost of omega-3 can help reduce the body’s natural inflammatory response to viruses and allergic reactions.
Of course, ordinary fish oils are a good source of these omega-3s. But the king of all fish oils is the green lipped mussel.
It lives in sun-baked waters packed with plankton that contain extraordinarily high levels of antioxidants, which means it’s one of the most powerful natural remedies in the
fight against joint pain, arthritis and dementia.
To get all the benefits of green lipped mussels you need to try this… Lyprinol
I hope that you all benefit as GG has from this fantastic natural remedy.
