Nuts & Seeds Prevent Viral Infections

What if I told you that healthy fats could prevent infections?

Fatty acids are essential for the proper function of cells, hormone receptors and a whole host of metabolic processes. It has been hypothesized that disruption of fatty acids in the form of lipid rafts can facilitate both chronic and acute infections.

This article looks at the stabilizing effects of linoleic acid, an essential omega 6 fatty acid found in nuts and seeds. Linoleic acid (LA) binds to the spike protein of COVID-19 stabilizing the ACE2 receptor (the way the virus enters the cells) and in in vitro studies has a protective effect on prevention of virus entering cells.

This article uses this info to hypothesize about future drugs that can be targeted to get a similar action. But what if we just ate diets with balanced amounts of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The appropriate balance for cell membranes is a 4:1 ratio of omega 6’s to omega 3’s but the typical America diet is filled with large amount of hydrogenated trans fats in the predominant for of omega 6’s, causing defective function in cell membranes. Simply removing processed oils and fats could be a starting point for getting our cell membranes back to a more balanced ratio.

Healthy oils include nut and seed oils (cold pressed, organic, unheated and don’t cook with these), avocado, coconut, butter/ghee (organic and grass fed/finished sources), tallow, extra virgin olive oil, and lard (from pastured pork). For sunflower and flax seed oils use a clean verified brand like Flora. A healthy balance of bioactive lipids (i.e., healthy fats) is the following: reduce saturated fats to 10% of total fat intake (typically come from butter, meat, etc.), increase monounsaturated fats to 40% of total fat intake (e.g., extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil), increase polyunsaturated fats to 40-50% of total fat intake (e.g., omega-3’s like fish, omega-3 fish oil, seeds and nuts).

Never use any heated, processed or solvent extracted oil. You wouldn’t put used oil in your car, so why put it in your body?

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