Everyone struggles to improve their diets and sometimes the task seems so monumental that it is not even worth the effort. But small changes can have an impact. A study of breastfeeding moms from about ten years ago makes that point.
Increasingly studies are showing us that we need to increase our intake of Omega-3 fatty acids and decrease our intake of Omega-6 fatty acids. Usually that means eating a lot more fish (high in Omega-3s) and fewer chips and crackers (loaded with Omega-6s). But the designer eggs from the grocery store or, better yet, eggs from hens feeding on bugs and weeds are a good bet as well.
In the journal Nutrition in 1996, researchers Cherian and Sim studied the breast milk of eight women. They measured the Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acid profile at the beginning of the study and then six weeks later after the women consumed two "designer eggs" each day. (These are the eggs from flax fed hens.) At the beginning of the study, their ratio was nearly 7 to 1 of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. After the six weeks of two designer eggs, the women had a ratio of about 3 to 1. Ideally, we would consume equal amounts of each of these fats, so the eggs helped improve the ratio of fats in the breast milk.
The added Omega-3 fatty acids in these egg yolks, by the way, push this food right into the depression buster food category.
