Cut out all hydrogenated fats and oils and enjoy that juicy steak.

OK, what about unsaturated fats?

There are two types of unsaturated fats. Poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated.

It is generally believed that all unsaturated fats are OK, but this is not case. Poly-unsaturated fats are bad for your health and are consumed in excessive amounts. They should be avoided.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, corn, sunflower and ... soybean vegetable oils. They remain liquid at room temperature. They do not have any redeeming health benefits. They are widely used because they are cheap and although they contain Omega 6 essential fatty acids most people get far too much Omega 6 which must be partially offset by Omega 3 essential fatty acids. More on that shortly!

Switch your polyunsaturated oils to mono-unsaturated.

The most common sources of mono-unsaturated fats are olive oil, rapeseed oil, hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, avocado, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds.

Oils made from these foods are much more stable at high temperatures than poly-unsaturated alternatives, and they do not have negative health implications. The best oil for cooking is without doubt EXTRA virgin olive oil. I put 'extra' in caps because it so important.

Most of mono-unsaturated oils have been through varying degrees of processing. The more processing, greater is loss of nutrients. The best is cold mechanically pressed oils which are often processed in darkness because of sensitivity of these oils to light and oxidation.

Studies have shown that a quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil will help lower bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol. However, ordinary virgin olive oil makes no change.

So, only use quality mono-unsaturated oils for your cooking needs.

Where do Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids fit into all this?

This is another subject all on its own, so I will just try and give you outline in a nutshell!

As name suggests Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids are just that... they are 'essential'. Many, many ailments can be traced to a shortage of one of these ... specifically Omega 3. There are schools of thought which believe increasing incidence of brain disease is directly attributable to a shortage of Omega 3. I think that is credible.

There is no shortage of Omega 6 in typical western diet. In fact there is a general over consumption of this as it is present in most cooking oils. The problem is a deficiency of Omega 3. The optimum ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is 3:1. Over last couple of decades that ratio has got out of control where it is now estimated that ratio is something like 20:1 or maybe even as high as 50:1.

Start adding Omega 3 essential fatty acids into your regular diet. The best natural source is flax seeds. Go to your local health food store and buy some ground flax seeds (preferably organic) and sprinkle a heaped tablespoon on your food every day. You can also get omega 3 from oily fishes such as salmon. The problem there though is difficulty of getting fish which is 100% free of contaminants.

OK... what should you do?

First of all, if you are over 35 and have not had a blood test within last few years ... arrange one... NOW!

Get a general one, which tests for:

* Cholesterol. Both LDL and HDL * Triglycerides * Homocysteine * Lipoproteins * Liver Function * Renal Function * Plasma Glucose

If you are a man over 40 make sure you also have a PSA. (Prostate Specific Antigen) test) Hint: There is recent evidence that suggests that if you have had sex within previous 72 hours your PSA levels could be affected. Play it safe and abstain for 2 - 3 days before your test.

Irrespective of your gender ask your physician if any other tests are also recommended for you. If each test is within normal range, that's great, you can rest easy knowing that you are unlikely to be subject to any immediate health risk. You can then direct your efforts towards improving way you feel and slowing down your aging process.

If any of your tests are abnormal you will need to do something about bringing them back to within 'normal' ranges ... and possibly be subject to more tests. It is treatment of any abnormalities from these blood tests that create a potential conflict between 'Askelepians' and 'Hygeians'.

Here is an example of potential conflict

Let's say your tests show that your cholesterol is 'out of whack', your 'mainstream' physician may first propose lowering your intake of diet cholesterol. That's unlikely to be successful as ingested cholesterol only makes up a relatively small percentage of blood cholesterol.

They will next likely propose one of cholesterol lowering drugs commonly known as 'statins'. These are drugs that work by blocking an enzyme that your liver needs to manufacture cholesterol. (Up to 80% of your blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver, NOT from ingestion of cholesterol within your diet).

These statin drugs are very powerful and have been known to cause serious side effects including deaths. In fact Bayers were recently forced to withdraw their statin drug from market place because of 'unacceptable' levels of fatalities. In spite of these risks, sales of statin drugs amount to billions of dollars per year and are commonly prescribed.

It's ironic that there are natural alternatives to these statin drugs which can assist in lowering cholesterol, and do it safely, and without side effects. But general public hears very little about them as they are not patentable and there is not financial incentive for big corporate's to promote them.

The same principle applies for many different ailments. There can be many legitimate methods of treatments. What is important is that you seek out natural alternatives and apply them before agreeing to subject yourself to negative side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

Pharmaceutical drugs are 'blockers' whereas natural remedies are 'enablers'

Pharmaceutical drugs are 'blockers' and do not normally heal underlying ailment. They generally work by suppressing natural functions such as certain enzymes which I mentioned earlier when giving 'statin' example. Because of this process, results are often 'instant' and as such there is sometimes a place for these powerful prescription drugs in case of life threatening emergencies.

In contrast, natural products such as herbs, vitamins etc are 'enablers'. They work at correcting cause of ailment which is often a nutrient deficiency of some sort. The results are not immediate and have to be measured in weeks, or even months.

If you have a serious ailment, work with your physician to try and correct it... by first using natural remedies. If she or he is not familiar with treatment you would like to try, do some further research and get hold of supporting information so you are in a better position to discuss options intelligently. If your physician has a closed mind to natural remedies it may be wise to ask around and find another qualified physician with an open mind.

Warren Matthews is the Editor of XTEND-YOUR-LIFE, a FREE bi-monthly Newsletter who's goal is to show you how to take better care of yourself. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor by subscribing today.