Vega EFA Oil Blend

Vega EFA Oil Blend
www.myvega.com

Why this product rocks

With green the new chic colour, why not pour this verdant oil blend formulated by vegan Brendan Brazier, a professional Ironman triathlete.

Blessed with a rich, intense nutty flavour, each bottle contains a wonderful mixture of hemp oil, flax oil, pumpkin oil, coconut oil and several hip seed oils such as green tea, pomegranate seed, and black cumin.

Unlike most of the junky oils at the megamart, this oil is extracted using cold-press techniques without the use of nasty chemicals like hexane.

Too delicate for heating, try it in salad dressings, drizzled into smoothies, mixed into dips and soups and for dipping hearty whole-grain bread into it. Or try the killer pesto recipe below.

Body benefits

Hemp oil has an ideal 3:1 ratio of essential omega-6 and omega-3 fats which offer up strong heart protection. Because of our increased reliance on processed foods and fast-food that are made/cooked with crappy omega-6 rich oils like soybean an corn, the average North American consumes a ratio that is 10:1 or higher which has been shown to promote inflammation that can spiral into several chronic diseases. Hemp is also a rare food source of a fat called gamma-linolenic acid which is showing promise in helping fend off cancer and heart disease.

Flax seed oil is the best veg source of the omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid which, according to one Harvard study, can reduce the chances of suffering a heart attack. It looks like this fat is incorporated into the heart membrane where it helps regulate heart rate.

Pumpkin seed oil is a top-notch source of vitamin E which acts as antioxidant to wage ware against cell-damaging free radicals.

Coconut oil is the best source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). Unlike other saturated fats, medium-chain triglycerides are burned for energy instead of being stored as body fat. In fact, a 2008 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study that administered four to five teaspoons of MCT oil or olive oil daily to subjects for 4 months found that those consuming MCT oil lost more body weight and fat mass than those exposed to the olive variety.

Who will dig it

Health nuts who have been all gaga over flaxseed oil.

Who will toss it

Soybean and corn oil

Find it at

Most health/natural food stores or the natural foods section of some larger supermarkets.

EFA Oil Blend Pesto

Try spreading this toothsome pesto onto toast or grilled burgers. It’s also ridiculously good mixed into cooked pasta.

Ingredients

¼ cup Vega EFA oil (straight up hemp or pumpkin seed oil would also work and keep things green)

¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts

Juice from 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ cup fresh basil (can also use some cilantro)

Pinch coarse salt

2 tablespoons hempseeds (optional)

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until finely chopped but do not puree.