You’ve probably been told that dietary fats are the “bad guys” when it comes to nutrition. Not all fats are bad, however. Certain fats are vital to health. The fats I am referring to are (aptly) called essential fatty acids. EFAs are made up of acidic compounds called oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid, all of which are contained (primarily) in vegetable oils. Omega- 3 fatty acids are another type of EFA and they are found mainly in fish. All EFAs are vitamin-like substances that have a protective effect on the body. The reason these fats are called “essential” is because your body cannot manufacture them; you must obtain them from the foods you eat. EFAs are the “good guys” in our nutrition story.

I’m not Chicken Little. You’ll never hear me running around screaming, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” I do not believe that the world is going to end on midnight this December 31st. I do, however, believe that there is a good chance that many of the systems and industries we depend on for basic functions, shipping, banking, and telecommunications, will be temporarily crippled by the Y2K computer problem. Luckily for us the imminent Y2K is unlike a tornado or flood in that we have both plenty of warning and sufficient time to adequately prepare.