More from Prevention: Scary Toxins In Your Home In a commentary published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, US researchers (from five universities and a government agency) point to evidence that eating an unhealthy diet actually makes you more susceptible to pollution’s negative health effects. The good news is that making smarter personal choices can protect us from many everyday chemicals. Increasingly, researchers believe that adopting certain food habits—and trashing bad ones—could help blunt the blow of pollution present in daily life. To help tame the stress that chemicals cause in our bodies, researchers suggest ditching omega-6–rich processed foods and adding healthy omega-3–and antioxidant-rich foods to your diet. While the damage is most severe in babies still developing in the womb and in young children, cleaning up your diet can mean benefits for you, too—no matter what your age. The Protectors! Put these foods on your menu:1. Old-fashioned eggs. Eggs from hens raised at pasture contain two times more omega-3s than standard store-bought eggs. As an added measure, find a local pasture-based farm that supplements hens with certified-organic feed so you can to avoid genetically engineered ingredients and pesticide residues. More from Prevention: What You Need To Know About GMOs 2. Walnuts and flax seeds. A quarter-cup of walnuts weighs in at 160 calories and provides nearly all of the omega-3 fatty acids you need in a day. The source is ALA, a precursor to omega-3s that your body turns into the beneficial fat. Flaxseeds are another plant-based option for high omega-3 content. 3. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Lots of fish are rich in omega-3s, but many are also contaminated with mercury and PCBs. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon is one of the richest sources of omega-3s, but without the high levels of pollution found in other seafood. The Assaulters! Take these foods off your menu…While we all need omega-6s, the standard American diet that’s heavy on processed foods leads to an unhealthy omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Foods rich in omega-6 fats help to amplify the inflammation, free-radical production, and cell-signaling chaos caused by the pollution you come into contact every day. To start cutting back on omega-6s:
Cut out processed cereal and replace it with organic oatmealAvoid foods containing corn or safflower oils; opt for a more neutral oil, such as olive oilDitch fast food—it’s saturated in obesity- and autoimmune-disease-promoting omega-6s
