Archive for the ‘omega-6’ Category

It has been known for a long time that cold water fish are a great source of omega-3. What many people don’t know is that the industrialized food chain now produces a substantial portion of its harvest from mega fish-farms. Here the unnatural diet is soy and grain meal produce more omega-6 than omega-3.

Fish obtain their omega-3 by consuming natural sources of these fats. The original source of EPA and DHA is from marine algae and phytoplankton. Small fish eat algae and phytoplankton. Larger fish eat smaller fish so the larger fish have more omega-3. Farmed fish on the other hand are completely dependent on their feed and when it does not contain EPA and DHA, the fish will not contain it in the levels found in wild fish.

Some groups of people who are at high risk for omega-3 deficiency (and thus cardiovascular disease) are vegetarians, especially vegans. Omega-3 is absent from plant foods. Flax seeds and oil contain the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is converted very slowly in the body to EPA and DHA.

Then there is the situation where the right amount of omega-3 for one person is not the right amount for another. Each individual may need a different amount of omega-3 to obtain the right balance between omega-3 and omega-6 in their body. Omega-3 lowers inflammation whereas omega-6 raises inflammation in the body. We need both but need to have a balance.

It’s not that our bodies have changed in what is needed for good health. It’s that our production and intake of foods has been modified. And for our health’s sake usually not to the better.

The good news is that researchers have found ways to measure the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in our bodies. It’s a simple blood test. Your risk of sudden cardiac death can be estimated from the Omega-3 Whole Blood Score. The groundbreaking work of a team of Harvard researchers found that people with total levels above 6.1% in the blood had a 90% reduction in risk of sudden cardiac arrest compared with those whose omega-3 were 4.3% or less of their total fatty acids.

You can read more of this study in the May 2010 issue of Life Extension.

FDA allows potato chips to be advertised as “heart healthy”

Frito-Lay® is a subsidiary of the Pepsi-Cola company. Frito-Lay® sells $12 billion a year of products that include:

Lays® Potato Chips, Doritos®, Tostitos®, Cheetos®, and Fritos®

You might not associate these mostly-fried snack foods as being good for you, but the FDA has no problem allowing the Frito-Lay® website to state the following:

“Frito-Lay snacks start with real farm-grown ingredients. You might be surprised at how much good stuff goes into your favorite snack. Good stuff like potatoes, which naturally contain vitamin C and essential minerals. Or corn, one of the world’s most popular grains, packed with Thiamin, vitamin B6, and Phosphorous – all necessary for healthy bones, teeth, nerves and muscles.

And it’s not just the obvious ingredients. Our all-natural sunflower, corn and soybean oils contain good polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which help lower total and LDL “bad” cholesterol and maintain HDL “good” cholesterol levels, which can support a healthy heart. Even salt, when eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet, is essential for the body.”

Wow! Based on what Frito-Lay® is allowed to state, it sounds like we should be living on these snacks. Who would want to ingest walnuts, pomegranate, or green tea (which FDA now says are illegal drugs) when these fat-calorie laden, mostly-fried carbohydrates are so widely available?

According to the Frito Lay® website, Lays® potato chips are now “heart healthy” because the level of saturated fat was reduced and replaced with sunflower oil. Scientific studies do show that when a polyunsaturated fat (like sunflower oil) is substituted for saturated fat, favorable changes in blood cholesterol occur.

Fatally omitted from the Frito-Lay® website is the fact that sunflower oil supplies lots of omega-6 fats, but no omega-3s. The American diet already contains too many omega-6 fats and woefully inadequate omega-3.

Excess omega-6 fats in the diet in the absence of adequate omega-3s produces devastating effects including the production of pro-inflammatory compounds that contribute to virtually every age-related disease including atherosclerosis.

For the FDA to allow Frito-Lay® to pretend there are heart benefits to ingesting their high-calorie snack products, while censoring the ability of walnut companies to make scientifically-substantiated claims, is tantamount of treason against the health of the American public.

We’ve known for a long time that omega-3 lowers inflammation in the body and omega-6 raises inflammation. Now we have this new study. Dr Andres Hart, from the University of East Anglia, analyzed data from 203,193 people from UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Italy aged between 30 and 74. Food frequency questionnaires were used to assess dietary intakes. Linoleic acid is found in foods such cooking oils (especially corn and sunflower oils), red meat (particularly beef and pork), and polyunsaturated margarines.

Increased intakes of omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid may double the risk of ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, says this Pan-European study.

On the other hand, the highest intakes of omega-3 were associated with 77 per cent reduction in the risk of the disease, according to findings of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) with 203,193 men and women published in Gut.

The study adds to a small but growing body of evidence supporting the importance of balance between omega-3 omega-6 fatty acids. I have written before about the imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6. Unfortunately the edible food manufacturers are more interested in sales than safety.

You can read the complete article at www.nutraingredients.com, by Stephen Daniells, 24-July-2009