A Balance of Omega-3 and
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Omega-3 and Omega-6 Are Essential for Your Healthy Heart
Omega-3 and Omega-6 are two important essential fatty acids (EFA). Essential fatty acids are so-called for two reasons. They are essential to life and health. You and I must have them. But our bodies cannot manufacture them.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of essential fatty acids in general and omega-3 and omega-6 in particular. Scientific research continues to link an impressive list of health problems to EFA deficiency and imbalance.
Omega-3 and omega-6 imbalance is responsible for many chronic heart conditions. We are concerned with heart disease. But you and I do not merely want to avoid heart disease. Our goal is optimal heart health. In order to build good habits to promote our optimal heart health it is imperative to look at the current subject. Let’s consider the following points…
- Where Do We Get Omega-3 and Omega-6?
- There is Good News and Bad News about Omega-6.
- We May Be Getting Too Much of a Good Thing.
- There is Bad News and Good News about Omega-3.
- What Is the Research Saying?
- What Steps Can I Take For Optimal Heart Health?
Where Do We Get Omega-3 and Omega-6?
Omega-3 exists in three forms. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is found in vegetable sources such as…
- flax seed oil
- soybean oil
- canola oil
Less potent sources are…
- walnuts
- dairy products
- beans
- broccoli
Omega-3 is also found in two marine forms. They are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). They are found primarily in cold-water fatty fish such as...
- salmon
- mackerel
- lake trout
- herring
- sardines
- albacore tuna
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Heart Health Note:
It is important to get sufficient levels of Omega-3 to support your heart health. Most people are very deficient in these essential fatty acids. Supplementing with a quality Omega-3 supplement is an easy way to help guard against heart disease. Here is a great fish sourced Omega-3 supplement at a very good price. If you try to stay away from fish you can also add extra ALA to your diet. The Omega-3 ALA has been shown to help reduce risk of heart disease. Try this Flaxseed supplement. |
Omega-6 also exists in several forms. The first is LA (linoleic acid) which is found in…
- corn oil
- safflower oil
- soybean oil
- sunflower oil
- cottonseed oil
Two other forms of omega-6 are GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid). GLA is also found in plant based oils. ARA is found in many animal based foods.
These sources will become important as we learn about the health benefits and risks of omega-3 and omega-6. That’s right. There are benefits and risks.
There is Good News and Bad News about Omega-6
We have noted that omega-6 is essential to health. In fact research has linked an impressive list of health concerns to omega-6. It has been suggested that omega-6 should be used in the treatment of…
- anorexia nervosa
- ADHD
- osteoporosis
- diabetes
- eye disease
- certain skin conditions
- allergies
- rheumatoid arthritis
- tuberculosis
- cancer
We May Be Getting Too Much of a Good Thing
Since I live in the U.S. let me speak from home. The average American diet provides more than 10 times the proper amount of omega-6. Most of us are getting too much of a good thing. Why is that?
Linoleic acid (LA) is found in the primary oil added to most processed foods. (This indicates another reason to limit our eating of processed foods.) It is also found in the often used oils listed above.
Here is another important fact. Our bodies have the ability to convert linoleic acid (as well as alpha-linolenic acid) into longer chain fatty acids which lead to the production of eicosanoids. Eicosanoids depending, on their source, can have positive and negative influences on our bodies. They may…
- slow intravascular clotting which helps to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
- suppress inflammation preventing us from overreacting to allergens.
- dilate blood vessels reducing hypertension and increasing good blood delivery.
- control cell growth slowing the rapid growth of cancer cells.
- increase blood clotting which leads to heart attack and stroke.
- suppress the immune system leaving us more open to infection.
- increase cellular growth thereby promoting the growth of cancer cells.
- create new blood vessels which can feed cancer cells.
Generally speaking the eicosanoids produced by an overabundance of omega-6 tend to produce the negative affects… not the positive.
So much for a happy ending.
But there is hope. We need to look at the other side of the equation.
There is Bad News and Good News about Omega-3
Here’s the bad news. We are not getting nearly enough omega-3. The average diet is horribly deficient in omega-3 rich foods. Because of this fact we are at increased risk for a number of chronic health concerns.
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Heart Health Note:
One serious heart health issue is rising triglyceride levels. The American Heart Association recommends 2 - 4 grams of Omega-3 per day for anyone with high triglycerides. Of course coronary heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in many developed countries. The American Heart Association recommends at least one gram of Omega-3 per day for anyone with documented heart disease. Try this high potency fish sourced Omega-3 supplement. For folks trying to stay away from fish... flaxseed is the next best option. It is the highest source of the Omega-3 ALA. High ALA concentration Flaxseed supplement at a very good price. |
Who gets enough omega-3? Well, Eskimos do.
In the early 1970's two Danish researchers observed that Eskimos had diets very high in fatty fish. They expected to find that these people would have high incidence of heart disease. In fact they found the exact opposite.
It was discovered that the blood platelets of Eskimos were not as sticky as those of their European and American counterparts. The researchers attributed this "non-sticky" characteristic to the omega-3 fatty acids consumed in the Eskimos' diet.
Further studies in the decades that followed brought increased knowledge of the effects of fish oils and especially omega-3 fatty acids. This includes…
- reduction of blood pressure
- reduction of fat in the blood
- positive influence on cholesterol
- lowering of triglycerides
- reduced risk of sudden cardiac death
- reduced risk of coronary heart disease
That’s the good news. Who would have thought that a diet high in fat – not just any fat – would be good for us?
So next time you are in the artic circle why not have lunch with an Eskimo?
What Is the Research Saying?
Lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids can increase the risk of heart disease. This is especially true with diets high in saturated fats. Simply put we are designed to receive a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
But we don’t.
Let’s look briefly at the data.
In a 1988 New England Journal of Medicine clinical, Weber and Leaf discuss the medical progress doctors have made in the research of EPA and DHA. These are the potent omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish.
The clinical refers to numerous studies and marked the beginning of many omega-3 clinical trials. Since then copious studies have verified that EPA and DHA inhibit high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These and other findings are consistent with the low prevalence of atherosclerosis in the Greenland Eskimos.
One such study found significant reductions of triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol (very low density lipoproteins) from the use of fish oil. These findings included individuals with both normal and high blood pressure.
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (decosahexaenoic acid) are polyunsaturated fatty acids. They inhibit thromboxane2 and monocytes. These substances account for hundreds of thousands of heart attacks and coronary associated diseases each year.
The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial was a study supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Its design was to investigate the effects of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids on heart disease.
The trial involved 22 clinical centers and nearly 13,000 men believed to be at high risk for heart disease over a period of 10.5 years. The primary result demonstrated that those subjects who ingested 664 mg of omega-3 fatty acids every day had a significant reduction in mortality. The results showed…
- 50% lower risk of death from heart disease.
- 45% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
- 27% lower risk of death from all causes.
What Steps Can I Take For Optimal Heart Health?
We need a balance of omega-3 and omega-6
The World Health Organization recommends that polyunsaturated fats make up 3 - 7% of the energy in the diet. Experts advise that one should consume a minimum of 3% of energy from omega-6 fatty acids and between 0.5% and 1% from omega-3.
Research scientists recommend ratios varying from 5:1 to 10:1 omega-6 to omega-3. Some experts suggest a ratio of between 1:1 and 4:1 as being optimal. What are we getting? The current ratio in our diet is estimated to be 14:1 to 20:1.
It is this imbalance that helps promote so much heart disease today.
The first step in achieving a healthy balance is to minimize the use of oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Oils such as…
- corn
- sunflower
- safflower
- cottonseed
The next step is to increase consumption of omega-3 rich foods. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is found in many vegetable sources. It is helpful in the reduction of heart related ailments. But it has been shown to lack the potency of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) for heart health.
High consumption of fish oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown innumerable times to reduce the risk of many heart conditions. So we need to eat more cold-water fatty fish.
Unless you really love fish – like our friends in the artic circle – it may be difficult to get enough omega-3. Also, high fish consumption raises the risk of metal poisoning – such as mercury.
The third step is to add fish oil supplements to your daily routine. Please get good ones. You don’t want any extra pollutants. Below is a good supplement harvested from the cold waters of the Nordic sea.
Highly concentrated Omega-3 supplement.
Remember, we aren’t merely trying to avoid heart disease. This site is about optimal heart health. There are many opportunities for us to build good heart health habits. Getting plenty of omega-3 is a great habit to begin.
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