Omega 3-6-9

Omega 6 & 3 - Essential fatty acids

The two main EFAs Important for human health are omega-3 and omega-6. Both need to be present in the diet and the body is unable to convert one type into the other. Whilst the amount of omega-6 eaten in Europe has risen, the amount of omega-3 consumed has fallen, Ideally the maximum ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 consumed Is 5: 1. In the UK. the ratio is nearer to 8:1 and in the US and Australia the ratio is nearer 12:1 and this imbalance has been identified as a possible cause of modem health problems.4 It is generally accepted that richer nations tend to consume enough omega-6 fatty acids, but are deficient in omega-3 so should address this imbalance by eating more omega-3 fatty acids.

The omega-3 family of polyunsaturated fatty acids can be further divided into two groups: short chains (alpha linolenic acid or ALA) and long chains (eicosapentaenoic acid – EPA and docosahexaenoic acid. D)-iA. The short chains are mainly found in plants (including some of the vegetable oils listed in the table Fatty acids and vitamin E) whereas the long chains are found almost uniquely In sea food. The human body can only utilise the long chains though short chains can be converted into long chains. There are concerns that this conversion process may be inefficient and so non-fish eaters may need to increase their consumption of EFAs. omega-3 has been shown to play an essential role In the human unborn and newborn brain and retinal development, and provide protection against heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. It has also been claimed that omega-3 can help in preventing arthritis, asthma. autoimmune diseases, Crohn’s disease. inflammatory skin diseases, depression and schizophrenia. The recommendation is to eat about 100g (3oz) oily fish per person per week. Oily fish include tuna. salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and pilchard. The vegetable oils which have a high omega-3 level (see the table Fatty acids and vitamin E) include flax or linseed oil (53%) and walnut oil (14%). Of the more common oils. both soybean oil (7%) and rapeseed oil (9%) contain significant amounts of omega-3. Olive oil (1 %) in contrast has very low levels of omega-3 despite the numerous health claims made about the oil.

Fight breast cancer with Omega-3
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Omega 3 diets
For years, we’ve heard that far causes heart attacks, high cholesterol, and weight gain, lint we now know that certain types of fat actually protect us from high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Omega 3 fatty acids help lower bad LDL cholesterol, raise good HDL, cholesterol, lower triglycerides (a type of blood fat), [...]

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
Two polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid (omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9), are the only fatty acids known to be essential for the nutritional well being of many species of animals, and of the humans. Linoleic acid (omega 3) cannot be synthesized and must therefore be supplied in the [...]

Omega 3 & 6 – The good fat
Much has to be learned about the functions of linoleic acid (also known as omega 6) and linolenic acid (also known as omega 3) a term you may recall from the fish-oil craze a few years back). But scientists believe that these essential fatty acids govern growth, vitality and [...]

Omega 6 – EFA
The human body absolutely requires the polyunsaturated EFAs — linolenic acid (omega 6 fats) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega 3 fats). That is exactly why these fatty acids are termed essential.” The omega 3s are found in flaxseed, hemp, and pumpkin seed oils, in addition to marine sources (cold-water fish and ocean-dwelling micro-algae), [...]

Omega 3-6 essential acids
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Fight depression with Omega 3
During this past century there has been a marked increase in the lifetime risk for major depression with a decreasing age of onset. Over the same time period there have been significant changes in the intake of dietary fats, with substantially more saturated and trans fats being consumed, and less of [...]

Omega 3 facts
You need to know that there are two stories on fats. There arc fats that predispose to heart attacks and strokes (because they make our platelets more sticky), but there are others that protect us from heart attacks and strokes. There are fats that kill and fats that heal. So let us talk [...]

Omega 3 fatty acids
The case for fish oil dates back more than 20 years, when studies showed relatively few heart problems among Japanese who ate a lot of seafood. Similar benefits were later found among Greenland Eskimos, and after two decades of follow-up, a study last year in the New England Journal of Medicine reported [...]