Omega 3 vs Omega 6 - Discussion

What is the story of omega 3 vs omega 6 fatty acids?

Both groups are polyunsaturated fats. Omega 3 fatty acids include alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while omega 6 fatty acids include alpha-linoleic acid and arachidonic acid.

More attention had always been given to the importance of omega 6's, with more focus and research being carried out on omega 3 fatty acids only in recent decades.

The truth is, both omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are needed for good and optimal functioning and health of the human body. Both cannot be synthesized or made by the body, and must be consumed as part of our diets. Omega 6 fatty acids, for example, play a role in supporting dermal integrity, renal function, as well as parturition.

The problem with modern day diets, however, is that our ratio of omega 3 vs omega 6 consumption is badly imbalanced. It has been put forth that a healthy ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 could range from 1:4 to 1:1; however, it has also been suggested that typical modern day diets could be having staggering ratios ranging from 1:10 to 1:30.

For example, we are today much more likely to eat grain-fed animals as supposed to grass-fed animals, and the former has relatively more omega 6, with the latter having relatively more omega 3. Similarly, farmed-raised salmon has relatively high levels of omega 6's, too. Many heavily consumed vegetable oils are also high in omega 6 fatty acids.

A proper intake ratio of omega 3 vs omega 6 helps to maintain heart and cardiovascular health. It also helps to regulate inflammatory responses in the body, with omega 6 fatty acids tending to promote inflammation and omega 3 fatty acids tending to reduce it.

A bad omega 3 to omega 6 ratio can negatively affect the metabolic function of the body. It can also cause inflammation, a condition which is linked to many health ailments and diseases. Arachidonic acid, in particular, is highly inflammatory, and grain-fed beef and farm-raised salmon both have lots of this acid.

Worse still, because of the high amounts of omega 6's we are ingesting, our bodies struggle to use the already limited healthy omega 3 fatty acids for important purposes.

For information, here are the omega 3 vs omega 6 ratios of some types of oils, taken from Wikipedia.org.

• Flax Oil - 3:1
• Soybean Oil - 1:7
• Corn Oil - 1:46
• Canola Oil - 1:2
• Olive Oil - 1:13
• Sunflower oil and peanut oil has no omega 3 fatty acids, while cottonseed oil and grapeseed oil have almost none.

The point must also be raised that canola oil, olive oil and peanut oil have about 80% monounsaturated fatty acids (recall that both omega 3 and omega 6 are polyunsaturated fatty acids). This means that these oils have relatively low levels of omega 3's and omega 6's and would thus not be useful food sources for addressing omega 3 vs omega 6 imbalances.

Flax oil, on the other hand, looks useful for helping to bring about the necessary healthful balance.

Remember - it's about balance, and while we want to consume more omega 3 fatty acids to boost our health, we cannot be thinking of loading ourselves up only with omega 3's while completely not consuming omega 6's.