Fish Oil: Fatty Acid Imbalance Creates Health Problems

The typical American diet contains far too much omega-6 oil and not enough omega-3 oil, according to Dr. Janice K Kiecolt-Glaser of the Ohio State University College of Medicine. (Psychosomatic Mediicne, March 30, 2007)
 
This imbalance could be the reason for the incredibly sharp increase in heart disease and depression over the last 100 years.

Historically, our hunter-gather ancestors ate no more than about two or three times omega-6 than omega-3. But nowadays our modern diet contains as much as 15 to 17 times omega-6 as omega-3. And that’s a huge difference.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found in refined vegetable oils, which are used in margarine, baked goods and snack foods. Omega -3 fatty acids, on the other hand, are found primarily in fatty fish such as salmon and sardines. Ever since refined oils were introduced in the early 20th century, omega-6 fatty acids have become a major part of the typical Western diet.

The problem is these omega-6 oils create compounds such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6. These compounds, Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser asserts, are “all-purpose ‘nasties’ for aging.” They’ve been linked among other things to heart disease, type-2 diabetes and arthritis.

Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser and her team studied the relationship of fatty acid consumption, depression and inflammation in a group of 43 older men and women.  They found the six patients with diagnosed major depression had nearly 18 times the amount of omega-6 in their blood as omega-3. The patients who didn’t meet the criteria for major depression averaged 13 times as much omega-6.

The depressed patients also had much higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6 and other inflammatory compounds. The researchers also noted that as depression levels increased, so did the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in blood.

Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser said that cutting back on refined corn, sunflower and safflower vegetable cooking oils, using more monounsaturated olive oil and eating a lot more fatty fish and more fresh fruits and vegetables would go a long way to improve the typical fatty acid imbalance.

Following recommendations for a healthy diet — and eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel or sardines every now and then — could go a long way to promote a healthier omega-6/omega 3 balance, Kiecolt-Glaser said. “If people actually had more fruits and vegetables in their diet, they probably would have less omega-6.”
SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, online March 30, 2007.

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