• Reduce cancer risk
• Lower blood pressure
• Decrease risk of sudden death from CVD
• Support normal blood lipids
• Protect memory and fight Alzheimer's
• Decrease inflammatory pain

Until recently it was accepted dogma that all fats are bad for you.

Fish oils are rich in omega-3s

Hundreds of studies have demonstrated the importance of omega-3-rich fish oils in the diet. They have had favorable effects on insulin resistance, cardiovascular health, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, and chronic inflammatory disease.²³ Numerous population studies like the ones previously discussed correlate an omega-3-rich diet with a significantly lower risk of heart disease. The oils have even been shown to help prevent the onset of a heart attack.⁴

Although the mechanisms responsible for omega-3 fatty acids’ reduction of CVD risk are still being studied, research has shown that consumption of fish and fish oil supplements helps:

• Decrease risk of sudden death and arrhythmia
• Decrease thrombosis (blood clots)
• Decrease triglyceride levels
• Decrease growth of atherosclerotic plaque
• Improve arterial health
• Lower blood pressure⁵

Fish oils have also been shown to protect against and/or ameliorate:

• Some forms of cancer
• Lupus
• Memory and cognitive dysfunction
• Eczema and psoriasis
• Arthritis and inflammation
• Migraine headaches
• Crohn’s disease
• Hypertension
• Arrhythmias⁶

Essential fatty acids—the healthy fats you can’t live without

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are critical to every cell of your body and essential for anti-aging. In fact, your body needs EFAs just like it needs other essential vitamins and minerals to help prevent and treat numerous diseases. But since the body cannot manufacture them, EFAs must come from the food you eat and/or nutritional supplements. There are two main classes of essential fatty acids: omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3s include Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha Linolenic acid (ALA).

Omega-3 fatty acids—EPA and DHA—are considered “long chain” fatty acids and are found primarily in cold-water fish (salmon, mackerel, cod, herring, rainbow trout, sardines, anchovies or eel) and fish oil supplements. ALA is a “short chain” fatty acid and is found in freshly ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil, dark leafy greens, hemp seed, soybeans, canola, walnut and flaxseed and oils made from those beans, nuts, and seeds.

Omega-6s include Linoleic acid (LA), Gamma linolenic acid (GLA), and Dihomo gamma linolenic acid (DGLA).

Omega-6 fatty acids are found in vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, safflower, and cottonseed oils.

Note: Most of the sunflower and safflower oils on the market today (even in health food stores) say “high monounsaturate” in the ingredients list. These are genetically modified seed oils even though some labels claim they are organic. And there is very little LA in them. Manufacturers do this now instead of partially hydrogenating the oil, so they can ensure a long shelf life.

What do essential fatty acids do?

EFAs serve as precursors to an entire class of hormones called prostaglandins, which regulate nearly every body function. EFAs nourish the skin, hair, mucous membranes, nerves, thyroid, adrenals, cells, and much more. They provide internal lubrication, keeping the gastrointestinal tract lubricated and aiding in smooth, efficient digestion and elimination. They also control the way cholesterol works in the body, and play a key role in the functioning of the brain, and in regulating inflammation and healing, the immune, digestive, reproductive, and cardiovascular functions.

Our very first EFAs come from mother’s milk, which is a source of EPA and DHA—both essential to brain development. These fats are not found in cow’s milk, which is one of the prime reasons breastfeeding is preferred over formula feeding. If a baby must take formula, it is especially important that the formula is enriched with DHA. After weaning, omega-3s must be derived from food or dietary supplements.

The right balance

A balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is essential to promoting and maintaining health. According to Artemis Simpoulos, M.D., President of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health in Washington D.C. and co-author of The Omega Plan (Harper Collins, 1998), “The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the Western diet today is betweeen 10-to-1 and 21-to-1, whereas the diet humans evolved on had a ratio of 1-to-1. One of the most important medical findings of recent years is that eating a balanced ratio of EFAs brings your diet back in sync with your genes and helps you experience optimal health.”

Current thinking is that omega-6 fats and omega-3 fats need to be balanced in the diet at a ratio of 1-to-1 or 2-to-1. And the best way to do that is to supplement your diet with an excellent fish oil nutritional supplement, and/or eat fish several times a week.

How do omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids work in the body?

These two classes of polyunsaturated fatty acids should be distinguished because they are metabolically and functionally distinct, as well as having opposing physiological functions, says Simpoulos. “Omega-3s and omega-6s work differently in the body. When they’re in balance, they’re both very good. When the omega-6s are in excess, they become bad.”

Here’s what happens: omega-3s produce hormone-like eicosanoids that are anti-inflammatory. These eicosanoids help support normal blood pressure by relaxing the arteries and blood vessels and decreasing blood lipids. They also decrease blood clotting factors and support immune function.

Omega-6s, however, can produce both anti-inflammatory and/or inflammatory and vasoconstricting eicosanoids. To oversimplify just a bit: omega-6s are good for you if you take them in the right amount with omega-3s. However, in the absence of omega-3s they can be very bad indeed.

Too many omega-6s in your diet in the absence of sufficient omega-3s can produce potent inflammatory agents that set the stage for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, and a host of other health problems.

But the eicosanoids produced by omega-3s help inhibit the production of these inflammatory agents. To clarify further: LA gets made into GLA, then into DGLA and then into either AA (arachidonic acid), which then gets made into inflammatory eicosanoids, or the DGLA gets made into a series of VERY BENEFICIAL eicosanoids that have, among other effects, antiviral and anti-vaso-constrictive effects.

What determines whether DGLA goes to AA or to the beneficial eicosanoids?

Well, low EPA and high insulin will cause DGLA to go to AA (that’s why Americans have such high levels of AA; we make it in our own bodies). If you have good levels of EPA and low insulin (by doing an insulin-smart diet) then your body will NOT make AA from DGLA … instead the DGLA will get made into the beneficial eicosanoids.

So, in a word, to turn omega-6 fats into a positive biological reaction, you take omega-3s! Confusing enough yet?

Even though omega-6 is an essential fatty acid, too much of it can do more harm than good. Insulin encourages the conversion of (omega-6) Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) into arachidonic acid. So does consumption of sugar, alcohol, saturated fats and trans-fatty acids, diabetes, aging, stress, and some prescription medications. Low levels of EPA also strongly encourage the conversion of omega-6 into AA. In essence, everything about the modern Western World diet encourages the conversion of dietary LA into heart disease causing AA! The solution? Reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates and take fish oil!

According to Barry Sears, Ph.D., author of several books including The Zone and the The Omega Rx Zone: The Miracle of the new high-dose fish oil (Harper Collins Publishers), “Excess arachidonic acid is your worst biological nightmare. It’s the building block for bad eicosanoids, including A2 (which causes platelet clumping), PGE2 (which promotes pain and depresses the immune system) and leukotrienes (which promote allergies and skin disorders). In fact, arachidonic acid is so potent and so dangerous that when you inject it into the bloodstream of rabbits the animals die within three minutes.”⁷

On the other hand, (omega-3) Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) encourages the conversion of GLA into good prostaglandins. GLA can go either way. So to make sure it goes the right way, reduce your consumption of starchy foods and eat fish or take fish oil supplements! In one study, corn oil, which is rich in omega-6s, increased the risk of colon cancer, but fish oil, rich in omega-3s, seemed to inhibit both the development and progression of cancer.⁸

Also, Australian researcher Leonard Storlien found that people who have low levels of omega-3s and high levels of omega-6s in their muscle cells are more likely to be obese and insulin resistant.⁹

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References

Articles of Interest from Smart Publications Health & Wellness Update

• Daily Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplements Benefit Chronic Heart Failure Patients
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids in Fish Oil Help Prevent and Psychiatric Disorders
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Proven Effective for Children and Adults with Asthma
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Beneficial To Patients With Diabetic Kidney Damage
• Fish oil and Glucosamine Offer Osteoarthritis Relief