Omega-3 and Omega-6

“In terms of its potential impact on health in the Western world, the Omega-3 story may someday be viewed as one of the most important in the history of modern nutritional science.” - William S. Harris, PhD, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003)

Well, Dr. Harris accurately predicted what was to come.

There’s been an awful lot written over the past four years about Omega-3s. Since 2004 when the FDA issued a health qualifying claim for EPA and DHA, an overwhelming amount of information, mis-information and products have been thrust upon consumers.

So what’s happened?

Why are countless consumers confused by Omega-3s? Why are sales of Omega-3 processed food products expected to reach $7 billion dollars by 2011? As I learned over the last month by conducting surveys in my fresh food market, consumers are confused.

Decades of research brought an important and vital health message that EPA and DHA from fish were anti-inflammatory and since we’re a nation filled with inflammation, I’d say it’s very important we do not lose sight of that discovery.

The discovery was neither ALA nor flaxseed although research is on-going for those as well. So for those of you who have thrown your hands up in the air wondering what’s going on with a proliferation of products labeled Omega-3 ALA, this post is for you. For any new readers to Omega-3, a few basics for you:

• ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is found in dark green leafy vegetables, oils and walnuts.
• EPA (elcosapentaenoic acid) and
• DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are found in the oil of fatty fish.

Collectively, these three essential fats are referred to as “omega-3 fatty acids.” Even though they share the same family name, they are very, very different in composition, structure, and in our body’s ability to make use of them efficiently.

When food manufacturers say a product is “fortified with Omega-3s” or “contains omega-3 fatty acids” 94% of those products are ALA often by way of a dollop of flaxseed but if you look closely at the label, Omega-6s are predominant and they are inflammatory.

Science says we can convert a small amount of EPA through a plant-sourced ALA but not DHA. That small conversion varies between medical communities but as little as 2% to perhaps 10% is all we can convert which is further inhibited by age, gender, illness, medications, but most importantly, by the amount of Omega-6s in our diets.

Through an ALA source, we lose the valuable cognitive benefits from DHA that we very much need. Our brains are 60% fat and DHA, without a doubt (so says science) is the fat needed for optimum cognitive alertness, pregnant women, developing brains of children, ADD in children, and Alzheimers in seniors. We need DHA and it won’t come through flaxseed or ALA.

ALA is an essential and important fatty acid but we cannot change or distort studies that brought valuable health information of the anti-inflammatory properties of EPA and DHA from fish – not a plant source because we are flaxseed enthusiasts, food manufacturers or vegetarians.

ALA studies show many benefits, some mixed, some inconclusive and some very promising. The day research says ALA is as effective for the many health issues we know EPA and DHA greatly improves, why would we want to add the less useful, less powerful, hard to convert ALA? Except vegetarians, of course, who do not eat fish. See this post for more information on flaxseed studies.

Science is now telling us another very important aspect to Omega-ôlogy and it’s an abundance of Omega-6s we’ve unknowingly consumed since the 60’s. The statistics are staggering of the amounts of soybean, cottonseed, safflower and corn oil (to name a few) the average American has take in from processed foods, fast food chains, and restaurants.

This is a very real problem in America and it isn’t going to go away. To counter-balance the abundance of Omega-6s we’ve unknowingly consumed, it will take the very strong researched and known anti-inflammatory properties of EPA and DHA to get a handle on inflammation.

To Your Health,

Lois Smithers

Author, The Food Industry’s Greed

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