Via thriftymom this morning, a link to this article, which I’d give 4 out of 5 stars:
The Vanishing Youth Nutrient
Science writer Susan Allport unravels why the disappearance of omega-3s from our diet may be responsible for the epidemics of obesity, heart disease, cancer. Oh, and wrinkles, too.
In terms of her explanation of the omega-6 vs. omega-3 problem, it’s excellent.
Since 1909, according to the USDA, Americans have more than doubled their daily intake of omega-6s–from about 7 grams to around 18. One hundred years ago, heart disease was much less common in this country. Over the past century, though, heart disease has risen in tandem with our increasing intake of these seed fats, or omega-6s, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). So have neurological disorders like Lisa’s, as well as depression, arthritis, obesity, insulin resistance, and many cancers. While other dietary factors such as increased consumption of calories, trans fats, and sugar undoubtedly contributed, our essential fatty acid imbalance is a key player in most of these illnesses.
Over the same time period, omega-3s began disappearing from our food supply. Cows used to be raised on grass and other greens, producing meat, milk, and cheese with much higher concentrations of omega-3s. These were the animal products that our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up on, before industrial feedlots replaced family farms. Now these livestock are fed corn and soy, and their tissues are swamped with omega-6s. Chickens, too, used to eat grass and grass-eating bugs. Those chickens produced eggs and meat that were high in omega-3s, but now they’re fed full of omega-6-rich fall fats.
We are now eating a diet that is supposed to fatten us up for winter, when weather is harsh and calories are scarce. But today food is never scarce for the average American. The base of our food supply has shifted from leaves to seeds, and this simple change means our bodies are storing more fat, leading to obesity and all its associated diseases.
And in terms of how we got here, excellent as well.
A great deal happened to our food supply in those decades. Due to farm subsidies, the acres of soybeans, for example, grown in the United States exploded from about 4 million to 70 million. Oil processors like Archer Daniels Midland mastered the process of extracting oil from these and other seeds, and vegetable seed oils–thought to be healthy–began to dominate our food supply as they were added to the foods that make up the center aisles of the grocery store.
At the same time, food chemists discovered that rancidity in packaged foods was caused by the oxidation of some minor but pesky fats: omega-3s. Scientists extended the shelf life of processed foods such as cookies, chips, cakes, breads, and spreads by removing omega-3s–a nutrient that no one thought mattered. Health agencies, like the AHA, and the US government also promoted omega-6s, because seed oils are low in saturated fat and free of cholesterol. So omega-6 oils, such as corn and soybean, they thought, were good for the heart.
Scientists have known since the early 1970s, however, that omega-6s also promote blood clotting and inflammation, two immediate and direct causes of heart disease. But because omega-6s were essential, doctors thought you had to take the good with the bad. By the time they learned that omega-3s protect our hearts and fight inflammation, omega-6s were already the foundation of our modern food supply.
Well that’s already far more quoted material than I like, but oh well. The way it goes sometimes.
All is not complete joy, however. There’s a distinct underlying bias toward green leafy plant-based diets on the basis of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA – an omega-3) conversion to the forms of omega-3s that humans use, EPA and DHA, while only grudging acceptance that this conversion is "somewhat inefficient." Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the efficiency is on the order of about 3%. Hardly "somewhat."
The last two pages of the article provide some steps in how to increase omega-3 while decreasing omega-6. Not discussed in the article, however, is that the ratio of the two is probably as important, perhaps more important, than the absolute amount of omega-6. To give you some idea, a natural diet consumed by non-industrial peoples from equator to arctic circle will have a 6:3 ratio anywhere from about 4:1 to perhaps 1:2 for arctic Inuit. So, once again, evolution has afforded us a not-too-tight requirement. Plenty of leeway. But modern diets? I’ve read various claims, but they seem to come in somewhere at a 6:3 ratio anywhere from 15-30:1. Evolution simply didn’t provide for that at all.
As to increasing omega-3s, most of the advice is sound in that she talks about choosing grassfed meats and wild-caught fish. She asserts that "fish oil supplements [are] not a long-term solution to this widespread nutritional deficiency." Why? Unless you go live in a cave somewhere, you’re likely to be getting more n-6 than would be found in diets we evolved to eat. Restaurants, dinner with friends & family, the list goes on. And for many, the expense of grassfed meats and wild caught fish just isn’t an option. It is for these reasons that fish oil supplementation is probably the most important supplement and I can’t see any way around it being anything but a long-term solution. And it has the virtue of being pretty objective. You know precisely what amount of n-3 you’re getting. No guesswork.
The final page about lowering omega-6 intake, while not a disaster, is pretty much a mixed bag, in my book. I can’t believe someone that’s adept enough to research and write this article would tell you to replace a natural food, butter, with an industrially processed one — the solvent extracted oil from the rapeseed (canola).
But all in all, a very worthy read.
While I have not read Robert Andrew Brown’s book, Omega Six The Devil’s Fat, I can easily recommend it on the basis of his comment activity over at Stephan’s blog on so many entries over many months. I’m convinced he really knows what he’s talking about.
Finally, I recently reported on two amazing health improvements owing to fish oil supplementation. The first was the 95% drop in triglycerides Dr. Davis achieved in a few weeks. Then, Dr. Stephan reports on two fatty liver reversals here, and here.
HEY friends ! Just stop one second and THINK freely ! all theses studies about the so called devil fat omega 6 were made on ordinary BS heavily refined oils, just like the studies that were made on coconut oils that said that it was so bad for your heart ! Extra virgin sunflower oil, for example, is quite different and has none of the “devilish” effects of the refined crap. Dr Catherine KOUSMINE, in France and Switzerland achieved a lot of incredible results on human health using this oil (ironically pretty much the same results claimed but n3 users nowadays !). MAYBE YOU COULD INQUIRE ABOUT HER RESEARCH and change your mind. ALL the omega 6 craze is flawed !!!
Paul BELIZERE
Omega 6 oils are not evil, the imbalance is the problem. Kousmine's work had nothing to do with Omega 3 vs Omega 6 balance. Refined or not, too much Omega 6 will cause problems. The animals referenced in Allport's work were obviously not eating refined Omega 6.
I would think most of the recommendations were crap. Walnuts are not better than almonds in my book precisely because there is too much omega6 in walnuts. The author is still at a lower level of understanding. She does not understand that omega6+omega3 should also be less than to limit somewhere between 10-20gm. The ratios are important too, but volumes are probably more important.
Walnuts are known to have a way better Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio than almonds. If you are refuting this, you should cite a reference. There are many links I could provide, here is but one: http://wunderflax.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/what…
I think she understands way more about this subject than you, IMHO.
Well the ratio is 3:30 that is 1:10. And it contains a lot of PUFA, about 33% by weight. I guess its not any better than a vegetable oil. Actually Soyabean oil has better ratio.
I don't care what she says. I go by the numbers.
I see what you mean. I think the point she was trying to make was to “Substitute walnuts for other nuts when you can because they're a seed that's high in omega-3s.” In other words, if you are going to eat nuts, eat Walnuts (at least they have some Omega 3 to offset all of that Omega 6). She would have been better off saying “Don't eat nuts”.
I am don't agree with that. I believe that almonds are a better alternative to walnuts. I look at the total Omega6 deficit I am getting. I don't think we should get more than 15gm of Total PUFA per day. That would be about 7-8gm of each. 30% Omega6 means that you will fill up your 7gm quota in about 20gms of Walnut. While for Almonds it would be 70gms. There is a very large difference between the two. And Almonds come out better.
Also you want to fill up any deficit of the Omega3 to fish oil. I would actually keep both below 5gm each. So that I can at least get a decent amount of Omega3:Omega6 ratio with a spoon of Fish oil.
Great analysis, Richard. I had this article mentioned to me via Twitter and was torn between the parts of it that I thought were very good and the parts I felt were wrong and could be outright damaging if given a wider audience. Your post here solves that problem.
One aspect of the original article that I found very interesting was in framing the Omega-6 fatty acids as hibernation-inducing. I was immediately reminded of Dr. Art Ayers' excellent “Cooling Inflammation” blog and a post he did on “Chronic Diseases, Cryptic Infections and Hibernation” at http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/2009/07… It raises more questions than it answers, but it does tickle the brain. I am not, however, in any way a proponent of the “Marshall Protocol” that is mentioned. I currently take 7500 IU of D3 per day.
Hemp seed – check it out. No THC and a perfect balance of omega fatty acids. Also much kinder to and cleaner than fish! Easy to procure LEGALLY (in many countries it's classed as petfood, however) and will ALSO CURE CANCERS.
Don't take my word for it; do some research.
And see
“No THC”
Well, forget it, then.
Richard,
Off topic, but I thought that you might Like this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8234386.stm
Cheers – Mark
Yep. Not sure how Paleo eating would integrate, but imagine that,
combined with eating nothing after 8pm, you've got a good thing going.
As well as the occasional fast that I already do I may well give this a try.
It seems an easy option.
However, having been away to our holiday home for the weekend and arriving
home at 7 pm, I have just eaten half a leg of lamb and washed it down with a
bottle of red wine, so let's hope I do better tomorrow…
Cheers – Mark
2009/9/4 Disqus <>
Richard — thanks for the link and great analysis.
You wondered why Susan states that Fish Oil is not a long term solution to this problem. As she states on page 3: “The only problem is that eating more fish isn't a sustainable solution, as many of the world's fisheries are at the brink of collapse, according to a major study recently published in Science. Literally, there aren't enough fish in the world's oceans.” This would no doubt apply to fish oil as well. I'm not sure why you agree that the expense of wild caught fish is out of reach for the common man, but fish oil is not. They come from the same source. Dont' get me wrong — I take fish oil religiously in high volumes, but I count myself as fortunate.
I disagree with what you are saying about butter and canola oil. When corn and soy fed cattle are used to produce that butter, it becomes part of the problem. That said, I would agree that grass fed butter would be a better choice than canola. But again, canola oil is more affordable/accessible than grass fed butter, and would not contribute to the Omega 6 imbalance.
It suprised me to see you criticizing the article because it didn't bring up the issue of “ratio” as opposed to the absolute amount of Omega 6. You should read her book (Queen of Fats), according to my understanding, she is the one that first popularized the notion of ratio, as opposed to volume.
Good points, Steve.
I'm very skeptical of the claim that there's not enough fish in the ocean, though I would like to see that study if anyone has a link to it or a reference so I can get it at the library. 2/3 of the planet is ocean.
And what of krill oil (as yet prohibitively expensive)? Krill is the largest biomass on the planet.
As to criticizing her about ratio, it was only within the wider context of praising the article in general. I just think it would have made the article better had she touched on that issue.
I went back and re-read the article in light of that criticism, and you do have a point about her lack of emphasis on ratio as opposed to volume.
Regarding the global fish depletion problem, here is a quote from the World Bank website: “Approximately 25% of the world's marine fish stocks are considered overexploited and an additional 50% are fully exploited.”
Link to the World Bank article: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS…
WRT fisheries and fish oil, the best fish for Omega-3 rich fish oil are small fingerling sized fish in colder Atlantic and Pacific waters. These fish completely turn over their populations within 2-3 years and are not among of the species of fish threatened by overfishing. Another benefit of using these fish is that they do not live long enough to accumulate much mercury or other heavy metals into their tissues and the processing needed to remove these contaminants is cheaper and simpler.
Contrary to rumors of overpopulation, due to the selective overfishing of pelagic predator fish species like Mackerel, Tuna, Swordfish, etc., many species of smaller fish are undergoing population booms as they push up against the local supply of plankton and crustaceans for their diets. Harvesting even 10x as much as we currently do of these smaller oily fish would not threaten their numbers year-to-year.