Understanding Omega 6 and Omega 3

By David Swartzentruber

Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids, which means that they are essential to human health but cannot be made in the body. For this reason, they must be obtained from food. Together, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. Essential fatty acids belong to the class of fatty acids called polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are generally necessary for stimulating skin and hair growth, maintaining bone health, regulating metabolism, and maintaining reproductive capability.

The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil; whole-grain breads, eggs and poultry and baked goods. These oils are overabundant in the typical diet, which explains our excess omega-6 levels. Avoid or limit these oils.

Omega-3, meanwhile, is typically found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, and fish. Cold-water fatty fish , such as mackerel, herring, sardines, trout and salmon, are rich in different kinds of omega-3 fats – eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – which can help supplement the role of alpha linolenic acid in the body. Unfortunately, most of the fish consumed in Thailand comes from warm-water fishing areas.

These two fatty acids are pivotal in preventing heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. The human brain is also highly dependent on DHA - low DHA levels have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's. Researchers are now also linking inadequate intake of these omega-3 fats in pregnant women to premature birth and low birth weight, and to hyperactivity in children.

The benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficient disorder, joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease. Research indicates that omega-3s encourages the production of body chemicals that help control inflammation - in the joints, the bloodstream, and the tissues.

But just as important is omega-3s ability to reduce the negative impact of omega-6s. They support skin health, lower cholesterol, and help make our blood "sticky" so it is able to clot. But when omega-6s aren't balanced with sufficient amounts of omega-3s, problems can ensue.

Over the past 50-100 years there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids with the increased use vegetable oils from corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cottonseed, and soybeans in cooking and processing. To balance this deficit, many physicians suggest omega-3, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, B-complex and multivitamins be added to our diets.

However, more recent research on essential fatty acids has yielded some intriguing new findings. One of these is that increased intakes of these essential fats appear to reduce tissue levels of triglycerides (stored fats), which improves the sensitivity of insulin (the hormone that drives amino acids and glucose into muscle cells), so reducing the risk of obesity.

Researchers discovered that these fats, particularly those of the omega-3 family, play essential roles in the maintenance of energy balance and glucose metabolism. In particular, they observed a phenomenon known as 'fuel partitioning', whereby dietary EFAs were able to direct glucose (from digested carbohydrates) towards glycogen storage while at the same time directing other fatty acids in the body away from triglyceride synthesis (i.e. fat storage) and towards fatty acid oxidation!

In addition, these studies suggested that omega-3 fatty acids have the unique ability to enhance thermogenesis (the burning of excess fat to produce heat), thereby reducing the efficiency of body fat deposition. In simple terms, this fuel-partitioning phenomenon appears to conserve carbohydrate while simultaneously shedding fat – exactly what most athletes would give their right arm for! You may want to include fish oil supplements in your diet to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids and these are readily available in Bangkok.