"No convincing evidence suggests that altering intakes of long-chain omega-3, ?-linolenic acid,
omega-6, or total PUFA alters glucose metabolism or risk of diabetes," the authors write.
A Western diet can be saturated with
Omega-6 rich food (vegetable oils, margarine, pork products and mayonnaise) so we must be mindful to include Omega-3 full foods.
Farmed fish become "floating vegetables" simply because aquaculture worldwide feeds vegetable oils to farmed fish, a practice that has left them with an unnatural and unhealthful
omega-6 to omega-3 ratio--the same defect of all factory-farmed foods.
In addition, the proper ratio of
omega-6 to omega-3 has been shown in many studies to be very important in the inflammatory process.
The primary
omega-6 fatty acid in the diet is linoleic acid, which is found in corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils.
saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 and
omega-6 fatty acids), and micronutrients, such as minerals like potassium, sodium and phosphorus.
Simopoulos [8] looks at the diets in the Occident, which contain higher amount of
omega-6 because of the indiscriminate recommendation to substitute saturated fatty acids by
omega-6, with the purpose of reducing serum cholesterol.
However, since omega-3 and
omega-6 fatty acids compete for the same enzymes, the relative dietary proportions of precursor fatty acids determine the net rate of conversion to their respective long-chain derivatives (Goyens et al.
It has been estimated that often the
omega-6: omega-3 ratio is 30:1 or even 50:1 whereas the ideal ratio should be 2:1.
There are two families: Omega-3 and
Omega-6. Omega-9, by contrast, is necessary yet non-essential because the body can manufacture a modest amount on its own, provided essential fatty acids are present.
Within the family of polyunsaturated fats,
omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are considered "good" fats.