"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.
"The group that was fed
Omega-6 from Safflower oil, they had increased risk of death from all causes as well as death due to coronary heart disease and death due to cardiovascular disease" said study author Dr.
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.