Omega-6 Fat Research News & Commentary: Recent Comments

Comment on Why Omega-6 Fats Matter to Your Health

2009-12-04T13:39:10Z

Evelyn,

I've watched the lecture twice now. Thanks for making it available. I'm telling everybody I know about it.

But while knowing how tissue concentrations of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is helpful, translating that knowledge into action on an industrial scale can be difficult and/or expensive. So what I propose is to feed livestock sprouted grains grown hydroponically. This would alter the essential fatty acid composition of the grain portion of animal feed at low cost to the producer and can be integrated into the current CFO system with minimal disruption of commerce.

In a similar vein, I've begun an inquiry aimed at agronomist researchers to determine if anyone has done animal feeding experiments with sprouted grains to manipulate the essential fatty acid composition of meat, dairy and poultry. I just started yesterday so have only one response thus far. The researcher said, "You ask interesting questions. I am not familiar with any work on the impact of sprouted grain on fatty acid profiles in meat. There has been some feeding work with sprouted grains in cattle proving the nutritional value to be essentially the same as non-sprouted grain for energy, protein etc. in steer diets. No meat analysis was conducted on that study.

We do know that rolled or crushed flax fed to animals, beef in our case, can
more than double the omega 3 levels in meat while marginally affecting n-6,
with a net result of improving the n-3:n-6 ratio from 0.09 to 0.21."

So thanks again for your excellent website.

Comment on Why Omega-6 Fats Matter to Your Health

2009-11-15T20:46:31Z

I've been getting so many hits on this omega-6 video, that I've exceeded my bandwidth nine times! (Every time I exceed bandwidth, the cost increases $$).

Therefore, today I switched to a company that allows me to show this video without incurring charges. The only difference is that you won't be able to watch the video on my site.

The upside, however, is that you can download the video to your own blog, website or media player, including iTunes.

Comment on High Omega-6 Associated with Infertility and Low Sperm Count

2009-08-26T16:55:32Z

Ted,

Thank you for your insightful comment.

I agree that vitamin D is an important issue. In general, we need to keep looking at the "big picture" of patterns of eating, as there is so much interplay between nutrients and other factors in food, which affect the function of our bodies. For example, while salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, it is also one of the few foods that contain vitamin D. Ultimately, we need to look at dietary patterns, not just single nutrients.

One of the best examples that comes to my mind is the D.A.S.H. intervention study on people (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which showed that a particular pattern of eating lowers blood pressure [1]. Previously, several animal and mechanism studies indicated that specific nutrients influence blood pressure. Yet, nutrient supplementation studies on humans, yielded disappointing results. Therefore, researchers changed tactics and created an eating pattern, aimed at eating more foods rich in the nutrients associated with lower blood pressure (nuts-rich in magnesium, fruits & vegetables rich in potassium and so forth). Voila! Blood pressure was reduced across the board, even in people with normal blood pressure levels [1].

It's fascinating to consider that many of the conditions associated with low omega-3 status (heart disease, some cancers, inflammation) are also associated with low vitamin D levels. And the pattern of eating that seems to address these health conditions quite nicely is the Mediterranean diet, which classically is low in omega-6 fat (See The Mediterranean Diet is Low in Omega-6 Fat, Say Lyon Diet Heart Study Scientists).

The Mediterranean diet has been around for a long time, and is consistent with a conceptual framework that incorporates evolutionary, historical, global and modern research perspectives. An excellent paper describing this unifying approach is listed below [2].

[1] Appel LH et al (The DASH Collaborative Research Group)
A Clinical Trial of the Effects of Dietary Patterns on Blood Pressure
N Engl J Med 1997 336: 1117-1124. [free full text]

[2] Ramsden CE, Faurot KR, Carrera-Bastos P, Cordain L, De Lorgeril M, Sperling LS.
Dietary fat quality and coronary heart disease prevention: a unified theory based on evolutionary, historical, global and modern perspectives. Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med. 2009 Aug;11(4):289-301Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med. 2009 Aug;11(4):289-301.PMID: 19627662

Comment on High Omega-6 Associated with Infertility and Low Sperm Count

2009-08-26T10:52:59Z

The fairly obvious practical outcomes of the above paper are that men wishing to improve sperm numbers and quality would do well to improve omega 3 status with an effective amount of fish oil while at the same time reducing the consumption of omega 6 to below 4% of calories by elimating corn, soybean, safflower and sunflower oil, and everything that contains them. Including most processed foods, bought mayonnaise, salad dressings, and fried foods.

I'd also like to make the point that omega 3 tends to work best in conjunction with optimum vitamin d status.

Sperm are equipped with their own Vitamin D receptor and we find the same pattern of improved sperm quality and motility from Vitamin D replete males.
See
Vitamin D Is an Important Factor in Estrogen Biosynthesis of Both Female and Male Gonads
So while of course it is important for couples with fertility problems to address the issue of omega 3omega 6 ratio, it's also important that this is done in the context of a Vitamin D3 replete status ideally between 40~60ng/mL 100~150nmol/l.

Comment on China Study Shows Dietary Arachidonic Acid Ups Risk for Colorectal Cancer

2009-08-15T21:24:22Z

Susan--thanks for sharing the full-text link to your story on the imbalance between dietary omega-3 fats (too little) and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (too much).

[Note: Science writer, Susan Allport, is the author of the Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them.]

Comment on China Study Shows Dietary Arachidonic Acid Ups Risk for Colorectal Cancer

2009-08-15T20:57:07Z

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-vanishing-youth-nutrient/6dec72fe5deb2210VgnVCM10000030281eac____/news.voices/in.the.magazine/september.2009.issue/0/0/1

Comment on Dietary Arachidonic Acid Increases Risk of Thrombus (Blood Clot)

2009-08-05T23:08:10Z

I had bypass surgery 20 months ago. I started out with the AHA heart healthy diet but always kept fish as my main food. I went into your diet plan: significantly reduced omega 6 under 4000 mg a day and increased omega 3. I am no longer on any heart meds and my echocardiogram shows clear arteries and grafts and my heart is beating normal. Thanks for your book.

Comment on Omega-6 Fat Increases Asthma Risk in Kids

2009-08-05T13:46:37Z

Thanks for this. It really helped me out!

Comment on What is the American Heart Association’s Agenda? —It Sure Ain’t Science or Public Health

2009-05-26T21:55:25Z

Ah, Unilever. That doesn't surprise me at all. Have you heard of the MARGARIN study? They tried to replicate the Lyon trial on a high omega-6 background. I'm corresponding with a journalist who says that Unilever pressured the investigators into keeping omega-6 high. They wanted to demonstrate that adding omega-3 margarine onto a high omega-6 background improves markers of heart disease progression, but failed. It reduced CRP but that's it. The study wasn't powered to detect differences in mortality.

You'd think someone would try to replicate the omega-6 intake of the Lyon trial. There's a lot to be gained if it works. It won't happen if the study is funded by Unilever though. They should breed the LA out of their oils like we did to high-oleic sunflower oil, then their financial interests would be well aligned with public health.

Thanks for the links.

Comment on What is the American Heart Association’s Agenda? —It Sure Ain’t Science or Public Health

2009-05-25T00:30:31Z

I am hopeful that the transparency of the internet combined with easier access to studies, will help disseminate the data quicker. It's the main reason I started this omega-6-research news site--to let the data speak for itself (with an occasional commentary from me).

I got intrigued about the omega-6 fat health issue while writing my Ultimate Omega-3 book. I was amazed at the depth of the omega-6 data indicating a problem (from mechanisms to intervention studies), yet, the omega-6 issue was not even on the public health radar in 2007. As for Bill Lands--he is a champion-scientist indeed--(there were so many seminal studies by him that I wrote a mini-feature of his work in my book!)

It seems that the "heart healthy" food companies are also keeping the fire lit on the omega-6-fats-are-heart-healthy mantra. There is a curious association with AHA and Unilever, (a large global margarine manufacturer). Three of the 12 AHA scientists declared that they received either advisory or consulting fees from this food conglomerate, (which sells margarines, salad dressings and spread), which as you know, are among the highest sources of omega-6 fat in westernized countries.

Lastly, here's some info for your upcoming reviews (the first of which, is a recent paper by Lyon Diet Heart study investigators):

The Mediterranean Diet is Low in Omega-6 Fat, Say Lyon Diet Heart Study Scientists

Tribole. E. What happened to do no harm? The issue of dietary omega-6 fatty acids Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids January 2009 (Vol. 80, Issue 1, Pages 78-79)

Omega-6 Fat: The Polyunsaturated Fat Paradox in Heart Disease and Inflammation

Not So Fast--- Statins vs Mediterranean Diet

What Everyone Ought to Know About the Mediterranean Diet