An Omega 3 per day Keeps the Doctor Away: Will Omega 3 or Omega 6 Fats Win the Race in your Body?

What would you do if there was a supplement or food that could lower all forms of inflammation in your body, decrease risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, and make you smarter?

That supplement/food is omega 3 fats.  Omega 3 fats came into fashion a few years back, but many did not realize its critical significance for health and longevity.

Lowering Inflammation

Omega 3 fats lower inflammation in the body, and omega 6 fats increase inflammation.  When animals eat grass, we receive omega 3 fats as a result of consuming them, and when they eat corn or grains we receive omega 6 fats.

Since omega 3 and omega 6 fats compete for first line in the body, whichever is more prevalent will win the race.

The 3 omega’s are ALA, DHA, and EPA.  DHA is essential in brain development.  It also can lower cortisol and stress levels in the body. 

ALA is found in ground flax seed and is important for hormone stabilization.  Studies show the lignan found in flax seeds rids the body of bad hormones which can lead to cancer.

EPA can lower risk of disease states including diabetes and heart disease.  It is imperative to get three omega’s to have the most benefit in the body.

Studies show omega 3 fats:

Lower depression
Increase IQ in children whose mother’s took omega 3’s during pregnancy
Lower violence in general
Lower risk of autoimmune diseases
Lower insulin resistance, heart disease and diabetes

The list of positives is fairly long.  If you go to the search engine pubmed which shows abstracts of major studies, and type in omega 3’s, you’ll find at least 20,000 studies in their database.

Are we getting enough omega 3’s?  100 years ago we did not have to worry about getting enough omega 3’s.  Our animals ate grass and pre-packaged processed foods did not exist.

In the last few decades our government and control of farms geared our food supply away from the natural way animals ate, which increased our intake of omega 6 fats.

In addition, the food supply is filled with soybean and cottonseed oils, omega 6 “seed oils” that require industrial processes to extract the oils, and did not exist 100 years ago.

The hard drive of your body starts in the brain – the way you walk, move, hormone function, etc.  If the brain does not get the food it needs, these systems can become compromised.

What can you do for the Omega 3 fats to win the Race in your body?

1. Eat grass-fed beef, pastured poultry and eggs
2. Eat Wild Fish a few times a week
3. Avoid prepackaged processed foods
4. Use at least 1 tablespoon per day of ground flax seed
5. Take an omega 3 supplement with at least 500 mg. each of DHA and EPA
   
6. Use an oil high in omega 3’s such as extra-virgin olive oil and lower intake of omega 6 oils such as soybean, cottonseed, corn, vegetable, safflower, and sunflower

Your brain and body will thank you and you’ll spend less time visiting your doctor.  Maybe the old adage should say “an Omega 3 per day keeps the doctor away."

Telomeres and Omega 3's: Is there a Connection?

This week researchers at the University of California in San Francisco reported results on patients they had studied over 5 years who had a history of heart attacks and/or heart disease.  They were specifically looking at the effects of omega 3 fats on aging and telomere length.

Telomeres are DNA complexes on the ends of chromosomes.  Researcher Elizabeth Blackburn compares telomeres to the tips at the ends of new shoelaces which preventing unraveling.  As the telomeres shorten the ends unravel and this unraveling has been linked with aging.

Individuals who had higher levels of omega 3 fats in their blood had significantly less shortening of their telomeres than those who who had low levels.  The study did not differentiate between food or supplements.

What is the take home message for us?  Many people take multiple medications and/or supplements to prevent aging.  If you eat fatty fish 3-4 times a week you may be adding years to your life.  If fish is not in your diet I recommend you take a good quality fish oil supplement with at least 500-1000 mg. each of the omega 3 fats DHA and EPA.  By eating 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed you will easily be getting  your needs for the third omega 3 fat – ALA.  Remember it’s prevention, not prescription.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

The basis of anti-inflammatory eating is to lower inflammation of any kind caused by foods.  Avoidance of certain foods or food groups helps to lower inflammation as well as increasing intake of other food groups. 

In general protein and fats from monounsaturated and omega-3 sources do not trigger inflammation, and aid in lowering inflammation.  Carbohydrates that are in their purest forms such as fruits, vegetables and certain types of whole grains are thought to keep inflammation to a minimum.  Organic produce is preferred.

Starchy processed carbohydrates, omega-6 fats (see below) and trans fats (hydrogenated fats that are used in foods to increase shelf life) increase inflammation and should be avoided or minimized.

Dairy products should be organic to avoid hormones which increase inflammation.

Protein Choices:

Choose a variety each week from the following foods:

Protein does not create inflammation in the body since there is little insulin response when we consume protein-rich foods.  Types of protein that exist are:

• Lean Red Meat Choices (grass-fed preferred) – filet mignon, 7-15% ground meat, top sirloin, eye of the round, etc.

• Lamb/Pork/Veal – lean cuts

• Chicken/Turkey – skinless poultry, skinless thigh meat

• Fish – freshwater fish, shellfish, *salmon or other fatty fish, light tuna in water (wild fish preferred over farm raised)

• Eggs – organic free range preferred

• Cheese (grass-fed preferred) – hard European or other good quality hard cheeses

• Beans – garbanzo/chickpeas, kidney, pinto, black

• Cottage Cheese/Ricotta Cheese – organic preferred

• Nuts/Seeds – unsalted raw or dry roasted

• Nut Butters –natural peanut, almond or cashew butters

• Milk or yogurt – organic milk and plain low fat or whole milk yogurts

Carbohydrate Choices: 

Least Inflammatory: 

• Fruits –fresh organic fruit or unsweetened frozen or unsweetened applesauce

• Vegetables – fresh organic vegetables or lettuce

• Whole Grains:  quinoa, steel-cut oats, buckwheat, brown or wild rice, yams (once or twice a week)

Most Inflammatory:

Breads, bagels, muffins, pasta, white rice, popcorn, tortillas, cereals (any kind), potatoes, crackers, chips, desserts

Fat Choices:

Choose as desired:

*Olive oil/ Walnut Oil

Coconut Oil- extra virgin organic

Avocado/guacamole

Butter - organic

Olive oil mayonnaise

Olive oil based dressings

**Omega 3 Fatty Acids:  ground flax seeds, fish oil

Foods to Limit or Avoid:

Sugar and high sugar products

Any processed or refined foods (foods in a package with an extended shelf life)

Wheat and wheat products

Potatoes and potato products

Omega 6 Oils:  corn, canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, vegetable and other inexpensive oils used in processed foods

Caffeine and alcohol both aggravate stress and inflammation in the body and should be avoided or minimized

When possible grass-fed meat or cheese is preferred since the products they produce are higher in omega-3 fatty acids (versus corn/grain fed animals whose products produce more omega-6 fatty acids)

Treats to include if Desired:

High quality dark chocolate (greater than 70%) is considered an anti-oxidant food and does not trigger inflammation.

Good quality ice-cream (such as McConnell’s Santa Barbara or Häagen-Dazs Five) contains minimal high quality ingredients and consuming once or twice a week is acceptable.

*These foods are the highest in omega-3 fatty acids and should be consumed daily to lower inflammation.

Designer Food Worth the Extra Cost?

Jumping off grocery store shelves are foods laced with specialty food supplements.  Are these “foods” worth the extra cost?  Can they really improve your health or are these products just another way to allure us to buy something that is “good” for us?

Omega3-laced eggs and milk.  Calcium supplemented chocolate chews and orange juice.  Vitamin C supplemented “energy drinks.”  Just how practical are these foods to our needs?

A typical omega-3 supplemented egg provides about 200 mg. of omega 3 fatty acids – sounds good so far.  However, if you break it down a typical omega 3 gel supplement has 1000 mg. of total omega-3 fatty acids per capsule.  Therefore, you are only getting about a fifth of a capsule in an egg. 

In addition, the most important thing to know about omega 3’s in HOW much DHA and EPA you are receiving in your supplement (see blog 7/5/09).  A 1000 mg. capsule of Carlson Super Omega 3 Fish Oil Capsules has 200 mg of DHA and 300 mg. of EPA. The outside of the bottle says 1000 mg. of omega 3’s but that is TOTAL marine fats. 

Therefore, your omega 3 eggs costing you about 60-80 percent more than regular eggs are not worth the extra cost.  The wiser investment is to take the supplement and consume regular eggs.  The same is true for most all of these “foods.”  Manufacturers are just using buzzwords to entice us to buy their products to improve our health and well-being. 

Eating clean food with no food label or less than 5 ingredients is the start.  Then consuming a balance of protein, low fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, good fats from omega-3 rich foods (fish and ground flax seed), and monounsaturated sources (avocados, olive oil) is the next step.  An important supplement may be fish oil or Vitamin D (see blog 7/12).