Most people have heard about the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. But there is a lot more to the story than simply having adequate levels of this Essential Fatty Acid (EFA). As the name suggests, fatty acids are essential to our health, just like vitamins and minerals. There are 2 EFAs: Omega-3 and Omega-6. Omega-9 fats are not considered essential at this time, although olive oil is an excellent source of Omega-9 and very healthful.
Both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids must be present in adequate quantities for health, but perhaps even more importantly, they must be in balance with each other. Although deficiencies in either EFA are possible, it’s much more common for the average American to have deficient Omega-3 and normal or excessive Omega-6 levels. When this is the case, the imbalance leads to an inflammatory situation in the body.
I often find that this imbalance exists in patients with inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, auto-immune diseases, pain syndromes, asthma, psoriasis, menstrual problems, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, heart disease, and many others. Chronic, excessive inflammation is an extremely important factor in many conditions.
Because of this, I regularly test my patients for EFA levels. I use a test from Metametrix Laboratory which is a finger-stick blood test. It tests for levels of three Omega-3 and four Omega-6 fatty acids. It also tests for levels of trans fats, which have been implicated in cardiovascular disease, amongst others. Lastly, it provides ratios between the fatty acids, and indicates inflammatory levels. The lab also provides a Supplement Recommendation Summary, based specifically on the individual’s test results, for example, 3gms Borage oil, 4 gms fish oil. After implementing the supplement recommendations, I suggest retesting after a period of 3-6 months, since it can take that long for levels to change because EFAs are fat soluble and stored in the body.
Why is inflammation so rampant in America? Because of the fact that most Americans get far too much Omega-6 fats in their diet from vegetable oils (corn, soy, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, canola), nuts, seeds, etc., and far too little Omega-3 fats from seafood. Well then, you may ask, why not just eat more seafood or take a fish oil supplement? For one, the oceans are somewhat toxic, and so you must be very careful which seafood you eat. There are also over fishing issues with some species. You would need to eat a high-Omega-3 cold water fish at least 3 times per week. Secondly, if you take fish oil, you should be certain that it has been purified via molecular distillation to remove all heavy metals, dioxins, and PCBs. Thirdly, without testing first, we would just be guessing at the correct dosage, and yes, it is possible (but not common) for Omega-3 levels to become excessive, which can lead to immune suppression. Temporary inflammation is an important component to the healing process. It’s when inflammation becomes chronic that problems arise.
Many people falsely believe that taking flax seed oil is just as good as taking fish oil. However, flax oil contains no EPA or DHA, the Omega-3s which are most beneficial. Flax oil contains a precursor to EPA, alpha-linoleic acid. Theoretically alpha-linoleic acid can convert to EPA in the body. But in reality, this conversion is often so slow as to be negligible. Many people have zinc deficiencies, and this will limit the conversion via the enzyme Delta-6-desaturase. Even in the best of circumstances, the conversion is only 10:1, meaning that you would need to take 10 tablespoons of flax oil to get the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of fish oil. And not many people want to do that! For strict vegans, this is possible (but difficult), but they also need to take a DHA supplement made from algae, which is many times more expensive than DHA from fish oil. The other issue with taking flax oil is that it also contains Omega-6 fats, which makes no sense if you are already adequate or excessive in Omega-6.
In my 11 years of practice, I have seen many supposedly intractable inflammatory conditions turn around completely by addressing deficiencies and imbalances of EFAs. I highly recommend testing (which must be ordered by your ND) and intervention. Please contact your ND to learn more.
Dr. Crystal Abernathy, N.D.
Naturopathic Physician
www.abernathynd.com
(704) 562-9705
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