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Home > Anti-aging Research > Fats

Essential Fatty Acids

Related Topics:

• omega-3 (alpha linolenic acid) / omega-6 (linoleic acid) / omega-9 (oleic acid) / gamma linolenic acid / evening primrose oil / flaxseed oil / Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) / canola oil / trans fatty acids

Overview:

I did some research to try to clear up the confusion among the various fats.  The ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 should be about 2:1.  For most people in the United States it is believed to be about 10 to 20:1.  What makes that even worse is that high omega 6 can suppress omega 3 absorption1.  The omega 3 in vegetable sources such as canola, soyabean and flax oils and  are in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (LNA), which must be converted to docosapentaenoic acid  (DHA) and/or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) whereas most of the omega 3 in fish oil is already in that form6.  You need relatively large amounts of LNA to form enough EPA and DHA6,23.  There is evidence that low omega 3 status can contribute to or increased omega 3 may improve heart disease1,2, stroke16, breast cancer1, prostate cancer1,15, lung cancer1, colon cancer1, arthritis1, schizophrenia1,3,18, bipolar disorder2,18, depression1,9,14,18, anxiety1, attention deficit1,2,18, borderline personality disorder21, hair loss7, diabetes1, Raynaud's phenomenon2, asthma1, hypertriglyceridemia1,11, hyperlipidemia11, lupus2, IgA nephropathy1,2, kidney stones2,10, chronic fatigue syndrome2, cystic fibrosis1,2,17, dyslexia2,18, eye diseases1, hypertension1,8,12, Alzheimer's disease20, cognitive impairment,18 , dry eye syndrome22 and dementia3,18. All refs at x.

A 100 gram (3.52 ounce) serving of fresh Atlantic Salmon has the EPA + DHA of about 2.2 capsules of Mega Twin EPA (at iHerb or Vitacost) (1836/840 = 2.2) or 6.1 capsules (1836/300 = 6.1) of the lower priced products such as Sun Ultra Omega 3.

Wild fish may increase the your exposure to mercury and PCBs, not only in fresh-water fish but also in ocean fish. 4, 2, 19  However, farmed fish may be low in omega 3 and high in omega 6 if they were fed grain products instead of marine products. 4, 13

The molecular distillation method used for fish oil supplements is claimed to remove metals, PCBs and other toxins to below detectable levels for human consumption.  In the fish oil table below, I've marked to ones that claim to use molecular distillation with an asterisk (*).  Vitacost had several brand named fish oil products tested by an independent lab, some of which aren't advertised as being molecularly distilled.  The analysis showed that all the samples had no detectable total mercury. 3  Consumer Lab tested 20 brands of fish oil and none were found to contain detectable levels of mercury [less than 1.5 parts per billion (ppb)] but some fell short of the labeled amount of EPA or DHA.   By comparison, mercury levels in fish generally range from 10 ppb to 1,000 ppb, depending on the fish.2  Nether Vitacost or Consumer Lab discussed PCB results, which I thought was strange.

Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega 6 fatty acid.  Some argue that the conversion of linoleic acid (the form of omega 6  in most vegetable oils) to GLA is poor and therefore we don't get enough.  I'm not a doctor but used to find it hard to believe that if we are getting way too much linoleic acid that GLA would be a problem.  Then I tried some GLA supplements and around the same time, my blood pressure went down considerably.

I haven't run across any recommendations for omega 9, however the vegetable oil table below shows that nearly all vegetable oils have a significant amount of omega 9.  If most Americans get 10 times too much omega 6 and most vegetable oils are mostly omega 9, I can't see the point in taking the combo omega 3, 6, 9 supplements so I just take omega 3 from fish oil.  Does omega 9 inhibit the absorption of omega 3 like omega 6 does?  I don't believe there have been any trials to determine that.  See the tables below for various fish oil capsules and vegetable oils.  See "General Information" below for references:

Trans fatty acids are not required to be listed on labels.  About the only way you can tell is if it says "hydrogenated (name of oil) oil" on the label.  I've read a lot of margarine labels and was only able to find two that didn't have trans fats.  One is Promise, made with sunflower oil.  Sunflower oil is about 11% saturated fat, 63% omega 6,  a trace of omega 3 and 26% omega 9.  The other is Smart Balance, which is made with soy, palm, canola and olive oils.  I did the math on those four oils and it averaged 22% saturated fat, 23% omega 6, 5% omega 3 (in the form of LNA) and 50% omega 9.  That's assuming equal amounts of all four oils, which probably isn't the case but I doubt if those figures are far off.

** The omega-3 in vegetable oils is in the form of alpha linolenic acid (no EPA, DHA or DPA).  See "General Information" below for why alpha linolenic acid might not be as effective.

Omega 3 in various fish oil capsules as a percentage of the total fat in the capsule
Brand	Total omega 3	EPA	DHA	Other omega 3 (DPA and ALA)
Twinlab TwinEPA (vc) 1,000 mg capsule	840/1000 = 84%	600/1000 = 60%	240/1000 = 24%	0%
Jarrow Max DHA * 500 mg capsule	400/500 = 80%	100/500 = 20%	250/500 = 50%	50/500 = 10%
Sun Ultra DHA 50 * 500 mg capsule	400/500 = 80%	100/500 = 20%	250/500 = 50%	50/500 = 10%
Sun Ultra 30/20 * 1,000 mg capsule	600/1000 = 60%	300/1000 = 30%	200/1000 = 20%	100/1000 = 10%
Source Naturals EPA 1,000 mg capsule	600/1000 = 60%	450/1000 = 45%	100/1000 = 10%	50/1000 = 5%
RxOmega-3 1,000 mg capsule	630/1065 = 59%	400/1065 = 38%	200/1065 = 19%	30/1065 = 3%
LEF Mega EPA 1,200 mg capsule	700/1200 = 58%	400/1200 = 33%	300/1200 = 25%	0%
Enzymatic Eskimo-3 500 mg capsule	200/500 = 40%	87/500 = 17%	55/500 = 11%	58/500 = 12%
NSI Superior EFA 1,000 mg capsule	400/1000 = 40%	100/1000 = 10%	250/1000 = 25%	50/1000 = 5%
Carlson Norwegian Salmon Oil 1,000 mg capsule	375/1000 = 38%	180/1000 = 18%	125/1000 = 13%	70/1000 = 7%
Twinlab Super MaxEPA (vc) 1,200 mg capsule	375/1200 = 31%	225/1200 = 19%	150/1200 = 12%	0%
Sun Ultra Omega 3 1,000 mg capsule	300/1000 = 30%	180/1000 = 18%	120/1000 = 12%	0%
Zone Perfect * 1000 mg capsule	267/1000 = 27%	160/1000 = 16%	107/1000 = 11%
Now Foods Salmon Oil	400/2000 = 20%	240/2000 = 12%	160/2000 = 8%	0%
Vegetable oils (note that the omega 3 is in the form of ALA.  See "General Information" below for why this might not be as good)
Source Natural Omega Flax 1,000 mg capsule	570/1000 = 57%	0%	0%	570/1000 = 57% (ALA)
Canola Oil	10%	0%	0%	10% (ALA)

vc - Vitacost price
* Molecular Distillation

Common food sources of omega 6 and omega 3 100 grams = 3.52 ounces
Food	Total Fat (g/100g)	Omega 6 (mg/100g)	Omega 3 (mg/100g)
			ALA	EPA, DPA or DHA	Total n-3
Nuts and Seeds
Almonds (blanched)	55.8	13500	0	0	0
Hazelnut	61.4	7000	100	0	100
Peanut (roasted, skin, salted)	51.7	16300	0	0	0
Pecan	71.9	24200	600	0
Pine nut	70.9	39800	0	0	0
Sesame seed	55.6	24400	0	0	0
Walnut	69.2	43200	6300	0	6300
Fresh Fish
Barramundi	2.1	82	35	520	555
Bream	4	75	25	572	598
Cod, Antarctic	4.1	46	0	756	756
Flathead	1.6	22	1	410	411
Gemfish	6.4	248	103	721	824
Mackerel, blue, with skin	3.3	204	34	1108	1204
Mullet	3.0	359	14	595	637
Oyster, Sydney rock	4.0	184	109	1024	1404
Perch, golden	2.3	265	79	460	602
Salmon, Atlantic	7.1	592	108	1836	2131
Salmon, Australian	1.5	48	5	615	626
Trevally	1.8	294	5	629	634
Whiting	0.5	45	3	132	136
Canned Fish
Sardine (canned in oil, drained)	15.7	1839	329	2615	2944
Australian Salmon (Safcol)	3.4	86	36	981	1089
Pink Salmon (John West)	6.8	116	69	1454	1643
Red Salmon (Paramount)	10.4	178	89	1740	2133
Tuna	23.2	10700	930	487	1417
Omega Supplements	Values are mg/capsule
Twinlab Mega Twin EPA (vc) 1,000 mg capsule				840	840
Jarrow Max DHA 500 mg capsule *				400	400
Sun Ultra 30/20 1,000 mg capsule *				600	600
Source Naturals EPA 1,000 mg capsule			25	575	600
Source Natural Omega Flax 1,000 mg capsule			567	0	567

* Molecular Distillation

General Information:

• Fats, Fish Oil and Omega-3-Fatty Acids - Medicinenet.com
• Fats: Nutrition Source -  Harvard School of Public Health
• Essential Fatty Acids, Flax Seed Oil, Udo's Choice Products > FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions!
• Omega 3: Implications in Human Health and Disease - PowerPak.com -  "The omega 6 LA comprises 7% to 9% of our daily caloric intake, while the omega 3 LNA makes up about 0.7% of energy. It is therefore estimated that the dietary ratio of LA to LNA ranges from 10 to 20:1, at which level the metabolism of LNA is strongly suppressed. Again, this is far more than the recommended ratio of 2.3:1 ... From an evolutionary perspective, a significant change in the diet has occurred in a very short time. The diet of our ancestors in the Paleolithic period (400,000 to 45,000 years ago) was lower in fat and balanced in omega 6 and omega 3—a ratio of 1:1, or 10- to 20-fold lower than today's standard."
• Omega 3: Implications in Human Health and Disease - PowerPak.com - "It should be noted, however, that flaxseed or flaxseed oil does not contain EPA or DHA. Thus flaxseed and fish oil are not interchangeable sources of omega 3 fatty acids per se" - I believe the same holds true for canola oil - Ben
• Omega 3: Implications in human health and disease - PowerPak.com - "we know that diets high in the omega 6 LA—the typical American diet—suppress the metabolism and accretion of blood and tissue omega 3 fatty acids"
• GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid): The Good Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acid - Total Health for Longevity Magazine, 9/00 - "A healthy body can use some of the linoleic acid it gets in the diet to produce GLA. The truth is most of us don't properly utilize linoleic acid. There are a number of dietary and lifestyle factors inhibiting the conversion of linoleic acid to GLA: sugar consumption, smoking, alcohol, chemical carcinogens, aging and illnesses (viral infections, cancer, diabetes, hypothyroidism, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, and hormonal fluctuations) ... In addition, there are major metabolic roadblocks which get in the way of the conversion. The main culprits are the "bad" fats: trans-fatty acids from margarine, vegetable shortening and commercially processed vegetable oils. These are biologically inferior fats, totally incapable of being converted into the powerful GLA. Instead, they actually hinder the very catalyst needed for the GLA transformation, a special enzyme called D6D (Delta-6-Desaturase) and its vital co-workers-vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B3, zinc and magnesium"
• Best Heart Benefits From Canola and Fish Oils -- Not Olive Oil - WebMD, 3/14/00 - "Most people don't realize that the Lyon diet did not use olive oil ... Ten volunteers, all with normal cholesterol levels, were given three meals composed of canola oil and bread, olive oil and bread, or salmon, with each meal totaling 50 g of fat ... The olive oil meal caused vessels to constrict by 34%, whereas the canola oil and salmon meals caused insignificant changes in blood vessels, Vogel reports. Because such constrictions injure the blood vessels' endothelium, they contribute to heart disease"
• Different Types of Dietary Fat - thenutritionreporter.com

News & Research:

• Canola Oil Increases Compliance With Dietary Recommendations For Fatty Acids - Science Daily, 10/26/07 - "switching to canola-based products 100 percent of the time would decrease adults' saturated fatty acid intake by up to 9.4 percent; increase their intake of monounsaturated fatty acid by 27.6 percent; and increase their alpha-linolenic acid intakes by73 percent"
• Low-fat Dietary Pattern May Lower Risk Of Ovarian Cancer - Science Daily, 10/9/07 - "after four years, women who decreased the amount of dietary fat they consumed were 40 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who followed normal dietary patterns. As expected, no effect was found during the first four years because preventive benefits on cancer often take many years to develop"
• Fish, Seafood Better Than Olive Oil, Nuts Against Heart Disease - Science Daily, 5/4/07 - "mice fed diets high in saturated and monounsaturated fat showed an increase in acyl-coenzyme A compared to mice fed a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fat. These results suggest that polyunsaturated fat is a more suitable replacement than monounsaturated fat for dietary saturated fat"
• Diets With High Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratios Enhance Risk for Depression, Inflammatory Disease - Medscape, 4/26/07 - "Whereas the early hunter-gatherers had a dietary omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 2:1 to 3:1, this ratio is now 15:1 to 17:1 in North America today ... compared with the study participants who did not have syndromal depression, the 6 participants who had depression had significantly higher omega-6:omega-3 ratios and higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines"
• The Facts About Fats - washingtonpost.com, 4/9/07
• Large Study Shows Low-Fat Diet Has Little Effect on Reducing Risk of Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, or Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women - Doctor's Guide, 2/8/06 - "Among postmenopausal women, a low-fat dietary pattern did not result in a statistically significant reduction in invasive breast cancer risk over an 8.1 year average follow-up period. However, the nonsignificant trends observed suggesting reduced risk associated with a low-fat dietary pattern indicate that longer, planned, nonintervention follow-up may yield a more definitive comparison"
• Study Could Lead To A Novel Strategy For Treating Obesity - Science Daily, 1/16/06 - "Their results suggest that restoring fatty-acid levels in the brain may be a promising way to treat obesity"
• Unsaturated Fats Can Lower Blood Pressure, Study Shows - WashingtonPost.com, 11/15/05 - "Trading about 10 percent of carbohydrates in one's diet for beans and healthy fats, such as olive oil, can help control high blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol levels"
• Reheating Cooking Oil? - Dr. Weil, 9/23/05
• Enova: A Healthier Oil for Your Salads? - Dr. Weil, 9/20/05
• New Fat Is Needed To Clear Old Fat From The System - Science Daily, 5/10/05 - "developed genetically engineered mice missing an important fat synthesizing enzyme in the liver ... When we took dietary fat away from the FASKOL mice, their livers quickly filled with fat"
• Fatty Acid Supplementation May Be Helpful in Developmental Coordination Disorder - Medscape, 5/6/05 - "117 children with DCD were randomized to dietary supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids or placebo for three months in parallel groups, followed by a one-way crossover from placebo to active treatment for an additional three months ... there were significant improvements for active treatment versus placebo in reading, spelling, and behavior for three months of treatment in parallel groups"
• Is There a Link Between Macronutrient Intake and Prostate - Medscape, 5/5/05 - "In this sample of Italian men, intake of monounsaturated fatty acids and starch was directly related to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Polyunsaturated fatty acid consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of the disease"
• Choosing among the many cooking oils - MSNBC, 4/29/05 - "The newest cooking and salad oil, Enova oil, is made from soybean and canola oils. Its manufacturer claims it helps reduce body fat ... This type of oil is digested and absorbed just like other fats, but the body handles it differently because of its unique structure. Instead of circulating through the body, DAGs seem to go directly to the liver to be burned for energy"
• Fatty Acid Changes May Correlate With Dementia - Doctor's Guide, 4/27/05 - "Many of the degenerative diseases associated with aging, like cardiovascular disease, involve disturbances in fatty acid metabolism, the investigators explained. The higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids and lower concentrations of polyunsaturated fats seen in the nursing-home patients in this study might be markers of worsening cardiovascular atherogenicity, disability, and dementia"
• Good Fat vs. Bad Fat - WebMD, 1/24/05 - "middle-aged men who substituted more good fat -- such as omega fatty acids (linoleic acids) and polyunsaturated fats - were 60% less likely to die early of heart disease than men who ate the least amounts of these good fats in their diets"
• High-fat Diets Hammer Memory, More Than A Waistline Worry - Science Daily, 11/3/04 - "the mice on the high-fat and high-fat, high-sugar diets could not learn and remember the maze as well as those on the other diets"
• Dieters Decrease Heart Risk on Moderate Fat Program - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/04 - "Over the course of the study, the low-fat diet group experienced a 12 percent decrease in HDL ("good") cholesterol but the moderate-fat diet group had no change. This indicates that a moderate-fat diet blunts the decrease in HDL ("good") cholesterol during weight loss"
• Fat Intake Modifies Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration - Medscape, 12/8/03 - "Most types of dietary fat are associated with increased risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), whereas nuts and fish are protective ... Specifically, higher intake of vegetable fat, and to a lesser extent animal fat, increased rates of progression"
• High-Fat Diet, Breast Cancer Linked - CBS News, 7/17/03 - "those who average more than 90 grams of fat a day have roughly double the risk of those who eat just 37 grams" - That's another area that hasn't been fully researched regarding the Atkin's diet.
• Fatty Diet Raises Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 6/20/03 - "surveys of people with diabetes have suggested a link between the amount of saturated fat in a person's diet and diabetes risk, but until now that link has not been confirmed by biological evidence ... they looked at the levels of fatty acids in the blood, which reflects how much saturated fat a person generally eats over time, and compared it to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes among a group of 2,909 adults aged 45-64 ... During nine years of follow-up, 252 of the men and women developed type 2 diabetes ... As the level of fatty acids increased, the likelihood that the person developed type 2 diabetes also increased" - This is something else the Atkin's studies should be looking at.  This study was nine years.  I believe the longest Atkin's study was one year. - Ben
• Eggs May Lower Breast Cancer Risk - WebMD, 2/20/03 - "eating about three eggs a week during adolescence decreased the risk of breast cancer by 18%. Diets rich in vegetable oils and dietary fiber had similar effects. But eating roughly one pat of butter a day increased risk by 6%"
• Dietary Fats and the Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease - Archives of Neurology, 2/03 - "Intakes of saturated fat and trans-unsaturated fat were positively associated with risk of Alzheimer disease, whereas intakes of -6 polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat were inversely associated. Persons in the upper fifth of saturated-fat intake had 2.2 times the risk of incident Alzheimer disease compared with persons in the lowest fifth"
• Tropical Oils: What’s Healthy? What’s Not? - Dr. Weil, 10/18/02
• Fat: Not Too Much, Not Too Little - Intelihealth, 9/5/02
• Essential Fatty Acids - GoodFats - goodfats.pamrotella.com, 4/13/02
• Eat Nuts For A Healthy Heart - New Hope Natural Media, 8/1/02
• Study: Snacks May be Bad for Vision - Intelihealth, 8/15/01 - "Overindulging in fat-filled snack foods may heighten the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment in the United States for those over 55 ... The foods that contain these fats are highly processed, store-bought junk foods. Included in the study: margarine, chocolate, commercially prepared pie, cake, cookies, peanut butter, potato chips, french fries and nuts ... The study found that diets high in omega-3 fatty acids, found primarily in albacore tuna and salmon, could lessen the risk for age-related macular degeneration, as long as fish eaters maintain a low intake of linoleic acid (found in processed food and margarine)."
• High Fatty Acid Levels May Mean Sudden Death For Middle-Aged Men - Intelihealth, 8/14/01 - "The editorial suggests that increasing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, which come from fatty fish or canola oil, and decreasing the intake of omega-6 fatty acids, found in plant seed oils (corn, safflower, sunflower), is a way to reduce the risk of sudden death"
• Macadamia Nut Becomes Latest Member of 'Good Nut Club' - WebMD, 4/24/00
• New Soybean Oil Said Healthier - Intelihealth, 3/29/00

References:

1. Omega 3: Implications in Human Health and Disease - PowerPak.com
2. Product Review: Omega-3 Fatty Acids (EPA and DHA) from Fish/Marine Oils - ConsumerLabs.com, 11/20/01
3. Letter - Mercury and Fish Oil Supplements - Medscape, 4/13/01
4. Omega-3 for Bipolar Disorder: Restoring the Balance - The Saturday Evening Post, Sep/Oct 01
5. Nutriques - Fish Oils - nutrition.cornell.edu
6. Omega-3 fatty acids - qualitycounts.com
7. Can I Stop My Hair from Thinning? - Dr. Weil, 9/13/02
8. Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Prevent Heart Disease By Improving Arterial Elasticity - Intelihealth, 7/25/02
9. Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Ease Depression - ABC News, 9/16/02
10. Fish and Nuts Are Brain Foods - ABC News, 8/28/02
11. Fish Oil May Augment Atorvastatin As Treatment For Dyslipidemia In Obese, Insulin-Resistant Men - Doctor's Guide, 8/7/02
12. Fishing for a Healthy Heart? - Healthscout, 7/26/02
13. Sizing up omega-3 - USA Today, 4/30/02
14. Salmon May Help Relieve Depression - WebMD, 3/15/02
15. Go Fish! Types High in Fatty Acids May Prevent Prostate Cancer, Herring, Mackerel, and Salmon Recommended - WebMD, 6/1/01
16. Women Who Eat Fish A Few Times Weekly May Cut Stroke Risk, Study Says - Intelihealth, 1/16/01
17. Potential new approach to cystic fibrosis treatment reported - CNN, 10/9/99
18. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Theory, Clinical Trials and Safety Issues - Psychiatric Times, 10/02
19. Study Records Elevated Mercury - Intelihealth, 10/19/02
20. Further Evidence Of Fish Consumption Link To Lower Alzheimer Risk - Doctor's Guide, 10/24/02
21. Fish Oil Soothes Personality Disorder - WebMD, 1/17/03
22. Can Certain Fats Relieve Dry Eye Symptoms? - stlukeseye.com, 7/20/00
23. Can adults adequately convert alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) to eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3)? - Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1998;68(3):159-73

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