3 Things Most Parents Don’t Know About Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The media loves reporting on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Because of all the buzz, you might even be taking steps towards getting more of the beneficial fat by adding flax to your cereal, eating more fish or sprinkling walnuts on your salad.
But this story is about more than simply getting more omega-3 fats in your diet–it’s about balancing fat in a way that optimizes health and well being. And the benefits include everything from reducing your risk of heart disease to preventing attention deficit disorder in children to protecting your brain from age-related decline. With help from award winning dietitian, Evelyn Tribole, you’re going to discover three things you didn’t know about omega-3 fatty acids that will make you say wow.
1. There are two VERY different kinds of omega-3 fatty acids
Let’s cover some of the basics first. While animal fats tend to be high in saturated fat, plant and fish sources contain higher levels of unsaturated fats that can enhance health. There are two types of unsaturated fats: monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). When consumed in place of saturated fats, MUFA lowers LDL cholesterol and increases HDL. Food sources include olive oil, canola oil, avocado, “high oleic” safflower and sunflower oils and nuts.
PUFAs are where things get more complicated because there are two types–omega 6s and omega 3s—and both contain essential fats. Key sources of omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid) include corn, sunflower, safflower, soy and cottonseed oils which are in many food products and certain nuts and seeds. Because the intake of omega-6 fatty acids have dramatically increased over the past 100 years, some scientists believe that high levels are associated with many chronic diseases (more on that later).
Most people have heard of omega-3 fatty acids but few know there are two very different kinds. The omega-3s that come from plant sources (flax, walnuts and canola oil) contain a fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and benefit health by lowering heart disease risk and cardiac deaths. The second kind are found mostly in fatty fish (salmon, tuna, herring and trout) and contain two key fatty acids called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). It’s misleading to use these two interchangeably because the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish sources –DHA and EPA–are so expansive and unique.
2. The benefits of Omega-3 DHA/EPA for all age groups are extensive
“The research just blew me away” says Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet . “There’s so much more to this story — it was much bigger than I thought.”
Heart health is probably one of the most well known benefits of omega-3 fatty acids DHA/EPA. According to Tribole, omega 3s (you can assume omega 3s are DHA/EPA in this section) can decrease the risk of cardiac death by up to 70 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids help expand arteries, keep them elastic, prevent arrhythmias, decrease the risk of blood clotting and keep blood pressure normal. Another reason omega-3s protect against heart disease is their ability to reduce inflammation.
Tribole explains how inflammation is the origin of many chronic diseases including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, depression and heart disease. Basically it’s the body’s dysfunctional way of attempting to heal damage to the body — but then the inflammation itself causes a new set of problems in the form of disease. Omega-3 fatty acids produce chemicals that inhibit the inflammation process causing reduced risk or alleviation of such chronic diseases.
Where the research really boggles the mind is DHA’s crucial role in brain health. “DHA is to the brain what calcium is to bones,” says Tribole. “The brain is 60% fat and DHA is essential to stabilizing cell membranes.”
Let’s start at the beginning: the womb. DHA is vital to a baby’s brain development in utero. In her book, Tribole explains how brain cells and nerves are already formed before birth. Adequate DHA intake during pregnancy and after (when breastfeeding) is associated with everything from decreased risk for asthma to better vision to higher IQ. DHA also determines which genes gets turned on and off, which decides which diseases baby is at higher risk for later in life.
“It’s like changing the light bulbs in your brain,” Tribole replies when asked about DHA’s role in adult brains. High levels of DHA are needed for the brain to function properly. DHA also improves communication between cells in the brain thus minimizing issues with memory and learning. And best of all, DHA combats the build up of toxins that go hand in hand with age-related mental decline and risk for Alzheimer’s. In the Framingham Heart Study individuals who had the highest levels of DHA had a 47% reduction in their risk for developing dementia.
Tribole adds that inadequate omega-3 fatty acids in the diet are associated with adverse mood, attention deficit disorder and even psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disease. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association now recommends mental health patients take fish oils. And there’s preliminary evidence that omega-3s can help everything from reducing obesity to preventing cancer to helping ease PMS symptoms.
3. It’s possible to get too much omega-6 fatty acids in the diet
You might be thinking, “Great, I’ll add more omega-3 fatty acids to my family’s diet.” But it’s not that easy. Humans have evolved from a diet with equal amounts (1:1) of omega 6 and omega 3 yet the ratio we eat today is more like 10:1 to 30:1. You see, changes in the food supply over the last 100 years have allowed for mass production of vegetable oils, like soybean oil, high in omega 6. It fact, the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids has nearly doubled since the 1930s.
“The reason this is a problem is omega 6 and omega 3s compete for the same limited enzymes in the body,” says Tribole. “So if you consume high amounts of omega 6 fatty acids, they can block the omega 3s you consume.”
In her book, The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet: Maximize the Power of Omega-3s to Supercharge Your Health, Battle Inflammation, and Keep Your Mind Sharp,
Tribole carefully details how an omega fat imbalance, which includes higher-than-optimal levels of omega 6 fats and insufficient amounts of omega 3s tips the body into a “pro-disease” state. That’s because diets too high in omega 6 fatty acids increase inflammation and promote blood clots while omega-3s do the opposite.
Another challenge, Tribole adds, is that people think that all omega-3 fatty acids have the same health benefits. While ALA can be converted to DHA and EPA, research shows the conversion rate to be negligible. So if someone eats only plant sources of omega 3 fatty acids, they can still be deficient in DHA and EPA. According to the DHA/EPA Institute, individuals consuming a typical North American Diet consume about 130 mg of DHA and EPA combined when the amounts needed to receive the benefit are 650mg (children are only getting 19mg). According to Tribole “The whole country has an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency.”
What to do?
Based on international guidelines, Tribole recommends an upper limit of omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) of 6,670 mg (the average American consumption is twice that), 650 mg intake of DHA/EPA (combined) and 2200 mg omega-3 (ALA).
Not all health organizations, especially those in the United States, recommend an “upper limit” or to decrease omega-6 fatty acids in the diet. This is a somewhat controversial area that scientists have had trouble agreeing on.
Because this is a complicated topic and there is only so much an article can cover, I highly recommend Tribole’s book. In addition to detailed, easy-to-understand information, The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet
In the meantime, here are some action steps you can start taking today to get you and your family’s fat intake back “in balance:”
–Replace saturated fat (butter, meats, full-fat dairy) with monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. So dip your bread in olive oil instead of butter and use avocado on a sandwich instead of cheese.
–Scan nutrition labels for soybean oil, cottonseed oil and corn oil which are high in omega-6s. Look for alternatives to traditional products like margarine and mayonnaise made with canola oil instead of soybean oil.
–Make your own salad dressing and use olive oil, canola oil or flax oil as many prepared salad dressing are made with omega-6-rich fats.
–Buy flax meal and add it to cereal or yogurt – just 2 tablespoons per day provides all the omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) you need in a day.
–Try products with added omega-3 DHA/EPA such as milk (great for kids) and eggs.
–Consume 2-3 oily fish per week including salmon, trout and herring. Two servings per week provide about 400-500 DHA/EPA per day.
–Supplement your diet as needed with fish oil supplements (they have powdered and chewable supplements for kids). If you have any health conditions or are on any medications consult your healthcare provider before starting. Look for supplements that provide at least 650mg combined of DHA and EPA. If you are pregnant, aim for 300 mg of DHA per day, which is especially important during the last trimester of pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
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References/Resources
Dietary Guidelines Report — 2005
International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids
Schaefer EJ, Bongard V, Beiser AS, Lamon-Fava S, Romins SJ, Au R, Tucker KL, Kyle DJ, Wilson PW, Wolf PA. Plasma phosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid content and risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease: the Framingham Heart Study. Arch. Neurol. 2006;63(11): 1545-50.
The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet: Maximize the Power of Omega-3s to Supercharge Your Health, Battle Inflammation, and Keep Your Mind Sharp
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