There was a time adding Omega 3 flax seed oil was recommended to improve our health. Today, however, with scores of research linking the rise in inflammation from an over-abundance of Omega 3 seed oil, we need to begin reducing our intake of Omega 3 seed oil and replacing it with Omega 3 fish oil. The American Heart Association recommends one gram a day of Omega 3 from fatty fish to keep hearts healthy and up to three grams a day for damaged hearts.
Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, National Institutes of Health, one of the world’s leading authorities on Omega 3 fatty fish oil, states “There’s two families of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the Omega-3 fatty acid which you find primarily from fish oils, and the Omega-6 fatty acids which now in the US diet come from seed oils, and this is an absolutely critical distinction. Not all polyunsaturates are the same. Omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils – eventually the body converts them into a compound called arachidonic acid which is good in low amounts but in high amounts, it makes a lot of inflammatory compounds. The origin of arachidonic acid is from what you eat. It’s from seed oils. If you take the seed oils away and swap them out, your body will not be full of so much arachidonic acid and will not have such a pro-inflammatory disposition. Swapping the Omega-6 fatty acids and replacing them with Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils, your body will have a uniquely different predisposition towards inflammation and for aggravation.”
We, as a nation, were not always swimming in seed oil consumption. Fast food restaurants, prepackaged foods, eating out in restaurant more than we eat at home has caused the rapid rise in the over-abundance of seed oils in our foods. The FDA estimates the average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year. It doesn’t sound like much but visibly, it is a huge amount. Olive oil is our best source for it contains neither of the Omega 3’s but usually contains a lot of antioxidants and other good compounds and has a great taste as well.
There have been dozens of new products entering the grocery store marketplace promoting Omega 3 on labels but the national statistics show that only 6% actually have EPA and DHA from marine sources. Most products, 94% to be exact, are adding ALA Omega-3 from vegetable sources just so they can put Omega-3 on the product label adding even more to the pool of seed oil we are already swimming in. Adding to the confusion is recent manufacturers claiming they are restricting trans fats voluntarily. Check the label.
ALA Omega 3’s from seed oil sources isn’t going to help change the levels of fatty acids in our bodies to our evolutionary design of one equal part seed oil to fish oil. It is estimated our fatty acid levels are ten parts seed oil to barely one part fish oil and it’s that very drastic imbalance that is causing the rise in inflammatory conditions.
