Omega-3:6 Ratio = 1:1? page 2

[goingprimal]

The solution is to eat...cow brains.

I had no idea how high in omega-3 these were...amazing. How do they taste? Sweetbreads don't have this same benefit, unfortunately. I have actually eaten those before and didn't mind them.

[yodiewan]

Here's a question for you experts (I'm looking at you, Stabby, haha). I know that ALA -> EPA is very inefficient and ALA -> EPA -> DHA is pretty much nonexistent, but what about linoleic acid to arachidonic acid, or does this even matter in terms of inflammation? Seems like the "plant-forms" of many nutrients (iron, ALA) are much more poorly absorbed and utilized than animals forms. Yet another basic logical reason not to be a vegetarian.

[Primal Toad]

I would not worry about getting the ratio to an exact 1:1 ratio. Sure, it might be ideal but who knows for sure. I think anything between a 4:1 and 1:1 ratio is great. Definitely a large leap from the 20:1 that we all might have had pre primal.

I supplement with Mark's fish oil giving me 1.5 g of EPA and DHA each day. I eat fish 1-2 times per week.

And, I would not look at the ratios of individual foods. I can give 2 perfect examples of why not:

Walnuts have a healthy ratio of 4:1 right? WRONG! It may have 2.5 g of omega 3 but it has 10 g of omega 6... WAY TOO MUCH!!

Macadamia nuts on the other hand have a 6:1 ratio... but it has only .36 grams of omega 6!!! For an all around healthy balance macadamias are a much better choice then walnuts!!

[Stabby]

^ja

Cow brains, are, unique

LA to AA is very efficient and nearly automatic most of the time. We use a little bit of it for GLA but that is downright miniscule. Excessive intake causes inflammation no two ways about it.

[yodiewan]

@Stabby: Thanks! Good to know! I was pretty sure LA to AA was "efficient", but I couldn't find much with Google. Most articles were about omega-3 instead.

@Dosenberry: Good point. Just because a food has a "better" ratio doesn't make it better. We should be limiting overall PUFA anyway. And in light of what Stabby said, the ALA in walnuts nets almost no benefit while the LA is very easily utilized... although I guess I shouldn't lapse into making a food into a few nutrients. I think nuts/seeds have SOME beneficial properties.

[stevew]

Just to throw a spanner in the works of primal thinking on omega 3/6 has anyone come across these studies?

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/119/6/902
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/cont...e2=tf_ipsecsha

[cillakat]

So whats this about cow brains? And how do cow brains compare to other brains?

any brains are good. Depending on what the animal was eating, it could be *great*.

Talking to my BIL's mom, I learned that traditionally in Italy, before feeding infant rice cereal was popularized, babies were fed brains as a first food, then liver, sweetmeats and egg yolks. Interesting, eh?

[TheGrappler]

The 1:1 ratio is a guess. Some people guess 1:1 other 1:2 others 1:4. It's a educated guess but it's still a guess. I don't supplement fish oil as I think eating real food is better and less risky long term. The current fad of high dose fish oil could workout for people or we could see studies in the future showing that some people have issues. Eating real food pretty much is safer. We also know that a lot of vitamins and minerals are synergistic so I would guess that there might be other benefits in eating real food over taking supplements.

Also bear in mind their is now a massive fish oil industry pimping their pills to people. The same industry that would be selling you low fat crap or acai berries any other day. So I would be sceptical.

I eat a serving of oily fish every day - 3grams of omega 3 and minimise omega 6. If you eat grass fed beef, lamb or organic free range chicken and lots of veggies you should be able to get down to 1:4 pretty easily.

I haven't been able to get the ratios better than 1:2 without massive supplements or eating nothing but red meat and fish. So I don't think the 1:1 ratio is practical without taking lots of supplements or becoming a zombie and eating brains.

lol, the second option is always there

[MalPaz]

so is the inefficient conversion mean that flax and chia and seaweed are bad ideas???

[TheGrappler]

mark said ala is more efficiently converted by females. So i guess men shouldnt rely on it as much