A diet that is based on processed foods with high fat content is characteristic of the industrial societies. Yet even those most devoted to it can be educated to change their ways, whether they are customers of potato chip vendors in Edinburgh or consumers of buttered steaks in Finnish logging camps. An example is provided in our first report from the ISSFAL third annual meeting, held in Lyons, France. Professor Rudolph Riemersma of Edinburgh University reminded his audience at a notable symposium on LCPUFA and triglycerides of the importance of a correct diet. Research has shown, for example, that persuading heart patients to eat more fish and fish oil can lead to a reduction in death rates fully comparable to what can be achieved by the lipid-lowering statins. Prof. Riemersma reported that, by giving intensive dietary counselling, he and his colleagues were able to get patients to eat more fruit, wholemeal bread, cut down on potato chips, and drink less fatty milk. Thus, even though the Scots remained unpersuaded in regard to the benefits of fresh vegetables, they made enough changes in their diet to bring about a much-improved picture overall concerning their fatty acids. Considerations of this kind are important when the physician is dealing with elevated triglycerides. There is already considerable evidence, both epidemiological and experimental, that triglycerides are likely to be an important risk factor in CHD. Fish oils are powerful antihyperglyceridaemic agents, and in concluding the symposium Professor William Connor recommended that they be considered the agents of choice in normal situations. This is particularly the case in view of their safety in use. But there are also significant lifestyle aspects, and he pointed out that any such treatment should also include advice to the patient on improvement in diet, and more physical exercise. In this context, it is useful to mention that we also published a report by a research group in India of a recent randomized controlled clinical trial concerning the cardiac benefits of fish oil and mustard oil. Cardiac mortality in patients taking fish oil was half the rate seen with placebo, and patients who received either fish oil or mustard oil experienced fewer cardiac events than the placebo group. Meanwhile, in the area of infant growth and development, there is a growing body of scientific data, and also criticism, in regard to the low levels of LCPUFA in formulas. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and perhaps also arachidonic acid (AA) are important to ensure proper growth. This issue includes a review of a paper by Michael Crawford and colleagues in which they draw attention to the risk of nutritional deficiencies in preterm babies because of the inadequacies of the feeds now available. The question has also been raised whether we should not in any case put more emphasis on maternal LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy, since we cannot know in advance which infant is going to be born prematurely. It is time to open these issues to wider, action-oriented debate. Diet-Based Disease
It should come as no surprise therefore that during this period of increased diet-based disease, the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids consumed in a normal diet has dropped by up to 80%. About 40 years ago, health authorities strongly recommended that western diets increase their consumption of PUFAs to lower cholesterol levels. This led to a marked increase in the consumption of vegetable oils which provide the essential Omega 6 PUFAs but not the Omega 3s. It has now been found that an excess of Omega 6 interferes with the benefits of Omega 3, thus making an existing Omega 3 shortage more acute.Diet Is The Prime Link To Good Health
It has long been established that diet is the prime link to good health. When Japan moved from its traditional diet of simple marine food to the western-based diet of processed foods, their rate of heart disease rose dramatically. Conversely, when Norway was forced to return to its traditional diet of marine life during shortages of World War II, the death rate (of heart disease, cancer etc.) dropped by 40%. This rate, however, returned to normal levels as soon as the war ended and Norwegians returned to the western diet. It is of great interest that during the war, the Norwegian decrease of heart disease coincided with a 50% increase in Omega 3 intake.
Another example of the health benefits of a traditional marine diet, high in Omega 3, is to be found with the Inuit of the High Arctic. Despite their large daily intake of fat, the Inuit blood lipids remained within normal levels, their incidence of heart trouble was low and they were realatively free from hardening of the arteries. Like the Norwegians and the Japanese before them, as the Inuit have adopted western diets, their incidence of diet-based disease has risen to the western levels.
Supplementing Your Diet
As our bodies neither produce nor store Omega 3 internally, Omega 3 must be obtained from external sources. As most of our food intake remains highly processed, Omega 3 is often best obtained through supplements
