FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHEN TAKING AN OMEGA 3 SUPPLIMENT DOES IT INTERFEAR WITH THE THINNING OF THE BLOOD?
A dose of 1.8g EPA/d did not result in any prolongation in bleeding time. But 4 g/d increased bleeding time and decreased platelet count with no adverse effects. In human studies, there has never been a case of clinical bleeding, even in patients undergoing Angioplasty, while patients were taking fish oil supplements (Investigated by Saynor et al ( 70 ))
2. WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS?
Both omega 3 and omega 6 are essential fatty acids (EFAs) and are considered crucial for normal growth and development (the "good" fats). They cannot be manufactured naturally in the body. You obtain your omega 3’s and omega 6’s from what you eat.
3. WHERE DO WE GET OMEGA 3 AND 6?
The primary sources of omega 6 are found in the common vegetable oils (corn, soybean, sunflower etc.) The primary source, of omega 3 is marine food and oils.
4. HOW MUCH OMEGA 3 AND OMEGA 6 DO WE NEED?
Omega 3 and omega 6 remain "good fats" as long as they balance in our diets. Most of the world’s major health organizations now suggest a maximum range of between 1 omega 3 to 4 omega 6s (1:4) and 1 omega 3 to 6 omega 6’s (1:6) depending on your age and sex.
5. DO OUR MODERN DIETS PROMOTE THIS BALANCE?
Modern diets deliver too much omega 6 leading to an acute imbalance of somewhere between 1 omega 3 - 14 omega 6 (1:14) or even 1 omega 3 - 20 omega 6 (1:20) Some doctors suggest that this imbalance may be as high as 1-60.
(Simopoulos and Robinson: The Omega Plan, 1998, Harper Collins, p.5 Harris W: Backgrounder vol 2, July 1997)
6. SHOULD WE FEAR THIS IMBALANCE?
As long as the omega 3s and omega 6s in our bodies are in balance they complement each other. Many doctors now agree that an omega 6 imbalance leads to a marked increase in such dietary disease as cancer, heart, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and skin disorders. (Simopoulos and Robinson, p32)
7. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Modern foods are high in omega 6 and low in omega 3. When we couple our modern eating habits with the fact that excess omega 6 is stored in the body as fat, while any unused omega 3 is quickly disposed of by the body, the problem becomes clear.
8. IS EXCESS OMEGA 6 DANGEROUS?
Many recent studies indicate that it could be. Researchers using lab animals with existing tumors found that diet high in omega 6 made the "... tumors grow faster, larger, and more invasive." (Simopoulos and Robinson, p6)
Another study performed in a Los Angeles Veterans Hospital found that the group of men fed a diet high in omega 6 had a mortality rate twice that of men on a traditional diet. (Pearce and Dayton: The Lancet, 1971, 464-467)
In a recent comprehensive study on the effects of this omega 3 - omega 6 imbalance, the researchers "recommend an omega 6 omega 3 ratio of 2:1 or below." (H. Okuyama, T Kobayashi and S. Watanabe, "Dietary Fatty Acids- The Omega 6/Omega 3 Balance and Chronic Elderly Diseases. "Prog. Lipid Res. vol 35 no 4 p409-497 - 1997)
9. WHY HAS THIS OMEGA 3 - OMEGA 6 IMBALANCE OCCURRED?
We can trace our human ancestry back 4 million years. For more than 99% of that time humans were hunters and foragers. This established our dietary balance between omega 3 and omega 6 at the ideal proportion of 1:1. Many doctors believe that humans kept this balance until the mid 1800's when our diet began to fundamentally change. Our present day diet, rich in grains and seeds but poor in marine life, increases the omega 6 presence in our bodies.
"Omega 3 consumption has decreased to one sixth of the level found in our food supply in the 1850’s. Omega 6 consumption has doubled in that time drastically changing the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 in our food supply. This change is reflected in the makeup of our tissue fats and in our health." (Dr. Udo Erasmus, FATS that Heal, FATS that Kill, 1995 (3rd edition), Alive Books. p52)
In a recent study, scientists concluded that " ... we are now eating 1/10th of the amount of omega 3 required for normal functioning. Alarmingly, 20% of the population has levels so low that they defy detection." (Dolocek, Grandits, World Rev. Nutr Diet. 1991, 66: 205-216)
Dr. A. Simopoulos writes that since 1960 our intake of omega 6 had nearly doubled and mirrors the increase of some of diet based diseases. She concludes that,"... it seems increasingly likely that the glut of omega 6 fatty acids in our diet is contributing to our high rates of cancer, depression ... diabetes."
10. WHAT IS BEST METHOD OF OVERCOMING THIS OMEGA 3 IMBALANCE?
If you are not prepared to make radical and permanent changes in your diet to include food high in omega 3, the most immediate answer would be omega 3 supplements.
Today, the ratio of omega 6/omega 3 is between 10-20:1 in Western Europe and in North America, whereas during evolution it was 1:1. Our current diet (Western diet) is characterized by an increase in total, saturated fat, trans fatty acids, and the omega 6 EFA; a decrease in the omega 3 EFA, the antioxidant vitamins C and E, and calcium and potassium; and an increase in sodium intake.
The change in the EFA balance came about because of the indiscriminate recommendation to substitute vegetable oils. i.e., corn oil, safflower, sunflower, and cottonseed oils, for saturated fat since 1960. These vegetable oils are very high in omega 6 fatty acids and very low in omega 3 fatty acids. Corn oil has a ratio of Omega 6/Omega 3 of 60:1, and safflower oil 77:1. In addition, because farm animals are grain-fed, their carcasses contain only small amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, but they are high in saturated fats and omega 6 fatty acids unlike the composition of meat from animals in the wild. Eggs and poultry in agriculture, fish in aquaculture, and cultivated plants contain lower amounts of omega 3 fatty acids than eggs from free-ranging chickens, fish in the wild, and wild plants (i.e., purslane). (Dr. A. Simopoulos - The return of omega 3 fatty acids into the food supply - 1999)
11. IS OMEGA 3 RECOMMENDED BY ANY HEALTH AUTHORITIES?
The Government of Canada recently recommended that each Canadian should increase their daily intake of Omega 3 to reduce the Omega 3 - Omega 6 imbalance.
The United States Department of Health and Nutritional Services, The National Institute of Health, The Life Sciences Research Offices of the Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology and the Council for Responsible Nutrition have all agreed that the daily intake of Omega 3 should be increased. The World Health Organization recommends that all adults increase their daily intake of Omega 3.
12. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FISH OIL AND SEAL OIL?
Sir,
I have had an opportunity to produce seal oil from the species phoca groenlandica for human consumption. The omega 3 long-chain PUFA profile is approximately 20-25%, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 4.7%; docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 4.2%; and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) 8.9%.
Is there any difference between fish oil and seal oil, and do you have any information concerning the benefits of DPA?
Also, what is the recommended daily requirement of Omega 3 long-chain PUFA?
Dr Cosmas Ho, MD
38 Bay Bulls Road
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Canada A1 G 1A5
In response The Editor wrote:
It is generally considered that the pharmacological profiles of EPA and DPA are similar. However, there are no data on the specific effects of purified DPA in humans. In adults the minimal daily requirement of the omega 3 long-chain PUFA is 100-200 mg/day; the optimal intake 350-400 mg/day. The actual intake in adults may often be less than the minimal requirement.
13. The study of Docosapentaenoic Acid -DPA (22:5, n-3)
To: Magee@dial.eunet.ch
Dear James Magee
It has been a while since I corresponded with you. In your past correspondence you mentioned the pharmacological profiles of EPA and DPA, are similar and there is no data on the specific effects of DPA in humans. Since this last correspondence, have you come across any further information on this topic? I would like to refer you to two articles, which I have read from Japan. The first one is titled: “Docosapentaenoic Acid (22:5, n-3), and elongation metabolite of Eicosapentaenoic Acid ( 20:5, n-3 ) is a potent stimulator of Endothelial Cell migration on pretreatment in vitro,” by Toshie Kanayasu-Toyoda, Ikuo Morita, Sei-itsu, Murota. This paper presented the effects of EPA on EC Migration occurs via DPA, and that DPA may act as a powerful anti-atherogenic factor. They found the potency of DPA Stimulation of EC migration is ten fold greater than that of EPA. The second article is titled, “Involvement of Lipoxygenase pathway in Docosapentaenoic Acid – induced inhabitation of platelet aggregation” by Satoshi Akiba, Tatsunori Murata, Kazyoki Kitatani and Takashi Sato. The results suggested that DPA possesses potent activity for interfering with the Cyclo-oxygenase pathway and accelerating the Lipoxygenase pathway thus inhibiting platelet aggregation most effectively. In these two articles, they mention that the function of DPA is similar to EPA. Another aspect I would like to point out, is that in human milk there is very little EPA but DPA and DHA exist in almost equal significant amounts. The very low level of EPA in milk seems to indicate that this modulator of eicosanoids metabolism does not have much function in the early stages of development. Obviously DPA and DHA are both equally essential for growth and development. Furthermore, Professor Robert G. Ackman, Canadian Institute of Fisheries Technology, Technical University of Nova Scotia, Canada, said that about one third of the "long-chain n-3 fatty acids" circulating in human blood is attributable to DPA. I agree with Professor Ackman’s Point of view in that DPA may play a much more important role that previously realized.
I would like to hear from you regarding other colleagues research in DPA.
Yours truly,
Cosmas Ho M.D.
