Diets With High Omega-6:Omega-3 Ratios Enhance Risks
Diets with high omega-6:omega-3 ratios, especially with coexisting depression, were linked to high levels of proinflammatory cytokines. (CME)
Evidently, vegetable oils and margarine are high in the “bad” Omega-6 fatty acids. Fish, wild game, nuts, seeds, and green, leafy vegetables are high in the “good” omega-3 acids. Early hunter-gatherers are said to consumed a omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 2:1 to 3:1, this ratio is now 15:1 to 17:1 in North America today.
Chances are you already eat a lot more fat than hunter gatherers. So, maybe it’s a good idea to get the ratio down by eating less margarine, though eating more nuts might help too.
As it happens, I never eaten much margarine. I grew up with butter and eat that, though I do so in moderation.
Yes, why am I not surprised? Butter is high fat for sure, but we were always told to cut down on such fats, and substitute saturated fats for unsaturated or polysaturated… Now it seems that vegetable oils commonly used in many products are themselves suspect.
I’m just waiting for evidence that high carb diets really are the cause of heart attacks… and that the emphasis on low fat diets was the wrong way to go… just my 2cents.
InvestorBlogger (1 comments.) - May 5th, 2007 at 9:34 am