{"id":34,"date":"2012-04-24T10:22:30","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T08:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/?p=34"},"modified":"2021-02-24T08:24:34","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T06:24:34","slug":"omega-3-6-the-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/omega-3-6-the-buzz\/","title":{"rendered":"OMEGA 3 & 6 – The Buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone\u2019s talking about the health benefits of Omega 3 and Omega 6 \u2013 from helping to keep your heart in peak condition, to looking after your skin \u2013 but what are they, what do they do and where can you find them? Omega-3 and -6 are types of essential fatty acids, which mean we cannot make them on our own and have to obtain them from our diet.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The benefits of omega-3 include, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, ADD, joint pain and other rheumatoid problems. Some research has shown that omega-3 can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Research indicates that omega-3 encourages the production of body chemicals that help control inflammation in the joints, the bloodstream and the tissue, thus is stating that it has an anti-inflammatory effect.<\/p>\n

Researchers now believe that omega-3 is particularly beneficial in protecting against heart and blood vessel disease and for lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Randomized clinical trials have shown that approximately 1000 mg\/day of omega-3 fatty acids from a fish oil supplement may decrease the risk of heart diseases and epidemiological studies indicate that regular consumption of an average of 2 servings of fatty fish per week is associated with a 30-40% reduced risk of death from heart diseases. Omega-3 is also a natural blood thinner; it reduces the stickiness of blood cells, which can lead to such complications as blood clots and stroke.<\/p>\n

But just as important is omega-3 ability to reduce the negative impact of yet another essential type of fatty acid known as omega-6. Omega-6 are also considered essential as it supports the generation of skin and hair, helps to maintain health of bones, regulates metabolism and assists with reproductive health. But when omega-6 isn\u2019t balanced with sufficient amounts of omega-3, problems can occur. Research indicates that high omega-6 fatty acids shift the physiological state to pro-inflammatory.<\/p>\n

Sources of omega-3:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, herring, black cod, blue fish, sardines, anchovies<\/li>\n
  • Vegetarian sources: walnuts and flaxseeds<\/li>\n
  • Omega-3 enriched foods<\/li>\n
  • Omega-3 supplements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    There are only a few sources of omega-3, and very little people consume enough of the above mentioned food sources to meet their daily nutritional requirements of omega-3 and the use of a supplement often needs to be considered.<\/p>\n

    Sources of omega-6:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Egg yolks<\/li>\n
    • Milk<\/li>\n
    • Poultry and meat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Cereal<\/strong><\/h3>\n
        \n
      • Vegetable oils, such as sunflower oil, corn oil, soy and safflower oil<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Baked goods<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Margarine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        It is much easier to take in omega-6 through the diet as the food sources of omega-6 are much more readily available and therefore consumed by the average person.<\/p>\n

        Although the body needs both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to thrive, most people consume far more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. Many experts now recommend consuming a better balance of these two EFAs. An ideal balance is believed to be a (1:1) one-to-one ratio of Omega-6 essential fatty acids to Omega-3 essential fatty acids. Most individuals are getting a ratio of about (26:1) rather than (1:1).<\/p>\n

        There is no established recommended daily intake for omega-3 fats. However, it is clear that a healthy diet containing significant amounts of foods rich in omega-3 fats is necessary for optimum health. Increasing the intake of omega-3 fatty acids will naturally bring the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids back into a healthier, 2:1 or (optimally) a 1:1 balance.<\/p>\n

        For therapeutic supplementation, 2000mg of EPA and 1000mg of DHA per day is a common recommendation.<\/p>\n

        Cut down on omega-6 levels by reducing your consumption of processed foods, baked goods and vegetable oils. Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and in salads. Eat more oily fish, take an omega-3 supplement if needed and use walnuts, flaxseed and omega-3 enriched foods.<\/p>\n

        Written By: Dieticians At Work Team
        \n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Everyone\u2019s talking about the health benefits of Omega 3 and Omega 6 \u2013 from helping to keep your heart in peak condition, to looking after your skin \u2013 but what are they, what do they do and where can you find them? Omega-3 and -6 are types of essential fatty acids, which mean we cannot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25,20,23,24],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/OMEGA.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CNFS-y","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2164,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions\/2164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dieticiansatwork.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}