How to Balance Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

Most people have heard about omega-3 fatty acids and know that they are good for you. Fewer people are aware of the impact of omega-6 fatty acids on health.

Both omega-3s and omega-6s are considered essential for health, an over-abundance of omega-6 fatty acids can have a negative impact on your well being.

Omega-6 fatty acids come from poultry, eggs, margarine, vegetable oils, cereals and baked goods, A diet too rich in omega-6 fatty acids can cause inflammation and blood that tend to clot easily. These increase the risk of both stokes and heart attacks.

The recommended ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s is 4 - 1. Most people carry a ratio of 1 to 20. This means that most people are seriously out of balance.

Here are some steps that will help your maintain the proper balance of omega-3s and omega-6s.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An awareness of the foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids.
• An awareness of the foods that contain omega-6 fatty acids.

1. Add sources of omega-3 fatty acids to your daily diet. Cold water fish such as tuna, salmon, sturgeon and herring are very rich sources. if you are not crazy about eating fish, you can get omega-3 fatty acid from walnuts, flaxseeds, cantaloupes, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage.

2. Eat at least two servings of cold water fish a week. Most experts agree that getting your omega-3s from fish is superior to getting them from fish oil capsules.

3. Reduce the sources of omega-6 fatty acids in your diet. Cutting most of the eggs, margarine and baked goods from your diet is a good place to start.

4. When choosing fish, stay away from tilapia, catfish and other farm-raised fish, as they contain more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. You should also be aware that certain fish, such as shark and king mackerel are more likely to carry contaminants such as DDT, PCBs, dioxins, chordane and mercury.

[kims3003]

on 9/16/2009 I have actually been asking around for information about Omega 3's. Thanks for a great article.