Omega-3s: More on ALA:EPA:DHA

This is a reply to this comment left by Maikeru on the post Omega-3 Fats: The Right Ratio.

Hi Maikeru,

The ALA/DHA/EPA question is an important one for those interested in improving their omega-3 intake. ALA is found primarily in plants such as greens and some seeds while the other two are derived primarily from fish and land animals.

There is an interesting book on the subject called The Queen of Fats by Susan Allport that is well written and engaging. There she describes a competitive reaction with an 18 carbon omega-6 fatty acid for the enzyme involved with carbon addition to make the 20 carbon chain acids. Thus what she is saying is with too high an intake of the omega-6 acids the body will favor the production of the omega-6 20 carbon acid over the conversion of ALA to EPA. This conflict between the two fatty acid families is not well known and thus not accounted for in studies of ALA conversion in the body.

While it might seem logical to just bypass the problem all together by only eating fish and meats there are of course some complications. Fish higher up in the food chain tend to concentrate the pollutants that humans have been adding to the oceans and lakes of the world (another socialized cost of "cheap" electricity. Coal contains a lot of mercury which winds up in the worlds waters and in fish.) In addition the worlds fish populations are in serious jeopardy of being over fished with some reporting fishery degradation in every spot on Earth and around 80% fishery collapse. Getting omega-3s from fish (the highest concentration) is not sustainable. There are a few companies that are going right to the source and gathering DHA from algae.

As for meats, though grass fed animals are higher in omega-3s than are grain fed animals they are not near the 1:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 that is thought to represent our evolutionary diet. Meats are also high in saturated fats which are still widely seen as unhealthful. Lastly, though the omega-3 content is likely playing some role in this, every study of health and diet points to the importance of green (or better yet, colorful) plants (fruits and vegetables) in the diet.

So considering the we could potentially get a lot of our omega-3s form the plants we eat if we 1) cut back on the amount of omega-6s and 2) increased our consumption of fruits and vegetables we should try to get most of our omega-3s that way but I would still supplement with pharmaceutical grade fish oils or something like that (particularly after a fat laden meal out) since our understanding is still rudimentary.

It should be mentioned again that anyone that wants to radically change their diet should consult their physician and their own body. High omega-3 diets are known to increase bleeding. There may be other complications that are not well known.

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