Omega 3-6-9 Ratios

[Zerix]

I currently take in between 15-20g of fish oil a day. I was wondering, how crucial is it to get in your omega 6 and 9 though, are they important, should I worry about them?

 

[feelingloved]

Apparently omega 9 helps prevent muscle break down.
Omega 3&6 should be in equal quantities. So don't go taking flax only as the only source of fat. Too much 3 & 6 will age you quicker... so you only need recommended levels, not more. Typical American diet is heavy in the omega 6 range.
Add coconut oil (MTC oils).

 

[Warboss Alex]

Too much 3 & 6 will age you quicker...

insulin or rather the lack of control of insulin is what ages us prematurely, not EFAs.

 

[Fuglydude]

There's a TON of factors that make us age slower/faster...to minimize it to certain aspects of diet and even insulin response is reductionist.

What about anti-oxidants/free-radicals. What about excessive sun exposure? WHat about stress from various sources in our lives? WHat about toxic substances in the environment? Intrinsic telomerase activity...this is a very fundamental molecular genetic aspect of aging.

What about hormonal ratios (I'm talkin sex steroids here). Drug use/abuse?

There's so many factors.

 

[Luveno]

Omega 3&6 should be in equal quantities

The above quote is incorrect.

Don't even bother with Omega 3-6-9 supplements; all you're doing is adding calories to your diet (ie 3-6-9 supplements are useless).

The only one of those with positive effects to your long-term health is Omega 3. Omega 6 actually has negative long-term effects. Omega 9 isn't even part of the equation: your body can make that on its own( ie its not essential).

However, The Omega 3 precursors compete with the Omega 6 precursors for entry into the same pathway. What you want to do is oversaturate the Omega 3 concentration so that their precursors outnumber the Omega 6 precursors, thus making the Omega 3 products more likely to be enzymatically refined to their final products.

 

[Zerix]

Thanks for the answers. I dropped drinking my SILK Soy Milk which I used for oatmeal breakfast every morning, cause I was told to reduce it (so I felt like switching to milk, the raw of course) since it contains too much Omega 6.

Great, so I'll stick to the 3! I currently take the liquid kind, the PFO Pure Fish Oil bottle by Health From The Sea (company). It contains 4360g per teaspoon. I take a tablespoon at breakfast, at lunch, and now for dinner (teaspoon) too (increasing the dosage, I want to see if anything more beneficial comes out of it).

 

[Zerix]

One question I had, something that's on my mind...

Say you get the benefits from like 5-10g a day, but you're taking more than that, so the benefits will still be there right? You can't really harm yourself or not get the positive effects by increasing and taking more than you were before (while getting positive results) right?

 

[Warboss Alex]

increase the dose and see...

this has been covered many times on here.

 

[Zerix]

increase the dose and see...

this has been covered many times on here.

I know, what I'm getting at, is that I don't really know if I'm experiencing any of its good effects yet, which is why now I'm at 20g a day (was around 15 before).

 

[feelingloved]

3 & 6 oxidize easily, thus accelerate aging. they are essential however.
Higher fat intake correlates to higher testosterone, among other benefits, which is why I recommend extra 9.
I consider soy to be poison.

 

[Road Demon]

3 & 6 oxidize easily, thus accelerate aging. they are essential however.
Higher fat intake correlates to higher testosterone, among other benefits, which is why I recommend extra 9.
I consider soy to be poison.

Correction:

most omega-6s is proinflammatory; ie what we get in the western diet skews the normal ratio 1...hence the need to supplement with omega-3 EPA/DHA.

I think 1-4 grams of omega-3 EPA+DHA is plently...

omega-3 is antinflamatory

To quote by Luveno, who stated it very well: "However, The Omega 3 precursors compete with the Omega 6 precursors for entry into the same pathway. What you want to do is oversaturate the Omega 3 concentration so that their precursors outnumber the Omega 6 precursors, thus making the Omega 3 products more likely to be enzymatically refined to their final products."

With regards to omega-9, I beleive more research needs to undertaken.


RD

 

[Road Demon]

I currently take in between 15-20g of fish oil a day. I was wondering, how crucial is it to get in your omega 6 and 9 though, are they important, should I worry about them?

You likely get quite a bit of omega-6 from western diet, basically anything that has vegetable oil, or any thing other than free range meat (as most corn feed animals, accumulate greater omega 6 to 3 ratio intramuscularly, while wild-game has that 1:1 ratio).

Your taking of 15 (1 gram fish oil capsule) x 30% EPA + DHA = 4.5 grams of EPA/DHA, which will bring your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio closer to 1:1, which is what has been programmed in our genome for the thousands of years; In recent times (last 100 years) our western diet has become omega-6 rich, but our genetic programming has not has a chance to catch up, hence the need to supplement with fish oil or algal omega-3 PUFAs.

Now omega-9 (oleic and eurcic) , I don't think that was deemed essential as the human body can synthesize these from the saturated fats.More reseach needs to be undertaken in regards to supplementation benefits.

RD

 

[Zerix]

Wait, so I really only count the grams from EPA/DHA ?

Another last question that's been on my mind. Is it more effective spreading out the dosage throughout the day, or doesnt even matter if I take like 10g morning then just 10g later on?

 

[Warboss Alex]

Wait, so I really only count the grams from EPA/DHA ?

Another last question that's been on my mind. Is it more effective spreading out the dosage throughout the day, or doesnt even matter if I take like 10g morning then just 10g later on?

there is an advantage to taking fish oil with every meal as regards insulin output, but you can take it all at once as well as if you like. just take it somehow!

 

[Throttle]

for comparison's sake, 10g of fish oil gives you less fat than 2 tbsp. of peanut butter.

 

[Zerix]

Another question I have actually, I don't think it has been answered yet (dunno):

Is one type of fish oil superior to another or are all the same? The ingredient list on mine shows "Fish Oil (Anchovies & Sardines)"

 

[feelingloved]

krill oil is probably best. I haven't tried it. I've used flax & hemp mostly.
www.mercola.com is a good resource.

 

[Zerix]

krill oil is probably best. I haven't tried it. I've used flax & hemp mostly.
www.mercola.com is a good resource.

Yeah I know of this. A bit too expensive though. And I don't wanna get in just a few grams a day, more.

 

[simon]

Another question I have actually, I don't think it has been answered yet (dunno):

Is one type of fish oil superior to another or are all the same? The ingredient list on mine shows "Fish Oil (Anchovies & Sardines)"

There are huge differences between the quality of fish oil from brand to brand. You preferably want a fish oil that is high in EPA/DHA, free of contaminants and protected from oxidation. Brands that fulfill these criteria and are affordable: Carlson's Liquid/Capsules and NOW Fish Oil Liquid. Twinlab stuff is probably less pure but it's cheaper.

 

[Zerix]

There are huge differences between the quality of fish oil from brand to brand. You preferably want a fish oil that is high in EPA/DHA, free of contaminants and protected from oxidation. Brands that fulfill these criteria and are affordable: Carlson's Liquid/Capsules and NOW Fish Oil Liquid. Twinlab stuff is probably less pure but it's cheaper.

I take Health From The Sea PFO (Pure Fish Oil), liquid.