Fatty acid tied to depression and inflammation

The imbalance of fatty acids in the typical American diet could be associated with the sharp increase in heart disease and depression seen over the past century, a new study suggests. Specifically, the more omega-6 fatty acids people had in their blood compared with omega-3 fatty acid levels, the more likely they were to suffer from symptoms of depression and have higher blood levels of inflammation-promoting compounds, according to a report that appears in Pyschosomatic Medicine.

These compounds, which include tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6, are "all-purpose 'nasties' for aging," and have been tied to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and other ailments. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as fish, flax seed oil and walnuts, while omega-6 fatty acids are found in refined vegetable oils used to make everything from margarine to baked goods and snack foods. The amount of omega-6 fatty acids in the Western diet increased sharply once refined vegetable oils became part of the average diet in the early 20th century. Hunter-gatherers consumed two or three times as much omega-6 as omega-3, but today Westerners consume 15- to 17-times more omega-6 than omega-3.

Bonnie - obviously, for those of you who are clients of mine and/or read our blogs and newsletters regularly, this is old news. The reason I blogged this is because of its significance to "mainstream" medicine. The more studies we see like this in "mainstream" journals, the more doctors will take notice.