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.
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