The types of omega-3 fatty acids found in plant foods are very different from those found in fi sh.

So if you are tanking up on plant sources of omega-3 fat, such as flax meal or flaxseed oil, you still could be deficient in the other omega-3 fats that are found primarily in fi sh.
Amazingly, according to a new and dynamic area of research called nutrigenomics, what we eat influences our genes. Omega-3 fats regulate genes in our brain and other parts of our body.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

Omega-3 fats also protect your arteries by keeping them elastic and flexible. This role has many implications for heart disease and stroke. Hearts natural pacemaker. Omega-3 fats help the heart maintain a steady and slower beat. This may help prevent sudden cardiac death, which is a frequent consequence of cardiac arrhythmia. Omega-3 fats help increase calcium absorption and bone formation, and they prevent destruction of cartilage, thus playing a role in preventing and treating osteoporosis.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

Another reason that omega-3 fats affect so many different aspects of your body and, ultimately, your health involves their interaction with another key group of fats, omega-6 fats. We consume omega-6s in soybean oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, margarines, and salad dressings. too much omega-6 fats in our diet prevent omega-3 fats from doing their normal course of work in our body If these fats are not balanced in your diet, they can dramatically affect your health. Thats the problem. The American diet is bombarded with unhealthful levels of omega-6 fats, which impede the benefits of omega-3 fats

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

the NIHs Essential Fats Education program makes a profound declaration on its website: excessive omega-6 fats in the diet trigger a rise in health problems, including heart attacks, blood clots, arthritis, asthma, menstrual cramps, headaches, and tumor metastases. Eating too much omega-6 fat is a predicament affecting most Westernized countries, not just the United States. This quandary has been documented in many cultures and is referred to as a health paradox or omega-6 fat syndrome.
Most Omega-6 Fats Are Found in Healthy Oils The paradox is that omega-6 fats have been indiscriminately promoted as heart-healthy fats. Many well-meaning health organizations touted heart-healthy oils (including corn oil, soybean oil, and margarine) to lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Consumers were (and are) urged to replace artery-clogging saturated fats in their diet with heart-smart polyunsaturated oils, which consist primarily of omega-6 fats.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

Whereas our ancestors ate equal proportions of these fats, today the omega-6 fats in the American diet outnumber omega-3 fats by 10- to 20-fold! Vegetarians are not off the hook, because studies show that they eat even more omega-6 fat in their diets than the typical person who eats meat. At the other extreme, those indulging in bacon and cream cheese in the name of weight loss, dieting Atkins style, also have a problem. These fatssaturated fatsalso compete against the omega-3s.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

The omega-3 fat found in plants is very different from the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood. Its possible to eat plenty of plant-based omega-3 fats but still be defi cient in the other omega-3 fatty acids found in marine foods.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

Meet the Omega-6 Fat Family Linoleic acid (LA). The omega-6 parent, linoleic acid (LA), accounts for the majority of polyunsaturated fats in the American diet and is considered an essential fat. (Yes, you are reading this name correctly; it is remarkably similar to the omega-3 fat parent, alpha-linolenic acid.) Arachidonic acid (AA). Arachidonic acid can be found in animal products but is readily made from the parent omega-6 fat, LA. (This is unlike omega-3 fats, where there is limited conversion of the parent to its potent kids.) Too much of this fat in the body can trigger inflammation and cause blood clotting. AA is also known as the long-chain omega-6 fatty acid.

Heres the problem. Although laboratory tests showed that ALA can be made into EPA and eventually DHA, recent studies on humans indicate that this is not what the human body actually does. Therefore, you cannot assume that if you eat the parent form of omega-3 fats, ALA, it will indeed create EPA and DHA. If you take fl axseed oil supplements or eat a lot of fl ax foods as your primary source of omega-3 fats, they provide ALA, but you could still be defi cient in EPA and DHA. In fact, the latest research shows that less than 1 percent of ALA gets made into EPA, and seldom (if ever) does it make DHA. The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

a diet high in omega-6 fats promotes blood clotting, while omega-3 fats prevent the blood cells from clumping. Omega-6 fats act to raise blood pressure, while omega-3 fats work to lower blood pressure.

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

Arachidonic Acid: A 20-carbon polyunsaturate containing four double bonds, found in small amounts only in animal fats. Arachidonic acid (AA) plays a role in the function of the brain, is a vital component of the cell membranes and is a precursor to important prostaglandins. Some dietary gurus warn against eating foods rich in AA, claiming that it contributes to the production of "bad" prostaglandins, ones that cause inflammation. But prostaglandins that counteract inflammation are also made from AA. Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig - Nourishing Traditions, The cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition 2nd Ed (2001) - 557 pages

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole 2007 353p

As a vegetarian, I would have scoffed at the idea that my diet was anything but ideal. Now it's clear my body was depleted of protein, saturated fat, fish oil, and vitamins A, B, and D. Among other virtues, protein and fish help keep you trim, B vitamins and fish prevent depression, vitamin A aids digestion, and saturated fats boost immunity.

chicken fat is monounsaturated and polyunsaturated

Chickens raised on grass contain more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), an unusual fat which fights cancer and builds lean muscle. Chicken fat also boosts immunity. The Jewish penicillin [Schmaltz] wasn't skinless chicken breasts; it was chicken soup, with droplets of golden fat that also make chicken soup silky.
Grass-fed beef is rich in beta-carotene and vitamin E (both fight heart disease and cancer) and CLA, the anticancer fat Grass-fed milk, cream, butter, and cheese are rich in vitamins A and D, omega-3 fats, and CLA. Butter contains butyric acid, another fat that fights cancer and infections Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck 2006 126p

Pastured pork and lard are rich in antimicrobial fats and the monounsaturated fat oleic acid the same fat in olive oil, which reduces LDL. Pastured eggs are rich in vitamins A and D. They contain omega-3 fats, which prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Egg yolks contain lecithin, which helps metabolize cholesterol.

Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck 2006 126p

In 2005, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that as many as half of the people who have heart disease have normal or "desirable" LDL.8 Also in 2005, researchers found that older men and women with high LDL live longer.9 When the rule high LDL is dangerous doesn't apply in the elderly or in half of the heart disease cases, the honest scientist can only conclude one thing: the rule needs a second look. Some cholesterol experts believe the rule needs more than just tweaking. "There is nothing bad about LDL," says Joel Kauffman, Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "There never was."10 What might account for the inconsistent findings on LDL and heart disease? First, the link some studies show between high LDL and heart disease could be explained by oxidation. Research in humans and animals shows that natural LDL is a normal part of a healthy body, but oxidized or damaged LDL is bad news. Perhaps high LDL readings really represent high oxidized LDL. 8. Anthony Colpo, "LDL Cholesterol: 'Bad' Cholesterol, or Bad Science?" Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons 10, no. 3 (2005). 9. N. Schupf et al., "Relationship Between Plasma Lipids and All-Cause Mortality in NonDemented Elderly," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 53 (2005) 219-229. 10. "Malignant Medical Myths About Heart Disease," a talk given on November 13, 2005, by Joel Kauffman attended by the author at the Weston A. Price Foundation Conference in Chantilly, Virginia. See also the chapter on cholesterol from Kauffman's book Malignant Medical Myths.

Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck 2006 126p

Most of the fat in breast milk is saturated. The body needs saturated fat to assimilate the polyunsaturated omega-3 fats and calcium. Mother's milk is a rare source of a saturated fat called lauric acid. Antimicrobial and antiviral, lauric acid is so critical to the baby's immunity that it must, by law, be added to infant formula; the usual source is coconut oil.
In the United States, most infant formula contains no long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fats, an unconscionable omission given their vital role in the eyes and brain. The World Health Organization and the European Union both recommend omega-3 fats for babies; infant formula with DHA is widely available in Europe and Asia.

Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck 2006 126p

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) are two omega-6 fats we should eat more of because they tend to behave like omega-3 fats in the body. the best sources are the oils of borage, black currant seed, evening primrose, and Siberian pine nuts. GLA treats premenstrual problems, reduces inflammation, dilates blood vessels, reduces clotting, and aids fat metabolism. CLA, which fights cancer and builds lean muscle, is found almost exclusively in grass-fed beef and grass-fed butter.

Real Food What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck 2006 126p