It all comes down to Omega-6/3 balance. You can’t talk about fish oil without getting into Omega-3 fatty acids, and discussing Omega-3 fatty acids is useless without understanding their relation to the Omega-6s.  A  1:1 Omega-6:Omega-3 dietary ratio helps keep dangerous inflammation in check. Seeing as how most Omega-6 fatty acids can be found in “vegetable” oils (soybean, corn, peanut, sunflower – to only name a few), fake butter products, grain-fed animal fat, and other modern contrivances, it is understood that primitive man rarely encountered them – especially not in the excessive levels most people see today. He was munching on nuts and seeds, sure,  and those have moderate amounts of Omega-6s, but he certainly wasn’t setting up processing plants to press wild maize for the Omega-6 rich oil. So we find pre industrialized cultures get plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids from seafood, wild game, and wild vegetation, with minimal amounts of Omega-6s, enough to give a 1:1 ratio. On the other hand, the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio of the Standard Western Diet, replete with fake fats, processed vegetable oils, and grain-fed meat, is said to approach 30:1!

To understand why that imbalance is so harmful, you have to understand eicosanoids. Polyunsaturated fats (which include Omega-3s, like fish oil, and Omega-6s) convert to eicosanoids in the body. Both Omega-6 and Omega-3-derived eicosanoids are important signaling molecules, but each has different effects, both figuring prominently in the body’s response to inflammation. Omega-6 eicosanoids are pro-inflammatory, while Omega-3 eicosanoids are less inflammatory. Omega-3 eicosanoids (the type we get from taking fish oil or eating fatty fish) actually reduce inflammation; in an unbalanced diet heavy in vegetable oils, the Omega-6 eicosanoids far outnumber the Omega-3s and contribute to a lot more inflammation.

There is an intermediary step in the process of conversion from fatty acids to eicosanoids: highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) conversion. Dietary PUFAs are converted into HUFA, which is then stored in cell membranes. When a cell requires eicosanoids, it uses the HUFA stored in the membrane to form them. Here’s the catch, though: the cell doesn’t distinguish between Omega-6 or Omega-3 HUFA for eicosanoid conversion. Whatever’s available in the membrane is what they’ll be using, Omega-3:Omega-6 ratio be damned.  The proportion of omega-6- to omega-3-derived eicosanoids is proportional to dietary intake.

Ratio matters, big time, and it may take a while before the effects of establishing the O6-O3 dietary balance are visible in your tissue, because you’ve still got to clear out the residual unbalanced HUFA in your cell membranes.

So yes, maintaining a balanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 dietary and HUFA ratio is the main reason for supplementing with fish oil, but there are still other benefits. Even if you’ve successfully cut out all vegetable oils and fake butter spreads in favor of grass-fed meat and real fats, there are still a couple reasons – other than for cardiovascular health – for you to supplement with fish oil: the EPA and DHA fatty acids it contains.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) play big roles in the formation of brain and retinal tissue. Huge concentrations of DHA can be found in fetal brain and neural development, especially during the last trimester. Babies, especially those yet to be born, can really benefit from fish oil supplementation. Kinda makes all those calls for pregnant women to avoid fish seem a little misguided, eh? DHA/EPA might also be a boon to the elderly; as we age, cognitive and visual health becomes more important than ever, and low DHA/EPA levels may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and vision problems. There’s also been some research suggesting DHA/EPA has some beneficial effect on the risk of various cancers, including prostate, breast, and colorectal. Suicidal depression and schizophrenia, too, may be linked with low levels of essential fatty acids like EPA and DHA. And finally, fish oil supplementation may even help improve insulin sensitivity.

What It All Means

Unless you’re eating fatty fish every day, you’re a prime candidate for fish oil supplementation. Even as we have a low sugar intake, avoid refined carbs, we are often faced with the prospect of eating less than ideal meat and animal fat. We all wish we could dine on wild venison and fresh caught salmon every day, but most of us just can’t. In cases like these (which is the majority of us trying to eat and live right), taking 1-3 grams of fish oil each day is a good way to restore the fatty acid balance in our cells, promote good heart health, provide essential fatty acids for our brains, improve protein synthesis after workouts, and counteract some of the downfalls of modern life.

Article abridge and altered from Mark Sisson. For more detail go to

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fish-oil-health-benefits/#axzz2WKOIvrnt

or  http://pinterest.com/nschiropractic/boards/

 

Why do we recommend Metagenics Fish Oil?

Pure and Simple

 All Metagenics fish oils produced exceed the current Australian standard to ensure the most pure product possible.

Rancidity often affects of fish oils as they are easily oxidised due to the delicate nature of the chemical bond structure. Nitrogen flushing the fish oil vats and bottles during manufacturing prevents air exposure, creating a stable environment for the oil within the bottle. The table below outlines the testing standards for all Metagenics fish oils.

 

 

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