Low Omega 3 levels
Question
You almost stumped me with this one.
An athlete, baseball player, they did some good blood tests on him and said he still doesn't have enough omega 3. He's been taking Dr. Murphy's NW Complete Omega 3 essentials every day. And these people, lucky ducks, grew up in Alaska and he grew up on salmon and halibut and moose meat. So do you know why the omega 3 would be low? Could it be that there is too much omega 6 and that makes the omega 3 level low??
Answer
So you were right on the money. I had to take a look at the biochemistry. Synthesis of omega 3 directly competes with omega 6. While they used to eat high omega 3 foods prior, they might be like most Americans and consuming a 40:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 diet. This of course means a lot more inflammation and health risks.
Food companies switched from omega 3 oils because they had a shorter shelf life (3 months) than omega 6 oils (like corn oil). Companies make more money, customers can buy larger quantities of oil, but at the cellular level, the body is constantly inflamed.
I would suggest having him identify any food sources of omega 6 that his family are consuming and switch to omega 3.
Uncooked - olive oil, avacado oil, etc... (No butter or margarine - just use olive oil)
Only cook with olive oil, smoke point 350 degrees.
Only fry with avacado oil, smoke point 500 degrees.
Both are very stable below their smoke points and are very healthy.
Both are very stable below their smoke points and are very healthy.
Introduce or increase these high omega 3 foods
Fatty fish (no more than 3 times per week - never farm raised!)
chia seeds
kiwi
flax seeds (must be ground)
lingonberry
black raspberry
Hemp milk
walnuts
pecans
hazel nuts
Avoid
Meat - beef, chicken, pork only once per month. Wild game is preferred like deer or elk.
No salad dressings except - olive oil and vinegar. Both are super healthy, anti-inflammatories.
Remember that the only reason that fish have good omega 3 is because they eat plants high in omega 3. So if given the choice introduce large amounts of vegetables, nuts and seeds that are rich in omega 3 into the diet.
I hope that helps.
Patrick
Dr. Patrick Garrett
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Posted by Functional Medicine at 8/20/2010 10:57 AM 
Categories: Doctor On Call
Tags: omega 3 fatty acids fish low omega 3 fatty acids
Categories: Doctor On Call
Tags: omega 3 fatty acids fish low omega 3 fatty acids
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