The World Health Organization reports that, as of 2011, 220 million people worldwide have diabetes and that diabetes deaths will double by 2030. The pandemic has spread to India, China and Mexico and many scientific studies blame diet as western eating habits have gone global. Some of these studies note the prevalence of diabetes has risen in parallel with the increased consumption of omega-6 fatty acids and the decreased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids. The omega class of fatty acids is known as essential fatty acids or EFAs.
Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association describes diabetes as a set of diseases characterized by high blood sugar levels caused by the body's failure to produce or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar also known as glucose. Insulin removes glucose from the blood and causes it to be stored in the liver and/or in fat and muscle tissues. If sugar remains in the blood supply for long periods of time, it starves the tissues that it's meant to nourish and damages internal organs. The most common symptom of diabetes is no symptoms at all, helping to explain the growing pandemic.
EFAs
EFAs are essential fatty acids that the human body needs to function normally but cannot synthesize on its own. Although there are no formal recommended daily doses for EFAs published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetic individuals increase their omega-3 fatty acid consumption by eating two to three 3-oz. servings of fish per week. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are the most extensively studied EFAs in terms of their effects on diabetes.
Omega-6
The journal "Lipids" reports that the increased prevalence of diabetes has risen in proportion to an increase in the Western diet of omega-6 and trans fatty acids found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. These acids can change the composition of cell membranes making them less fluid and decreasing insulin sensitivity while increasing insulin resistance. As a consequence, glucose remains in the blood stream and causes damage. The New York Academy of Sciences reports the pattern of an increase in diabetes rising in parallel with dietary consumption of omega-6 fatty acids has repeated itself in India.
Omega-3
"The Journal of the American Medical Association" reports that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids dramatically reduces the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes in children. Children who ate nuts, fish and other omega-3 sources were 55 percent less likely to become diabetic. The researchers assert that this is the first human study to establish a clear connection between omega-3s and diabetes. Furthermore, the reduced risk applied even when the source came from plants and legumes rather than just fish. The news is so hopeful that the researchers are calling for additional studies.
References
- World Health Organization: Media centre: Diabetes
- American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Basics
- "Diabetes Care"; Evidence-based nutrition principles; M. Franz, et. al.; January, 2003
- "Lipids"; Trans, n-3, and n-6 fatty acids in Canadian human milk; W Ratnayake, et. al.; March, 1996
- "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences"; Significance of N-6/N-3 ratio for insulin in diabetes; June, 1993
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Omega-3 fatty acid intake; J. Norris, et. al.; September 2007
