The National Institutes of Health reports that Americans consume 10 times more omega-6 fatty acids than they do omega-3s. The scientific community generally agrees that the imbalance contributes to many public health problems, including insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is behind soaring rates of Type 2 diabetes in America that, according to the American Diabetes Association, stood at 25.8 million cases in 2010.
About Insulin Resistance
After you eat a meal, your body concerts the carbohydrates into glucose, the form of sugar the body uses for energy, and then transports the glucose into the bloodstream. Simultaneously, the brain receives a signal to tell the pancreas to release the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. The role of insulin is to open up cells in the bloodstream to take up the glucose, which is then transported to muscle, liver and fat cells for energy use and storage. In insulin resistance, the cells don't respond to the insulin, so the sugar remains in the bloodstream, where it causes tissue damage.
About Omega-3s and Omega-6s
Omega-3s and omega-6s are essential fatty acids -- "essential" because humans require them for good health but cannot make them. Omega-6s are found in plants and omega-3s in fish and some seeds and nuts. An article in the January 2011 issue of "Molecular Neurobiology" reported that humans evolved to consume these acids on a 1-to-1 basis; however, the severity of the imbalance in the Western diet renders omega-3s chemically neutered because the acids compete for metabolic enzymes, and the sheer numbers of omega-6s overwhelm the omega-3s.
Preliminary Results
Researchers reporting in the June 1993 edition of the "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences" performed a preliminary investigation of diabetes incidence in relation to fatty acid intake. Rural Indian diets contain a ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s of 6-to-1. However, in urban areas where the population consumes a Western-style diet, the ratio jumps to 18-to-1. The researchers' analysis included a chart showing a direct correlation between rising omega-6 levels and Type 2 diabetes incidence. Although the incidence in urban areas was 73 percent greater than in rural areas, the authors' called for additional studies investigating the cause.
Clinical Intervention
As of the time of publication, no published studies have investigated results from reducing the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s in insulin resistance. However, a review in the June 2008 issue of "Experimental Biology and Medicine" described results from clinical interventions in patients with other disorders. In the Lyon Heart Study, reduction of omega-6s to omega-3s in a ratio of 4-to-1 produced a 70 percent decrease in total mortality at the end of two years. Researchers also recorded measurable improvements in arthritis, osteoporosis and asthma when subjects decreased their omega-6 intake. The author notes that the optimal ratio varies depending on the disease.
References
- NIH: Supplement Facts: Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Health
- American Diabetes Association; Diabetes Statistics; January 2011
- NIH; Insulin Resistance and Pre-diabetes; October 2008
- "Molecular Neurobiology"; Evolutionary Aspects of Diet: The Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio and the Brain; Artemis Simopoulos; January 2011
- "Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences"; Significance of the N-6/N-3 Ratio for Insulin Action in Diabetes; Bihari Raheja, et al.; June 1993
- "Experimental Biology and Medicine"; The Importance of the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Cardiovascular Disease and Other Chronic Diseases; Artemis Simopoulos; June 2008
Member Comments