How to Get Super Critical Omega-3s with Less Pills!
Submitted by Garden of Life
Recent research has uncovered a startling trend in fatty acid consumption. While consumption of healthy omega-3s like EPA and DHA are down, consumption of omega-6 fatty acids has skyrocketed. What has led to this and what can be done to balance the omega-3/omega-6 ratio? Compared to today, our ancestors ate foods that were less dense in calories, were rich in plant-based products (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) and contained lean meat and fish. This eating pattern is unrecognizable to most modern Americans, who still eat far fewer plant-based products in favor of processed and animal-based foods. Although much of the health benefits in eating like our ancestors are attributed to consuming mostly plant-based products—which minimizes animal protein and saturated fat intake—recent research shows that this may only be a part of the solution.
Our ancestor's diet was lower in total fat and saturated fat than current Westernized diets; however, what seems to be especially important is that their diet contained equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids was between 1:1 to 2:1. The ancestral diet also featured higher levels of the polyunsaturated fatty acids EPA and DHA. Today, the Western diet has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio closer to 20:1, indicating that Western diets contain excessive amounts of omega-6 and are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids.
Dietary omega-6 and omega-3 fats are metabolically and functionally distinct and have opposing physiological functions. Their balance is important for normal development, health maintenance, and keeping the body in balance. When we consume excessive amounts of omega-6, it overwhelms our body's ability to metabolize omega-3. This may influence our body's inflammatory response while also affecting gene expression. If we get our omega-6 to omega-3 ratio right, research shows it may lead to improvements in cardiovascular health and mental health, while reducing other health concerns.
Because the omega-6 and omega-3 composition of our body is solely dependent on dietary intake, international scientific working groups believe it will be necessary for Western societies to increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the intake of omega-6 fatty acids in order to improve their health. The problem with this guidance is that both of these goals are hard to achieve as Westernized food options are traditionally high in omega-6 and low in omega-3 fatty acids. With an influx of high omega-6 cooking oils and grains and a tendency to raise cattle and chicken primarily on omega-6 feed, the most common foods in the US diet make it difficult to avoid this fat. In fact, omega-6 fatty acids now constitute about nine percent of all the calories in the US diet, but during evolution they were only about one percent of all the calories. The widespread consumption of diets with more than one percent energy as omega-6 was recently recognized by a highly reputable research group as "a massive uncontrolled human experiment without adequate rationales or proven mechanisms."
What can you do to restore this balance and increase your Omega-3 intake?
One of the easiest ways to increase your omega-3 levels is by consuming a quality fish oil supplement. Minami Nutrition, a leading provider of omega-3 fish oil, has the most unique line of fish oils available. One of the most significant benefits of Minami fish oils is their unsurpassed concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. The average fish oil supplement contains between a 45% to 60% concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. Minami fish oils have a concentration as high as 95%. That means that you are getting more omega-3s per serving, and less saturated fat as filler. It also means that, instead of taking multiple pills a day, you can take one single softgel per day—saving time and money.
Minami achieves high levels of concentration through their patented dual-supercritical extraction process—the only fish oil in the world to use this process. Dual supercritical extraction uses four times less heat than standard distillation processes, and never requires the use of solvents, like hexane, that are common in other fish oil extraction processes. Not only does this lead to a pure, concentrated fish oil but also, it is much more eco-friendly.
The bottom line? If you want to increase your omega-3s with fish oil, no other brand offers the eco-friendly convenience, purity and potency seen in Minami fish oils.
