Benefits of taking Concentrated Omega 3 EPA/DHA
EPA/DHA are acronyms for eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, respectively. Whenever an animal eats vegetation/foliage, the body converts alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) into EPA and DHA. Most people have heard or read about omega-3 fatty acids; ALA, EPA, and DHA are the famous omega-3s (n-3 and n-6 are the abbreviation for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, respectively). Dr. Artemis Simopoulos is probably the most well known researcher in the field of omega-3 fatty acids. Two of her excellent review articles are available (1,2), and they should be read to gain a great depth of information (Article 1 PDF, Article 2 PDF).
The goal is to eat a 1:1 ratio of n-6:n-3 fatty acids. We can approach this ratio by eating in the fashion discussed in the diet section, and in the Deflaming Guidelines and accompanying MP3 Audio Presentation.
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Important Anti-inflammatory Educational Information
"Deflaming" is the term we coined to describe the process of inflammation reduction. We can deflame with both diet and supplements.
Click here for the Deflaming Guidelines, which will open as a PDF document that you can print. The Deflaming Guidelines provide the important details about how to reduce inflammation (deflame) with diet and nutritional supplements.
We also have an MP3 audio version of the Deflaming Guidelines available.
Part 1 describes deflaming with diet.
Part 2describes deflaming with nutritional supplements. |
Ratios above 3-4:1 are thought to lead to chronic inflammation and chronic disease. Consider the ratios of n-6:n-3 fatty acids in commonly consumed foods:
n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratios in select foods
| Foods with anti-inflammatory ratios |
| Food |
n-6:n-3 Ratio |
| Fruit |
3:1 or better |
| Green vegetables |
1:1 |
| White potato |
3:1 |
| Sweet potato |
4:1 |
| Grass-fed meat |
3-5:1 |
| Wild game |
3:1 or better |
| Fresh fish |
1:1 or better |
| Farmed-raised salmon |
1:1 or worse |
| Flax seeds |
1:3.6 |
| Hemp seeds |
2.5:1 |
| Chia seeds |
1:3 |
| Foods with pro-inflammatory ratios |
| Food |
n-6:n-3 Ratio |
| Nuts |
5:1 or worse |
| Grain-fed meat |
5:1 or worse |
| Grain-fed chicken (white meat) |
15:1 |
| Grain-fed chicken (dark meat) |
17:1 |
| Grains (wheat, rye, oats, rice, barley, etc.) |
20:1 |
Potato chips
(and similar foods with added n-6 seed oils) |
60:1 or worse |
n-6 Seeds and seed oils
(corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, peanut) |
70:1 or worse |
- Hands ES. Nutrients in food. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000
- Enig MG. Know your fats. Silver Spring: Bethesda Press; 2000: p. 123, 142, 280-292
- Cordain L, Watkins BA, Florant GL, Kehler M, Rogers L, Li Y. Fatty acid analysis of wild ruminant tissues: Evolutionary implications for reducing diet-related chronic disease. Eur J Clin Nutr, 2002; 56:181-191
An examination of the above foods will lead readers to realize that it is very difficult to achieve an optimum n-6:n-3 ratio with diet alone. Supplementing the diet with 1-2 grams of EPA-DHA is safe and highly recommended.
Fish oil is best taken at the beginning of the meal. There are no known risks or problematic drug interactions when taking n-3 supplements, which is one of the reasons they are so widely recommended. Only those taking powerful blood thinning agents, such as coumadin, may need to worry, as fish oil can further “thin” the blood and potentially lead to vascular problems. Consult with your physician if you are taking coumadin or any other anti-coagulant/blood thinning agents.
At deflame.com we offer Concentrated Omega-3s. Each capsule contains 360 mg of EPA and 240 mg of DHA, for a total of 600 mg per capsule. To reach 1-2 grams per day, 2-4 capsules should be taken each day. Concentrated omega-3 fish oil is purified by a molecular distillation process and it is free of mercury and tested for stability, so there should be no fear. In fact, researchers indicate that consuming fish oil will deliver less mercury than consuming fish (3).