DESCRIPTION/FUNCTION

• Essential fatty acids (EFA) are precursors of the hormone-like eicosanoids (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes) that participate in the regulation of blood pressure, heart rate, vascular dilation, blood clotting, lipolysis, immune response, and the central nervous system. Omega-3 fatty acids balance the action of arachidonic acid (excess AA metabolites can cause inflammation).

DRI (RDA or AI for Adults)

• None.
• As alpha-linolenic acid (precursor to EPA & DHA):
  • Males: 1.6 g.
  • Females: 1.1 g.
  • Pregnancy: 1.4 g.
  • Lactation: 1.3 g.

MAJOR SOURCES

• Cold water fish are the best food sources, including salmon, tuna, mackerel, halibut, herring.
• Flaxseed oil (and to a lesser extent, canola and soybean oils) contains the essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a precursor to EPA and DHA, but humans convert ALA to EPA and DHA very inefficiently (about 10%).

MAINTENANCE/THERAPEUTIC RANGE

• 500 mg to 3,000 mg of EPA/DHA. (Fish oil caps usually contain 18-30% EPA and 12-20% DHA.)

POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Cataracts
• Coronary heart disease
• Eczema
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• High triglycerides
• Inflammation
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Macular degeneration (DHA)
• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• Psoriasis
• Raynaud's disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Stroke (ischemic)

COMMENTS

• Make sure supplements are molecularly distilled so impurities have been removed. Due to the excessive consumption of grain oils, the modern diet has an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of at least 10:1. An optimal omega-6/omega-3 ratio is estimated to be around 2:1 to 3:1. Therefore, most people are consuming at least four times as much omega-6 fatty acids as is recommended. While omega-3s don’t lower total cholesterol, they improve the LDL/HDL ratio.

CAUTIONS

• Consult with your health practitioner if you have bipolar disorder or are taking blood thinning drugs (anticoagulant or antiplatelet).