RESEARCH - The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in CVD and other chronic diseases

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Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2008 Jun;233(6):674-88. Epub 2008 Apr 11.

The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in

cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.

Simopoulos AP.

The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, 2001 S Street, NW,

Suite 530, Washington, DC 20009, USA.

Several sources of information suggest that human beings evolved on a

diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) of

approximately 1 whereas in Western diets the ratio is 15/1-16.7/1.

Western diets are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and have excessive

amounts of omega-6 fatty acids compared with the diet on which human

beings evolved and their genetic patterns were established. Excessive

amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and a very high

omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today's Western diets, promote

the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease,

cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased

levels of omega-3 PUFA (a lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio), exert

suppressive effects. In the secondary prevention of cardiovascular

disease, a ratio of 4/1 was associated with a 70% decrease in total

mortality. A ratio of 2.5/1 reduced rectal cell proliferation in

patients with colorectal cancer, whereas a ratio of 4/1 with the same

amount of omega-3 PUFA had no effect. The lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio

in women with breast cancer was associated with decreased risk. A

ratio of 2-3/1 suppressed inflammation in patients with rheumatoid

arthritis, and a ratio of 5/1 had a beneficial effect on patients with

asthma, whereas a ratio of 10/1 had adverse consequences. These

studies indicate that the optimal ratio may vary with the disease

under consideration. This is consistent with the fact that chronic

diseases are multigenic and multifactorial. Therefore, it is quite

possible that the therapeutic dose of omega-3 fatty acids will depend

on the degree of severity of disease resulting from the genetic

predisposition. A lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is more

desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high

prevalence in Western societies, as well as in the developing

countries.

PMID: 18408140

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18408140

Not an MD