Re: Re: PUFA (was fats & cholesterol)

[Guest guest]

> Here are a few studies which indicate that n-3 supplementation may indeed be

> helpful for

> heart disease and many other problems:

Well yes, adding n-3 to a standard diet will likely to be beneficial

and in some cases very beneficial, because the standard diet is loaded

with n-6 PUFA. In many cases, the n-3 benefit is simply from

counteracting the toxicity of the n-6-derived metabolites.

[snip]

> While I understand the danger of oxidization, and the mechanism you propose,

> I'm not

> quite ready to throw out the bulk of evidence supporting the health benefits

> of n-3 fatty

> acids without more evidence to the contrary (and I don't think anyone else

> should either,

> but that's just my opinion). I'd much appreciate any peer-reviewed data

> that supports the

> hypothesis that n-3 supplementation at levels near 1.5% of total calories is

> harmful.

It is really up in the air whether n-3 at this level is needed when

n-6 is very low, because to my knowledge no one has tested it. It is

almost obvious that it will be beneficial when n-6 is high. In any

case, n-3 at 1.5% and n-6 at a similar amount is likely to be much

better than the standard diet.

Chris