Second Nature Care Blog

Omega-6 Going Straight to the Waist

[fa icon="calendar'] Nov 2, 2016 5:00:00 AM / by Winter Ninivaggi

Is this effecting your weight?

 With many contributors to the steadily rising rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes researchers are arguing that one of these could be due to the incredibly unbalanced consumption of omega-6  versus omega-3 fatty acids.

 The Western diet consists primarily of "pro-inflammatory and thrombogenic" omega-6 at the expense of omega-3, a protective fatty acid. The ration of omega-6:3 used to be at about 1:1 and has skyrocketed to 16:1. The drastic proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 is the most dramatic change that has occur to the Western diet in the past 100 years. The high consumption of refined seed oils and reduction in omega-3 could be a leading cause for the increase in obesity.

The advances in modern agriculture are one of the reasons we see this trend. Grain-fed animal byproducts are higher in omega-6, whereas grass-fed animal products such as milk are richer in omega-3.  This is not only contributing to an increase in obesity rates, but other chronic diseases as well.

Omega-3 fats provide fat burning signals in the body, conversely omega-6, particularly from vegetable oils, provide fat storing signals. With our bodies ratio of omega-6:3 ratio being so strongly in favor of omega-6 we are sending signals to not only store fat, but also creating inflammatory fat.

Omega-6 is specifically impacting obesity and type 2 diabetes, alone with increasing leptin and insulin resistance, waist circumference, oxidation, triglycerides, inflammation, adipose cells, and white adipose tissue.  The low intake of omega-3 is leading to increased appetites, lipogenesis and obesity.

A recent NIH Women's Health Initiative study reported that high concentrations of omega-6 in blood was positively associated with increased weight gain in young women.

A certain genetic predisposition disproportionately increases omega-6 levels in the blood when linoleic acid (ex. vegetable oil) is consumed. With the genetic feature present there is a significantly greater risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

There needs to be a lower intake of industrial seed oils, and high emphasis on the intake of nuts, seeds and oceanic seafood, increasing the intake of ALA and EPA/DHA, not only decreasing risk of a number of chronic diseases but, weight as well.

Although there are benefits in the consumption of omega-6 it is important to not forget about omega-3 and the ratio in which the two are being consumed.

Omega-3 has benefits beyond weight loss and diabetes, but cognitive functioning and arthritis as well, and can even be crucial in fighting lung infection.

We recommend Xymogen's OmegaPure 820 and they have a whole line of Omegas to choose from. They just came out with a fish oil line MonoPure that is predigested for people without a gallbladder, Cystic Fibrosis patients and more.

Order Xymogen

Omega-3 for your Lungs

Diabetes and Bloodtype

Benefits of Omega 6

 

Winter Ninivaggi

Written by Winter Ninivaggi

Isadora Guggenheim, ND, FNP, RN, MS, CNS, LMT, owner of Second Nature Naturopathic Care, LLC
For all appointments: Tel: 845 358-8385 Fax: 845 358-2963 drguggenheim@msn.com