Omega 6:3 Ratio Question on Paleo

stevemcknight

I've been doing a lot of research on this and hoping someone on here might be able to help me out. I'm eating 99% strict Paleo with the only exception being possibly a slice of cheese once a day on an omelet and I'm still eating regular beef. I'm a little concerned with my O:6:3 ratios and wondering what path I should take.

I'm just not in a position to buy grass-fed beef at this point. I found a market that sells it, but it's more than 2x expensive as the 85% lean ground beef or skillet steaks I usually buy. I'm exploring buying a GF cow with a friend, but that's not until the end of the summer, best case.

I scaled back the chicken I had been eating and have basically eliminated nuts due to the high 6 value there. If I aim to eat salmon once a week (admittedly not wild-caught), and average a pound or two a day of regular grain-fed beef - would my Omega 3's balance out?

Thanks so much for any help here, I'm having a bit of issues crunching these numbers.

Atlantique

Doesn't sound like it would be enough, considering that the average American eat much less meat than you do and is advised to supplement Omega 3s unless they eat cold-water fish 2-3 times per week.

Why cut out all nuts? Why not have walnuts, which are a good source of Omega 3s?

I'm thinking you're going to need to supplement because your meat intake is so incredibly high.

stevemcknight

Total Omega-3 fatty acids
10623
mg

Total Omega-6 fatty acids
44567
mg

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3138/2#ixzz1KatA2upu

I think this would seriously hurt my ratio issue right? I'm trying to add 3's to get to near that 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. Adding 4 O-6's for each 1 O-3 wouldn't help the ratio problem. Also - to boot, I'm doing a fairly low carb Paleo to stay near keto and don't want to add the carbs of nuts.

Grokette

Fom what I have been reading, we know that Grass Fed Beef, mutton, bison, etc and wild caught fish are the best. However, it is always mentioned that if you can not afford these items that the alternatives are suitable until you can purchase better..........

I am fortunate enough to be able to purchase Grass Fed Beef, Free Range chicken and eggs, raw dairy, etc...........


And if you want to eat nuts, these nuts have the lowest Omega 6 ratios in a quarter cup:

Walnuts – 9.5 g

Almonds – 4.36 g

Cashews – 2.6 g

Macadamias – 0.5 g

Brazil nuts – 7.2 g

Hazelnuts – 2.7 g

Pistachio – 4.1 g

Pine nuts – 11.6 g

Pecans – 5.8 g


Walnuts and Pine Nuts should be eaten the least amount, but Macadamias can be eaten very regularly.

From everything I have read, we should stay away from the liquid PUFA's including nut oils and eat the nuts listed above that are the lowest in Omega 6.

That is more important than the meat source from everything I am reading and researching.

Grokette

Doesn't sound like it would be enough, considering that the average American eat much less meat than you do and is advised to supplement Omega 3s unless they eat cold-water fish 2-3 times per week.

Why cut out all nuts? Why not have walnuts, which are a good source of Omega 3s?

I'm thinking you're going to need to supplement because your meat intake is so incredibly high.

Actually, walnuts are higher in Omega 6 than Omega 3 and will hurt the ratio even more. The best nuts are Macadamia nuts (very low carb, high fat and very low in Omega 6)

BOGmama2010

I have been supplementing with Fish Oil to get Omega 3s because I can't always get GF or pastured meats. I too have stopped eating nuts for that reason. On days I eat fish, I just don't supplement as much (but I still take some).

barefootbeautiful

I wish I could help you with the beef problem. Have you looked into buffalo or venison? Both very good, lean red meats and may be cheaper than GF beef.

As far as the paleo, I'd aim for one fish meal per day - salmon, tilapia, tuna.... This will help a lot with the O3. Have you looked into a good O3 vitamin? I'm also on a paleo diet (however, I supplement with protein shakes through this phase of my fitness regime), but I'm supplementing daily with FlameOut. I don't eat much beef, but I DO try to get the fish in at least every other day if not daily and it seems to help a lot. Good Luck, and nice work!

stevemcknight

I was doing fish oil for over a year - but recently have had some concerns over the only long term fish oil study done in humans. The fatality rates are actually slightly higher on long term fish oil than with out. I've been trying to supplement my diet instead with more real fish - but it's a little more difficult on a tighter budget.

Still working on it.

Grok - can you link me where you found those O6 values? I'd like to bookmark that for future reference and see the 3 numbers so I can check the ratios - then balance it against total carb intake and see what it's worth.

Good stuff on this thread folks - thanks!

Grokette

Here you go!!!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nuts-omega-6-fats/

512cheangela

I just did the math, I would need to incur a 15% increase in salary to be able to afford the amount of beef required per day to feed you. That's not much compared to the 35% increase in salary required to afford grain fed organic randomness.

Sorry to jump in and be a total gasser :-).

stevemcknight

The beef I buy cost $2.50/pound - so I'm spending usually around $5 on meat a day, the rest being veggies. Assuming everyone is eating veggies across the board, we can not count them. The only other thing I eat is eggs (usually around 9-12 a day.) Say $1.50 a day.

$6.50 a day for food isn't bad - but I can't spend tons more than that at this point. As a musician, the first part of the year is a lot slower than summer-winter. Maybe soon I can get a GF cow.

stevemcknight

I just got home from buying 2 frozen bags of wild caught salmon. For how expensive this was - I better live forever.

Grokette

I just got home from buying 2 frozen bags of wild caught salmon. For how expensive this was - I better live forever.

I only buy it when it is on sale................