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How many omega 3s and 6s are necessary?
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MunchMunchMunchkin
Posts: 20
I see some places saying that you should get 1.6g of u3 and 17g of u6. I see other places not giving a specific necessary amount per day, but saying the a ratio of 1:4, or even 1:1 of u3:u6 is optimal. I know there's a lot of dodgy information out there on the subject, so I figured I'd look for some input. In looking at my diet it looks like I'm getting nowhere close to 17g of u6 a day, but my ratio of u3 to u6 is 1:1 to 1:5 on any given day. Should I do anything?
For the curious, I typically only use olive oil for cooking, and I use very few condiments in general, and the ones I do use are typically sweeteners which contain no fat at all. The only major sources of omega 6s in my diet, as far as I can tell, are poppy seeds, olive oil, and eggs - and I eat pastured eggs, so I'm not even sure I'm getting much omega 6 from them, as they're coming from chickens that aren't have soy crammed down their throats in factories.
For the curious, I typically only use olive oil for cooking, and I use very few condiments in general, and the ones I do use are typically sweeteners which contain no fat at all. The only major sources of omega 6s in my diet, as far as I can tell, are poppy seeds, olive oil, and eggs - and I eat pastured eggs, so I'm not even sure I'm getting much omega 6 from them, as they're coming from chickens that aren't have soy crammed down their throats in factories.
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Replies
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Where do you get this? We get tons of Omega 6 in our diet (too much some say). And olive oil is mostly 6.
It is good to try to get some Omega 3: walnuts, flax seed, sardines, salmon, soybeans, tofu, chia seeds.0 -
Other people might be getting too much, but that's of no concern to me, as I prepare almost all my own meals and consume very little oil. At a glance and using USDA figures as a thumb sketch, I'd say I average 3g of u3 and 8 of u6 each day. U6 rarely goes above 10g, some days U3 hits 10g too. I'm certainly never hitting 17g on days where I prepare my all my own food. Livestrong and others are saying that 17g is recommended, and I'm averaging half that, at best. But I know that the internet is full of dodgy information, and I'm hoping there's someone here that's done this homework before, so that I don't need to reinvent the wheel.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/335622-recommended-daily-omega-6-intake/0 -
Evolutionary Aspects of Diet: The Omega-6 Omega -3 Ratio and the Brain
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12035-010-8162-0#page-1
Importance of a balanced omega 6/ omega 3 ration for the maintenance of health. Nutritional recommendations
http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/nh/v26n2/13_original_06.pdf
Association between fish consumption, long chain omega 3 fatty acids, and risk of cerebrovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00287.x/abstract;jsessionid=B41013DD27BE0751D4EA98C46C9CE7E4.f02t02?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false0 -
The reason there are differences of opinion is because the RDA
hasn't been established yet.
But it looks like you're on the right track.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil-alpha-linolenic-acid/dosing/hrb-200593720 -
It can be any amount you want. But it is very important that the number is a prime number.0
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Okay, it looks like it's not well understood. I'll just stick to what I've been doing.0
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