"When blood is too 'sticky,' it promotes clot formation, and this can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke," says nutritionist Lona Sandon, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. But once you add omega-3s to the mix, the risk of heart problems goes down.

The latest research shows that the most promising health effects of essential fatty acids are achieved through a proper balance between omega-3s and omega-6s. The ratio to shoot for, experts say, is roughly 4 parts omega-3s to 1 part omega-6s.

Most of us, they say, come up dangerously short.

"The typical American diet has a ratio of around 20 to 1 -- 20 omega-6's to 1 omega-3 -- and that spells trouble," says Sandon, an assistant professor of nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. While reducing your intake of omega-6s can help, getting more omega-3s ..............is an even better way to go.

WebMD

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario found that the median daily consumption of Omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) was only 31.5 mg, in a sample group of four to eight year olds. In this study researchers used the suggested daily intake recommended by the Institute of Medicine which is only 90 mg of Omega-3 EPA/DHA per day. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that in the United States the average consumption of Omega-3 EPA/DHA for children four to eight years of age is only 50 mg/day.  Therefore, although the study only involved Canadian children, we know that American children are also well below the recommended levels. 

Kelley, in collaboration with scientists from the University of California, Davis, and the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System, recruited 34 men with hyperrtriglyceridaemia (age range 39 to 66) and randomly assigned them to receive with DHA supplements (3 grams per day) or olive oil placebo for 90 days.

The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled parallel study showed that supplementation with DHA for 45 days resulted in decreased levels of the number of circulating white blood cells (neutrophils) by 11.7 per cent, and these reductions were maintained until the end of the 90-day study (10.5 per cent reduction).

The number of circulating neutrophils was positively linked to the concentration of omega-6 fatty acids in red blood cells, and negatively linked to levels of both EPA and DHA in the red blood cells.

While no other markers of inflammation changed during the first 45 days, at the end of the study Kelley and her co-workers report that levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) had decreased by 15 per cent, and IL-6 had decreased by 23 per cent.

Furthermore, levels of the anti-inflammatory matrix metalloproteinase-2 rose by 7 per cent, they said.

“In conclusion, DHA may lessen the inflammatory response by altering blood lipids and their fatty acid composition,” wrote Kelley and her co-workers.

The results build on earlier data from the same study (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2007, Vol. 86, pp. 324-333), which reported that the DHA supplementation was associated with decreased fasting levels of triacylglycerol (24 per cent), very low density lipoproteins (92 per cent), and intermediate-density lipoproteins (53 per cent).

Source: Journal of Nutrition
2009, Volume 139, Pages 495-501, doi:10.3945/jn.108.100354
"DHA Supplementation Decreases Serum C-Reactive Protein and Other Markers of Inflammation in Hypertriglyceridemic Men”
Authors: Darshan S. Kelley, D. Siegel, D.M. Fedor, Y. Adkins, B.E. Mackey

At a seminar at the May 2004 American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting, Jerry Cott PhD, an FDA researcher, had this to say about omega-3.

Omega-3, he said, is a fatty acid that appears to work much like a calcium channel blocker. Not uncoincidentally, he related, Joseph Hibbeln MD of the NIH, who has led the way in omega-3 research, had been working on a calcium channel blocker study. Omega-3 competes with its sister fatty acid, omega-6, for the same enzyme chain. From there, omega-3 and omega-6 are metabolized, then stored as highly unsaturated fatty acid in tissue phospholipids.. The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is one to one, but with modern diets favoring omega-6 at 20 to one it’s fairly obvious which fatty acid is going to win the battle of the enzyme chain.

Can you get the same heart-health benefits by eating other foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, or by taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements?

The evidence is stronger for the benefits of eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids compared with using supplements. However, people who have heart disease may benefit from supplements of omega-3 fatty acids and should discuss this with their doctors.

Other nonfish food options that do contain some omega-3 fatty acids include flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts, canola oil, soybeans and soybean oil. However, similar to supplements, the evidence of heart-healthy benefits from eating these foods isn't as strong as it is from eating fish. More research on the effects of supplements is necessary.

Mayo Clinic

The following researchers coauthored this study with Michel Lucas: Geneviève Asselin and Sylvie Dodin from the Lucie and André Chagnon Chair for the Teaching of an Integrated Approach in Prevention, as well as Chantal Mérette and Marie-Josée Poulin from Université Laval Robert-Giffard Research Center.

  Omega-3 fatty acids ease psychological distress and depressive symptoms often suffered by menopausal and perimenopausal women, according to researchers at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine.

Their study, published in the February issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, presents the first evidence that omega-3 supplements are effective for treating common menopause-related mental health problems.

Dr. Michel Lucas and colleagues recruited 120 women age 40 to 55 and divided them into two groups. Women in the first group took three gel capsules containing a total of one gram of EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid of marine origin, every day for eight weeks. Those in the second group followed the same protocol, but took gel capsules containing sunflower oil without EPA.

Test results before and after the eight-week period indicate that omega-3s significantly improved the condition of women suffering symptoms of psychological distress and mild depression. "The differences we observed between the two groups are noteworthy," commented Dr Lucas, "especially considering that omega-3s have very few side effects and are beneficial to cardiovascular health." However, no positive effect was observed among a small group of women with more severe depressive symptoms.

Women with hot flashes also noted that their condition improved after consuming omega-3s. At baseline, the number of daily hot flashes was 2.8 and dropped by an average of 1.6 in the group taking omega-3s and by 0.5 in the control group. The change that can be attributed to the use of omega-3s, i.e. a decrease of 1.1 hot flashes per day, is equivalent to results obtained with hormone therapy and antidepressants. Details of these results were published in the November 20, 2008 online edition of the journal Menopause.

Many women suffer from depressive symptoms during menopause and perimenopause. Some take antidepressants for relief even though their effectiveness is controversial. Mistrust of hormone therapy and antidepressants leads certain women to turn to alternative methods whose effectiveness has not yet been scientifically demonstrated. This study by Université Laval researchers corrects this situation with regard to marine-sourced omega-3s.

Göteborg University, Sweden

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess omega 3/6 fatty acids (eye q) in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: The study included a randomized, 3-month, omega 3/6 placebo-controlled, one-way crossover trial with 75 children and adolescents (8—18 years), followed by 3 months with omega 3/6 for all. Investigator-rated ADHD Rating Scale—IV and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale were outcome measures. Results: A majority did not respond to omega 3/6 treatment. However, a subgroup of 26% responded with more than 25% reduction of ADHD symptoms and a drop of CGI scores to the near-normal range. After 6 months, 47% of all showed such improvement. Responders tended to have ADHD inattentive subtype and comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Conclusion: A subgroup of children and adolescents with ADHD, characterized by inattention and associated neurodevelopmental disorders, treated with omega 3/6 fatty acids for 6 months responded with meaningful reduction of ADHD symptoms. (J. of Att. Dis. 2009; 12(5) 394-401)