Previously, I have shared the importance of balancing omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids intake in one’s diet, but I did not elaborate more on this issue ever since. So, I’m glad that I met someone who is really passionate about this topic not so long ago. His name is David Brown. I knew David through my guest posts at Trusted.MD, where I contribute health-related news and articles on a fortnightly basis. His firm belief in the detrimental health effects of excessive omega-6 left quite an impression in me. So, I decided to invite him to come on Conscious Life for an email interview which he readily accepted. Thank you very much, Dave!

Before diving into our conversation about omega-6, here is a brief introduction about David.

About David Brown

David is a carpenter who studies and writes about nutritional issues and controversies. His interest in nutrition stems from a 1977 back injury. While hospitalized, he decided to casually study nutrition to see if improving the quality of his food intake would help heal his compressed vertebra. It did.

It became apparent, after few years of random reading, that mainstream nutrition science, the major health organizations, and government agencies were wrong to assert that saturated fats cause heart disease. An alternative hypothesis suggested excessive sugar intake was the real culprit.

David writes letters to scientists, politicians, journalists, health care professionals, and bloggers, challenging them to question the conventional wisdom and familiarize themselves with the scientific literature. You can read some of his essays and letters on his Nutrition Education Project blog.

Omega-6: Friend or Foe?

1. What started you on the quest to highlight the health hazards of excessive omega-6 intake?

   In 1993 I developed an ulcer on my left leg after bumping it on a sawhorse. I didn’t realize it at the time but I was consuming too much omega-6 in the guise of mayonnaise and salad dressing. After I eliminated these two sources of omega-6 from my diet, I thought problem was solved. However, about 8 years later I began to lose mobility in my limbs. Stretching and supplements seemed to help somewhat but did not halt the deterioration. In November, 2009 I watched a videocast entitled Why Omega-6 Fat Matters For Your Health in which Dr. Bill Lands noted that peanuts have 4,000 milligrams of omega-6 but only 1 milligram of omega-3. I’ve been eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch almost daily since 1972. As it appeared I might still be consuming too much omega-6, I eliminated peanut butter from my diet. About two months later, the pain began to subside. At this point (March 2010), I can again run, jump, and get up from a chair without thinking about it.

2. You’ve mentioned in one of your emails that “omega-6 problem is the greatest public health disaster of the 20th Century and beyond”. Why do you think so?

   Seed oils were inserted into the food supply in the early 1900s. At the time, scientists saw no reason to assess their effects on human health. By the time they had the technological tools available to measure tissue concentrations of omega-3s and 6s, high cholesterol had already been targeted as a major risk factor for heart disease. And since saturated fat raises cholesterol levels, and seed oils rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and low in saturated fats tend to lower cholesterol, replacing saturated (mainly animal) fats with seed oils became THE major strategy for reducing risk for heart attack. As Dr. Laura Corr observed:

   “Most national and international recommendations for the prevention of heart disease, whether for primary prevention of or for patients who have developed the clinical manifestations of coronary heart disease, have made dietary restriction of total and saturated fats and of cholesterol the primary advice and often the sine qua non in relation to all other forms of management. To this extent they are to be congratulated that the message seems to be so universally accepted. Unfortunately, the available trials provide little support for such recommendations and it may be that far more valuable messages for the dietary and non-dietary prevention of coronary heart disease are getting lost in the immoderate support of the low fat diet.“ (emphasis mine)

   Dr. Corr pinpoints the problem. In reality, the scientific evidence does not support a connection between saturated fat intake and heart disease. In fact, saturated fats, in the context of diets rich in supportive nutrition, furnish many more health benefits than monounsaturates.

   It’s well established, at this point, that inflammation, not high LDL cholesterol, is what causes plaque buildup in arteries. Moreover, since excessive intake of omega-6 fats promotes inflammation, and high tissue concentrations of omega-6 are associated with high risk of heart disease, the logical target for risk reduction should be food sources rich in omega-6. Unfortunately, none of the prominent health agencies seem to be paying the least bit of attention to the omega-6 problem. To paraphrase Dr. Lands, we’ve had forty years in which we could have been preventing chronic inflammatory diseases but we didn’t because we were distracted by the wrong-headed belief that saturated fat was a health hazard.

   

   David’s beautiful front yard

3. Do you think supplementing diet with omega-3 oil will help to reverse the harms caused by excessive omega-6 fats?

   There’s a lot of excitement about omega-3s these days because of their therapeutic benefits. However, since both omega-3s and 6s are highly reactive molecules that the body is obliged to control, it makes far more sense to reduce omega-6 intake than to increase omega-3 intake. The physiological requirement for omega-3s and 6s appears to be only about one half of one percent of total caloric intake in roughly equal amounts. To take in more than needed of either or both is to risk overwhelming the body’s ability to control their action.

4. In your opinion, what are some of the most effective ways to cut down omega-6 intake? What have you done personally?

   The first thing is to identify those foods rich in omega-6 and either stop eating them altogether or find alternatives containing healthy saturated fats. For example, most restaurant foods are prepared with fats rich in omega-6s. But some restaurants, such as the Heart Attack Grill in Chandler, Arizona, cook their French fries in lard or beef tallow. Ironically, the owner of the Heart Attack Grill doesn’t realize his fare is heart healthy.

   Basically, omega-6 is an ingredient that has replaced healthy traditional fats in many fried foods and bakery products. If you want to eat those foods, either make them yourself or find a restaurant or an artisan bakery whose owner pays more attention to taste than to conventional nutritional wisdom.

   As mentioned earlier, the major sources of omega-6 in my own diet were mayonnaise, salad dressing (I made it myself from cold pressed soybean oil, ketchup and honey), and peanut butter. I substituted sour cream for mayonnaise, stopped making ranch dressing, and now eat cheese or meat sandwiches for lunch.

5. What do you think should be done to combat the prevalent use of omega-6 in the food industry?

   I don’t think the food industry will do anything about the excessive omega-6 content in their products until the mistakes in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are corrected. I’m afraid it may take an act of congress to bring that about; a very unlikely prospect.

   

   A closer look at the gorgeous flowers and plants

6. Any interesting, least known facts about omega-6 fats that you would like to share with us?

   The omega-6 story began in France with the 1813 discovery of margaric acid by Michel Chevreul. In 1853, the German structural Chemist Wilhelm Heintz analyzed margaric acid and found it to be a combination of stearic acid and the previously unknown palmitic acid. In 1869, Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France offered a prize to anyone who could make a satisfactory substitute for butter, suitable for use by the armed forces and the lower classes. Responding to the challenge, French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés invented a substance he called oleomargarine. The name became shortened to the trade name “margarine.” Mège-Mouriés patented the concept but was unable make money manufacturing the product so in 1871 he sold the patent to the Dutch company Jurgens, now part of Unilever. In 1897, French chemist Paul Sabatier perfected a process called hydrogenation. In 1902, German chemist Wilhelm Normann was awarded a patent for the hydrogenation of liquid oils. In 1911, an American company founded by two immigrants, William Proctor, a candle maker from England and James Gamble, a soap maker from Ireland, began marketing a product called Crisco; the name being derived from the initial sounds of the expression “crystallized cottonseed oil.” In 2010 nearly 100 years later, heart disease is prevalent wherever omega-6 is readily available. Conversely, in a few isolated areas where omega-6 is not available, heart disease is rare to nonexistent. A good example: the Kitava Study.

7. What are some of the good online sources of information on omega-6 and omega-3 fats?

   I recommend Omega-6 Research News and Commentary, a blog maintained by registered dietitian Evelyn Tribole. Vreni Gerd has an excellent article entitled How good are you at choosing healthier fats? I also like Whole Health Source at http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/04/excess-omega-6-fat-damages-infants.html and Matt Stone’s Blog at http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-reduce-omega-6-tissue.html.

8. Lastly, any advice for The Conscious Life readers on how to stay healthy and fit?

   In terms of blanket recommendations, it’s important that food choices be appropriate for ones own peculiar metabolic makeup. This requires some experimentation to match fat/carbohydrate ratio to metabolism and activity level. It’s also important, more or less on a daily basis, to obtain from one’s food enough of all elements required for cell replacement, immune system function, and tissue repair. I imagine I’m preaching to the choir on this because the Conscious Life readers are likely conscientious about what they put in their bodies. Last of all, avoid excess intake of concentrated sugars and omega-6 fats. These are the two ingredients in the modern food supply most likely responsible for the chronic inflammatory conditions that shorten both health span and lifespan.

   As for fitness, note that no animal exercises to prevent heart disease. Of course, animals don’t drive cars, sit at desks, or watch television. Physical activity is beneficial so be sure to get some, doing things you enjoy. However, the benefits are over rated in terms of protection from over weight and cardiovascular disease. Get the nutrition right and activity level will often change accordingly.

Thank you for sharing with us, David. I wish you success in your mission to raise public’s awareness about the harmful effects of excessive omega-6.

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