Column #2

The public discussion of a proper diet is mostly confusion and delusion. It consists of USDA recommendations, medical profession suggestions, stories regarding poorly crafted reports in the media, and fads. Yet under the public radar there is a highly complex science. So let’s examine a nutritional scientist’s take on how diet impacts health.

Dr. Artemis P. Simopoulos, physician, endocrinologist, founder of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, founding member of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids, founder of the International Society of Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics, and founder of the World Council on Nutrition, Fitness and Health has researched and published over 300 scientific papers. She’s a graduate of Barnard College (chemistry) and the Boston University School of Medicine. Her research through the National Institutes of Health addressed the nutritional aspects of genetic and endocrine disorders, evolutionary aspects of diet, and the importance of a balanced ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids.

I’ll summarize her 2002 paper titled, The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids, published in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy.

Before grain farming started 10,000 years ago, man’s diet had a ratio of omega-6 (n6) to omega-3 (n3) Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) of approximately 1:1. The ratio for today’s n3-deficient Western diet is around 15:1. Excessive levels of n6 versus n3 (high EFA ratio) “promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.” An increase in n3 (lowering the EFA ratio) “exerts suppressive effects.” In cardiovascular disease, “a ratio of 4:1 was associated with a 70% decrease in total mortality.” “A ratio of 2.5:1 reduced rectal cell proliferation in patients with colorectal cancer.” A 4:1 ratio “had no effect.” A lower EFA ratio “in women with breast cancer was associated with decreased risk.” A ratio of 2.5:1 “suppressed inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” and a ratio of 5:1 had a “beneficial effect on asthma, whereas a ratio of 10:1 had adverse consequences.” A lower EFA ratio “is more desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases in Western societies.”

Since Dr. Simopoulos wrote her paper, there have been thousands of additional studies indicating that when EFA ratios are reduced below 4:1 there is a positive impact on many physical and mental chronic diseases.

Millions of Americans are suffering from cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. “Reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases” is exceedingly important. It starts with knowing one’s n3 deficiency. The medical profession seldom checks it, but you can. Dr. Doug Bibus analyzes blood lipid profiles and utilizes the Lands’ Test to grade heart health at https://omega3test.com. (Use discount offer code SLANKER. I am not compensated for referrals.)

In my next column I’ll explain how to improve your EFA ratio with diet. Maybe this quote from Hippocrates is still valid: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

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