Paleolithic Diet Case Study
Evolution of ω-6: ω-3 Ratio
Human beings evolved consuming a Paleolithic diet which contained small or approximately equal amounts of ω-6 to ω-3 PUFAs (the ratio is close to1).
However, the current Western diet is very high in ω-6 FAs (the ratio is more than 15)
This increase is because of many reasons;
1) The unselective recommendation to substitute ω-6 FAs for saturated fats to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
2) Intake of ω-3 FAs is much lower today because of the decrease in fish consumption and the industrial production of animal feeds rich in grains containing ω-6 FAs, leading to production of meat rich in ω-6 and poor in ω-3 fatty acids.
3) The same is true for cultured fish and eggs. Even cultivated vegetables contain fewer ω-3 FAs than …show more content…
Arachidonic acid is not essential for a healthy adult whose usual diet provides enough LA. However, for infants 0-12 months, AA should be supplied in the diet with about 0.8 % of total fat recommendations based on human milk composition as a standard.
Linoleic acid is one of the indispensable FAs since it cannot be synthesized by humans (FAO, 2010).
The AI % of LA for infants is about 14.5%
Then, this amount significantly decreases to 3% among children from 1-12 years old.
After that, there is a gradual increase of AI % of LA among both sexes until 50 years; although the increase rate is lower in female than male.
Older people who aged 51 or more, pregnant and lactating women have same AI % of LA, which is about 4%.
It is not surprisingly that ω-6 is a group of about 11 FAs. However, the available recommendation is limited for LA and a little of AA, and so what about the other FAs such as GLA and DGLA?
Effects of unbalanced ω-6: ω-3 dietary fatty acid intake on development of various diseases of
Human beings evolved consuming a Paleolithic diet which contained small or approximately equal amounts of ω-6 to ω-3 PUFAs (the ratio is close to1).
However, the current Western diet is very high in ω-6 FAs (the ratio is more than 15)
This increase is because of many reasons;
1) The unselective recommendation to substitute ω-6 FAs for saturated fats to lower serum cholesterol concentrations.
2) Intake of ω-3 FAs is much lower today because of the decrease in fish consumption and the industrial production of animal feeds rich in grains containing ω-6 FAs, leading to production of meat rich in ω-6 and poor in ω-3 fatty acids.
3) The same is true for cultured fish and eggs. Even cultivated vegetables contain fewer ω-3 FAs than …show more content…
Arachidonic acid is not essential for a healthy adult whose usual diet provides enough LA. However, for infants 0-12 months, AA should be supplied in the diet with about 0.8 % of total fat recommendations based on human milk composition as a standard.
Linoleic acid is one of the indispensable FAs since it cannot be synthesized by humans (FAO, 2010).
The AI % of LA for infants is about 14.5%
Then, this amount significantly decreases to 3% among children from 1-12 years old.
After that, there is a gradual increase of AI % of LA among both sexes until 50 years; although the increase rate is lower in female than male.
Older people who aged 51 or more, pregnant and lactating women have same AI % of LA, which is about 4%.
It is not surprisingly that ω-6 is a group of about 11 FAs. However, the available recommendation is limited for LA and a little of AA, and so what about the other FAs such as GLA and DGLA?
Effects of unbalanced ω-6: ω-3 dietary fatty acid intake on development of various diseases of