Inflammation itself is an entirely normal part of life – we ought to be able to both create and calm inflammation as needed. When we have a hard time calming inflammation, we get into trouble, and need to take some action.
Our bodies need certain nutrients to calm the inflammatory process once it’s started. These include the essential antioxidant vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and E and selenium. Other dietary antioxidants called polyphenols, found in fresh fruits, vegetables and spices can also assist the body in calming inflammation. These nutrients are extremely important, but paramount to the whole process is regular consumption Omega-3 fats and avoidance of excessive Omega-6 fats. Omega-3 fats are found in good quantities in fish especially, but also grass fed animal products.
While Omega-3 fats are paramount to calming inflammation, Omega-6 fats help our body increase inflammation. There are lots of reasons we’d want inflammation (for instance, when you cut or bruise yourself), but when we consume excess Omega-6 fats relative to Omega-3 fats, our body can increase inflammation readily, but cannot calm it so easily. Omega-6 fats are extremely abundant in vegetable and seed oils, grains, and grain-fed animal products. When we eat too many of these types of products, our body ends up with an abundance of these pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fats.
The importance of the ratio of dietary Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats is especially pronounced in recent research. Anthropological research suggests that our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed these two fats in about equal ratios, but modern diets have fifteen to twenty times the amount of Omega-6 compared to Omega-3 fats. That means our bodies are much better at activating inflammation than they are at calming it down.
The association between omega-6 fats and cardiovascular disease is quite striking, as illustrated by a 2009 research paper, a chart from which can be pictured below – showing that more Omega-6 fats in the body are strongly statistically associated with CHD (coronary heart disease) deaths.
Many other studies have corroborated this relationship. An enormous dietary intervention trial from France, the famous Lyon Diet Heart Study, found a 50-70% reduction in adverse cardiovascular events with a diet rich in omega-3 fats relative to omega-6 fats.
Another huge study had a similar finding, the Indian Diet Heart Study reported a 42% reduction in cardiac events for those following a diet rich in Omega-3 fats relative to Omega-6 fats. The Nurses’ Health Study, a multi-decade study involving over 100,000 nurses, found that those consuming an Omega-3 rich diet had an average reduction in fatal cardiovascular events of 54%.
Finally, a 2015 study out of a medical university in Iran found that dialysis patients experienced a reduction in systolic blood pressure of 22 points and a reduction in diastolic blood pressure of 12 points following eight weeks of a high omega-3 treatment. A 2009 study published in the research journal Hypertension, found a smaller, but still statistically significant reductions in blood pressure, as well as a reduction in heart rate and a 24% drop in triglyceride levels compared to placebo control.
Where’s the beef (from)?
Grain-fed animal products are very pro-inflammatory relative to grass-fed. Notice the striking difference in Omega-3 and -6 ratios.
If processed foods use oils as their fats, and many do, you can bet they’ll be oils that are super-rich in omega-6 fats and completely devoid of omega-3 fats. After all, no manufacturer is going to use fish oil in their products. Mostly they use soy, corn, or sunflower oils, as those are the cheapest ones. On top of that, virtually all restaurants use cheap low-quality, omega-6 rich oils for all frying and deep frying – typically corn and/or soybean. Unfortunately frying oxidizes these oils making them even worse, which is why deep fried food is so deadly. Here’s an idea of the Omega-6 to -3 ratios in most commercially produced oils:
Here’s the point: It’s very important to get the majority of your animal products grass fed, pastured, or as close to that as possible. If it’s from a farmer you know and trust (tour their farm!), great! If it’s from a grocery store, choose certified organic, in Canada that means the animals must spend a certain amount of time outside eating grass, bugs, and whatever their natural diet is (not grains) which elevates their Omega-3 fat levels relative to their Omega-6 fat levels. As for yourself, avoid these industrial seed oils like the plague! Choose organic animal fat, coconut oil, organic butter, avocado oil, olive oil and palm oil, as they’re mostly saturated or mono-unsaturated fats, and do not have high levels of omega-6 fats. Eat (high quality) fish too! Three or more times a week if you can.
