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Decreasing Inflammation with Diet
What do rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, and even coronary artery disease have in common? Inflammation.
Recent findings suggest that generalized inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, SLE, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affect not only our joints and bowels, but most importantly our bloods vessels. Therefore, the fact that coronary artery disease is to some extent an inflammatory disease has prompted the American Heart Association to recommend a daily intake of 1 gram of Omega-3 fatty acids for those with coronary heart disease and two 500mg servings at least twice a week for those with no known heart disease.
The theory that inflammation can be regulated and controlled with the help of fatty acids began more than thirty years ago, when two researchers named Ban and Dyerberg studied the correlation between an Eskimo diet and heart disease. Surprisingly, they determined that despite the Eskimos’ diet, which was high in fat, the instances of heart disease remained quite low, which was quite intriguing.
A “fat” is a chain of carbon atoms with a methyl group (CH2) on one end and carboxyl group (COOH) on the other. There are three main types of fats: saturated found in beef and dairy, monounsaturated found in olive and canola oils, and polyunsaturated found in vegetable oils.
Fatty acids, which are found in fats, but are needed for the body’s proper growth and function, are not naturally produced by the human body, but can be obtained by consuming plants or animals. Three types of fatty acids called Omega 3, 6, and 9 exist.
Omega-3 fatty acids have the ability to regulate the metabolic imbalance associated with inflammation, unlike Omega 6 fatty acids that can stimulate inflammation. The higher the presence of Omega 6 fatty acids, the lower the anti-inflammatory effect from Omega 3’s. In today’s society and largely due to our diet high in saturated fat and processed foods, the ratio of Omega 3’s versus Omega 6’s is now 1:25, rather than the well balanced 1:4 of previous times. The more Omega 6 fatty acids in our body, the less benefit we receive from the Omega 3’s.
A change in eating habits to contain less Omega 6’s (saturated fat and processed foods) and increasing Omega 3 intake can help close the ratio gap to 4:1 and decrease inflammation.
The best sources of Omega-3’s are flaxseed, walnuts, spinach, soybeans, algae, non-farm-raised, Northern water tuna, sardines, salmon, mackerel, and herring. The “oilier” the fish, the greater its anti-inflammatory power.
By Dr. Yong H. Tsai
Published in The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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