Optimize Your Ratio of Essential Fatty Acids

with Sally Fallon Morell

Omega-3 or fish oil supplements are popular right now. Folks take these in an effort to achieve the right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. It’s true that for optimal health, we really need to optimize the ratio of these essential fatty acids. The right balance can protect our heart health, reduce inflammation in the body and improve neurological function. But how do we get there? Are supplements the best way to get these essential fatty acids? How can we get more omega-3 fatty acids in our diet? Is it possible to get too much omega-3? Is omega-6 all bad?

Sally Fallon Morell, the head of the Weston A. Price Foundation, dispels myths and misconceptions about essential fatty acids in this episode, as she explains principle 8 of the Wise Traditions diet: how traditional peoples ate just the right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. (These fatty acids are called essential, by the way, because we must get them from our diet. Our bodies can’t make these on their own.)

She covers the importance of arachidonic acid, the role of DHA and EPA, and the ideal ratios of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Most importantly, she discusses which foods to include in the diet to strike the delicate balance that is critical for improved health and wellbeing.

Notes:

Highlights from the conversation include:

why we need just the right balance between omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids
why there is confusion on this topic
what foods are most problematic and why
which foods should be included in the diet
why industrial seed oils are so damaging
what cod liver oil offers in terms of addressing this issue
how to supplement the right amounts using food instead of pills
how fish oil is highly processed, creating a rancid product and should be avoided
why arachidonic acid is important
why some people are better at converting Omega-3 and Omega-6 into DHA, EPA and arachidonic acid