The effects of the ω-3 (omega-3) and ω-6 (omega-6)<unk><unk>  acids (EFAs) are characterized by their<unk> . Arachidonic acid (AA) is a 20-carbon ω-6<unk><unk>  acid. It sits at the head of the "arachidonic acid cascade" that initiates 20 different signaling paths that control a wide array of biological functions, including inflammation, cell growth and the central nervous system. Most AA in the human body is derived from dietary linoleic acid (18:2 ω-6), found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and animal fats. During inflammation two other groups of dietary<unk><unk>  acids form cascades that compete with the arachidonic acid cascade. EPA (20:5 ω-3) provides the most important competing cascade. EPA is ingested from oily fish, algae oil, or alpha-linolenic acid (derived from walnuts, hemp oil and flax oil). DGLA (20:3 ω-6) provides a third, less prominent cascade. It is derived from dietary GLA (18:3 ω-6) found in borage oil. These two parallel cascades soften the inflammatory promoting effects of specific eicosanoids made from AA. Today, the typical diet in industrial countries contains much less ω-3<unk>  acids than the diet of a century ago and a much greater amount of air pollution on a daily basis that evokes the inflammatory response. The diet from a century ago had much less ω-3 than the diet of early hunter-gatherers but also much less pollution than today. We can also look at the ratio of ω-3 to ω-6 in comparisons of their diets. These changes have been accompanied by increased rates of many diseases – the so-called diseases of civilization – that involve inflammatory processes. There is now very strong evidence that several of these diseases are ameliorated by increasing dietary ω-3. There is also more preliminary evidence showing that dietary ω-3 can ease symptoms in several psychiatric disorders.
Essential fatty acid interactions
Protein carbonylation
Fatty acid metabolism
Microbiota-accessible carbohydrates
Reactive aldehyde species
Reverse cholesterol transport
Reinforced lipids
Monoamine precursor