Metabolic Pathways of the Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

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Hi All,

 

From this conversion pathway breakdown it can be seen that both Omega 6 & Omega

3 share common conversion enzymes (delta

4/5/6 desaturase) and this helps to explain why eating too much Omega 6 may

reduce the ability of the body to convert

dietary Omega 3 into both EPA and DHA fatty acids.

 

Neither Omega 6 or Omega 3 can be made by the body and must come from dietary

sources.

 

Most veggie rich diets are very heavily Omega 6 biased and thus even using daily

flax seed / oil may not provide

sufficient internal EPA & DHA due to the large intake of Omega 6 using up most

of the delta 4/5/6 desaturase conversion

enzymes.

 

Current US suggestions for daily consumption are:

 

< 8 g Omega 6

> 2.5 g Omega 3

~ 0.65 g DHA

~ 0.65 g EPA

 

http://www.flaxcouncil.ca/pdf/meta.pdf

Metabolic Pathways of the Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

 

Omega 3 Omega 6

(ALA / 18:3n-3) (LA / 18:2n-6)

V ------ delta-6-desaturase ----- V

Stearidonic acid Gamma-linolenic acid

(18:4n-3) (GLA / 18:3n-6)

V V

20:4n-3 Dihomo-gammalinolenic acid

V (DGLA / 20:3n-6)

V ------ delta-5-desaturase ----- V

Eicosapentaenoic acid Arachidonic acid

(EPA / 20:5n-3) (AA / 20:4n-6)

V V

22:5n-3 Adrenic acid

V (22:4n-6)

V ------ delta-4-desaturase ----- V

Docosahexaenoic acid 22:5n-6

(DHA / 22:6n-3)

 

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Good Health & Long Life,

Greg Watson,

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gowatson

gowatson