Sterile Whole Body Inflamamtion – A Bone To Pick

Every now and then I get an email asking “Who is this Dr. Dave guy? Another newcomer jumping on the bandwagon?” Usually the bandwagon is fish oil, omega 3s, or telomeres. People forget, or never bothered to check, how long I have been writing about all three.

So when I tell you that the single most important determinant of inflammation in your body, in your spouse’s body, and in your kids’ bodies, is the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats in tissue, that should sound vaguely familiar if you have read me for a while. I have been making this case on the internet for 14 years.

The state of the modern omega ratio

Most Americans, and most Westerners, run omega 6 to omega 3 ratios somewhere between 10:1 and 20:1. The historical, ancestral, and evolutionarily expected ratio is closer to 1:1, or in some populations even tilted toward omega 3.

What that means in practice is that the bulk of the population is walking around in a state of chronic, sterile, low grade inflammation. Sterile, because it is not driven by infection. Chronic, because it has been running since childhood.

I remember my mother feeding me a cereal called Concentrate. Several hundred calories, refined carbohydrate by the gram, and I would happily put another tablespoon of table sugar on top. A typical breakfast for a kid in that era ran 800 calories and well over 200 grams of refined carbohydrate, with almost no omega 3 in the entire day. I avoided fish. I hid it on a shelf under the dining room table. I grew up omega 6 saturated and omega 3 depleted.

I see kids doing the same thing now, with their own dietary choices and the choices their parents make for them. Processed grain based foods carry almost no omega 3 and significant amounts of omega 6.

What chronic inflammation does

• Accelerates biological aging in general
• Affects brain aging and may contribute to neurodegenerative disease processes
• Drives joint inflammation and contributes to arthritis
• Shortens telomeres, our biological time clocks
• Impairs stem cell function and tissue repair
• Affects pancreatic and liver function, and may accelerate the development of Type 2 diabetes
• Skews the immune response toward chronic activation

That list is partial.

The bone density piece

I am nearly in my sixth decade. Friends my age are starting to deal with serious skeletal issues, fractures, fatigue, things that should not be happening yet. Bone health has moved up my list.

The omega ratio shows up in this data too. Analysis from the Women’s Health Initiative (Orchard et al. 2013, J Bone Miner Res) reported the following: “These results suggest that higher RBC alpha linolenic acid, as well as eicosapentaenoic acid and total n-3 PUFAs, may predict lower hip fracture risk. Contrastingly, a higher RBC n-6/n-3 ratio may predict higher hip fracture risk in postmenopausal women.”

In English, higher omega 3 status correlated with lower hip fracture risk. Higher omega 6 to 3 ratio correlated with higher hip fracture risk.

What to do tomorrow morning

• Test your omega 3 index. Most labs offer it for under $100.
• If your index is below 8%, raise your EPA plus DHA dose into the 2 to 4 gram per day range. Recheck at 12 weeks.
• Cut industrial seed oils from cooking. Switch to olive oil, avocado oil, butter, or animal fats as appropriate.
• Eat more real fish, especially smaller cold water species like sardines, mackerel, and wild salmon.

I think having a healthy omega 3 level in your body is the single most important starting point for healthier aging, and probably a longer life as well.

Doc

Reference:
Orchard TS et al. The association of red blood cell n-3 and n-6 fatty acids with bone mineral density and hip fracture risk in the Women’s Health Initiative. J Bone Miner Res. 2013 Mar;28(3):505-15.

— Doc