• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 07 / 10 / 2011

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By: Alberto Quirantes Hernández 14:50Havana, (Prensa Latina) Daily consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids would be enough to obtain its diverse benefits.

Fats, as one of the essential components of nutrition, are highly useful for the body, but we must ensure the appropriate quantities are consumed and stored in our bodies.

Their basic components are fatty acids, and the so-called Omega-3 and Omega-6 are included among what are classified as essential fatty acids. The human body does not produce them and they must be consumed through food.

It has been demonstrated that in populations such as the Japanese and the Eskimos, for whom these components are very much present in their daily diet, arthrosclerosis and cardiovascular disease levels are not prominent.

The Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that are present as liquid oils.

The richest sources of Omega-3 are so-called cold-water or blue fish, such as horse mackerel, sardine, tuna, and salmon, to list a few. In the vegetable kingdom, it can be found in flaxseed and hempseed oil and in nuts, as well as some shellfish. One of the richest vegetable sources of Omega-3 is the sacha inchi, a peanut variety from the Amazon that is found principally in Peru.

Omega-6 tends to be found in the refined oils of certain seeds such as sunflower, soy, corn, etc.

People say that the Omega-3 acids are related to maturation and cerebral and retinal growth in children, and that they intervene in the modulation of inflammatory processes, blood coagulation, blood pressure, the reproductive organs and fat metabolism.

Omega-3 stabilizes the metabolism of fats in the body and intervenes in many other organic processes, reduces triglycerides, bad cholesterol, and raises "good" cholesterol, which is the same as maintaining constant cleanliness in our arteries, stimulating the normal functioning of the endothelium (the inner lining of these blood vessels).

This also reduces blood viscosity with an adequate regulation of coagulation. The opposite is equal to vascular deterioration.

Likewise, it protects against cardiovascular disease and reduces sudden death caused by malignant conditions in heart rhythm in patients who have had heart attacks.

It is useful in the case of inflammatory diseases, and some say it reduces the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, holds back the appearance of diabetes mellitus, and has a good effect on controlling blood pressure.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that for 75 percent of the population, a diet rich in fish oil can protect against the deterioration of cerebral functions and Alzheimer's disease.

It is very important to know that it is vital to consume the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids in the appropriate balance and quantity, because both of these essential fatty acids are tenacious competitors for the same enzymes in our body, and a poor balance between them can help inflammatory processes and arthrosclerosis.

The Omega-6/Omega-3 balance in our diet should be 4 to 1. A typical diet of the modern population has a relationship of 10 to 1, and sometimes 30 to 1, above all because of the excessive inclusion of vegetable oil in prepared foods.

Our day-to-day nutrition, based in many cases on so-called "fast foods" (such as pizza, sandwiches, ice cream, sweets, etc.), which are not only inadequate, but also clearly deficient in Omega-3 fats.

The so-called "new fast food," qualitatively much superior, includes blue fish, fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods and a smaller proportion of saturated fats or foods with high calorie density or rich in cholesterol and trans fats.

It is essential to have a more natural diet and appropriate physical activity, avoid obesity, tobacco and alcoholic drinks, and in short, to adopt healthier habits to have the maximum physical, psychological, social, and, why not, esthetic benefits!

- Chief of Endocrinology Services, Dr. Salvador Allende Teaching Hospital, Havana, Cuba.

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