Omega-3 Fatty Acids

topic

Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids — primarily EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) from marine sources, and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) from plant sources — serving as structural components of cell membranes, precursors to anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, regulators of gene expression, and critical components of brain, retinal, and cardiovascular tissue. DHA constitutes approximately 40% of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the brain, and EPA is the primary substrate for anti-inflammatory prostaglandin production.

Role

Omega-3 deficiency relative to omega-6 intake is one of the most structurally significant dietary shifts of the industrialized food era — with modern Western diets providing omega-6 to omega-3 ratios of 15–20:1 compared to the estimated evolutionary ratio of approximately 4:1, producing a chronic pro-inflammatory dietary environment that contributes to the epidemic of inflammatory chronic diseases. Most people understand vaguely that fish oil is healthy without understanding that their brain is literally built from DHA, that inadequate omega-3 is associated with depression, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular disease through specific molecular mechanisms, or that the ALA in plant sources converts to EPA and DHA at efficiencies of only 5–15% — making plant-based omega-3 sources alone insufficient for most people to achieve adequate EPA and DHA status.

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