Hangry May 12, 2019 The Attack of the Killer Corn Oil

“Humans are originally thought to have evolved with a 1:1 ratio of omega-6:omega-3 in their diet. Over the past 100 years the consumption of omega-3 PUFAs [polyunsaturated fatty acids] has declined, alongside an increased consumption of omega-6 producing dietary fatty acid ratios of 15/16:1.”  (From “The Role of Lipid Biomarkers in Major Depression” at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5371911/) 

“Optimal dietary intakes of the Omega-6 : Omega-3 ratio should be around 1–4 . However, according to the nutritional changes in the Western diet, this ratio has now increased to be within the range of 10 : 1 to 20 : 1. In parallel, there are coinciding increases in the incidence of diseases involving inflammatory processes such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, IBD, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. Neurodegenerative and psychiatric illnesses such as AD [Alzheimer’s disease] and depression are other examples.” (From “Health Implications of High Dietary Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids” by E. Patterson, R. Wall, G. F. Fitzgerald, R. P. Ross, and C. Stanton at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335257/) 

“Population studies have found that low dietary intake of Omega-3 and high Omega-6:Omega-3 ratios is associated with high rates of depression, whereas populations with higher fish consumption have lower rates of postpartum depression and suicide.”  (From “Serum ω-3 fatty acids are associated with variation in mood, personality and behavior in hypercholesterolemic community volunteers” at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178106003209) 

“Deficiency of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and an alteration between the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs may contribute to the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder and unipolar depression. Recent epidemiological studies have also demonstrated an association between the depletion of PUFAs and suicide. […] This [Omega-3] fatty acid depletion has also been found to contribute to suicidal thoughts and behavior in some cases.” (From “Polyunsaturated fatty acids and suicide risk in mood disorders: A systematic review” at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940200) 

Who is in this Evil Gang, Omega-6? Safflower oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and good’old cotton seed oil (aka “The Crisco Kid”).  (With information from “Health Implications of High Dietary Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids” at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335257/) 

Who is in the Saviour group of Omega-3? Fish, including the original Saviour Fish, Ooligan.  “For First Nations Peoples of British Columbia the marine food fat that is most highly renowned is that rendered from the small smelt-like fish Thaleichthys pacificus. In local languages, these fish are referred to as eulachon, eulachen, olachen, olachon, oolachan, or ooligan. Ooligan grease was a rich source of vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids, but had less vitamin A compared to raw fish. However, there was a 10-fold increase of omega-3 fatty acid in grease compared to ooligan fish fat which may be attributed to microbial conversion of other fatty acids to docosahexaenoic acid during ooligan grease preparation. Ooligan fish, usually consumed whole, are a good source of calcium, iron, and zinc.” (With information from “Nutritional Qualities of Ooligan Grease: A Traditional Food Fat of British Columbia First Nations,” Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 9, 18–31, 1996) 

Here’s some mice. “Dopamine concentration decreased in the hypothalamus in the group given canola oil extract . Fish oil supplement restored dopamine concentration. […] The major findings reported here were that fish oil supplementation improved appearance, enhanced survival and reversed cognitive dysfunction following severe diet restriction in mice. […] Because of the high mortality rates in the 40% diet, canola oil supplemental group, the experiment was ended at 12 days.”  (From “Fish oil promotes survival and protects against cognitive decline in severely undernourished mice by normalizing satiety signals,” at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117120/) 

And butter, coconut oil, lard, and olive oil are all relatively low in omega-6.  We are not lab rats. We can turn our backs on processed industrial seed oils and feed our brains with lard and butter.