CORRECTION Now I'm home and have my books etc out, I see I stuffed up.
Gamma-linolenic acid is  baddy an W-6.

References: 1. Loren Cordain, (he's one of the biggest paleo researchers),
Cereal Grains: Humanity's Double Edged Sword. World Review of Nutrition &
Dietetics, 1999;84:19-73
2. The Omega Diet. Artemis Simopoulos (she's a very big guru). This book is
very interesting reading. I note someone posted up a website about the Omega
Diet or Omega Plan (it's on my work computer).
3. All About Omega-3 Oils Clara Felix and Jack Challem- Avery's FAQ series
(a little quicky)

> Essential fatty acids are those your body cannot make- you've got to get
> them from food. The 2 groups are
> W-3 are Omega-3 (sometimes called N-3) and tend to be anti-inflammatory.
> W-6 tend to be pro-inflammatory.
> I use a little rhyme- three is the key, six make you sick- to remember
them.
> W-3's:
> 1. WRONG Gamma-linolenic acid= G-LNA good lovely nice acid. WRONG -
{Gammalinolenic acid is GLA and is a BADDY W-6. It was supposed to be
alphalinolenic acid}.
From walnuts,
> flax-seed oil
> 2. DHA from fish
> 3. EPA from fish

CORRECT FOLLOWS:
Omega-3 W-3: n-3 "good fats"
alpha linolenic acid (18:3n-3) LNAdark green veges (esp purslane), flaxseed
oil
octadecatetraenoic acid (18:4n-3)
eicosatetraenoic acid (20:4n-3)
eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) EPA- fish
docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3)
docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) DHA- fish


Omega-6 W-6  n-6 series   "bad fats"
linoleic acid (18:2n-6) LA
gamma-linolenic acid (18:3n-6) GLA (also found in evening primrose oil and
borage oil)
dihomogamma-linolenic acid (20:3n) DGLA
arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) AA
docosatetraenoic acid (22:4n-6
docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6)

The other thing is that both series use the same enzymes to convert one fat
to the next. So, if the body is deluged with linoleic acid LA as it often
is, this makes it relatively difficult to convert alpha linoleic acid LNA
into other fatty acids as the linoleic acid hogs up the enzyme (delta 6
desaturase) and so on for each step down the path.
>
> W-6's are high in seed oils eg safflower, sunflower etc, so the Western
> intake has gone up a lot since the 1950's. eg linoeic acid (confusing as
it
> is so close to linolenic in spelling- bloody scientists are so vague).
>
> The important thing is the ratio of W3/W6- the higher the better.
(Sometimes
> people talk about w6/w3- the lower the better).
>
> Now the Standard Western Diet is too low in W3, too high in W6- therefore
> pro-inflammatory.
>
> Paleo is of course high in W3 low in W6- just another example of
> paleoperfection in action.
>
> Grain fed meat is high in fats and has a low W3/W6  ratio which is another
> reason why pasture fed beef is preferable. It also shows you that grains
are
> just as bad for cows as they are for us.
>
> Hope you like that
>
> Ben Balzer
>
>
> Notice how I didn't say SAD which is the acronym for Standard American
Diet
> as firstly I'd like to keep bitching about acronym overuse and secondly
it's
> so parochial- this list covers the world.
> -----
> > I don:t understand W3's.  Sounds like some nasty IRS form!
> >
> > Explanation requested.
> >
> > Thank you
> > Judith
> > > >
> >
> > [[The w-3 fat shortages in common diets, and the imbalances in
> > hormone levels which probably arises from it,may play an important role.
> > This is my impression, for many problems including MS and nerves
> > skin problems, arteries (as in omega-plan described).
> >
> > But the cause is not meat. It's from the more natural food composition.
> > Insufficient w-3 fats *won't* be cured by increasing meat.
> > Increasing w-3 will be necessary.]]