On Sat, 29 Jan 2000, Peter Smith wrote:

> I was surprised to see there that they recommend restricting foods
> containing alpha-linolenic acid (the precursor to the omega-3
> series of unsaturated fatty acids), preferring instead foods
> containing linoleic acid (the precursor to the omega-6 series).
>
> That seems contrary to the usual advice which would lead in the
> opposite direction, to prefer a diet containing a lower ratio of
> omega-6 to omega-3 than is usual in the US and UK.

What they recommend (as Barry Sears does) is that we get our
omega 3 fats as EPA and DHA, rather than ALA.  Therefore,
although they recommend against consumption of large amounts of
ALA, they don't (to my knowledge) advocate a high 6:3 ratio.

Indeed, the only reason to consume ALA is to produce EPA and DHA,
but the "yield" is low.  That is, I have read that you need to
eat about 10g of ALA to get 1g of EPA or DHA.  Also, ALA competes
with LA for the delta-6 desaturase enzyme, which can
theoretically inhibit production of series 1 eicosanoids from LA.
Since EPA and DHA are already desaturated, they don't have this
effect.

Todd Moody
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