Eating the right fats is essential for your brain and heart, and new studies emphasize the need to eat more omega-3 fatty acids.
Yuchen Zhang, a doctoral student at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health, says, “Our research shows that a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio increases the risk of dying earlier.” This study was published in April in the journal eLife.
Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for the health of your heart, blood vessels, lungs, immune system, and hormone system. You can find them in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines, as well as in flaxseeds, walnuts, chia seeds, and fish oil supplements. The main types of omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). According to the National Institutes of Health, your body can’t make these, so they must come from your diet.
On the other hand, many foods like nuts, seeds, corn, soy, and their oils and preservatives are rich in omega-6 fatty acids, with linoleic acid being the most common.
Zhang points out that the very high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, often over 20:1 in Western diets compared to the historical 1:1, might be driving the increase in chronic illnesses such as heart diseases, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.
