In this week’s podcast, we discuss the omega 3 index. What is the omega 3 index you might be asking? The omega 3 index is an accurate way to represent the amount of omega 6 fats and omega 3 fats in your diet. Both of these are polyunsaturated fats that must be obtained within our diets. Our body can not make them itself. 

The most common way to compare the omega fats in your diet is to compare the total ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats. Using this metric you would ideally have these values close to a 1 to 1 ratio. This would provide you with the best health outcomes according to this method. However, this method is outdated and is based on some common misconceptions about omega fats and how our body uses them. For example, this method considers all omega 6 fats to be pro inflammatory, which is not true. The omega 6 fat arachidonic acid has pro-inflammatory properties as well as anti-inflammatory properties just like the omega 3 fats EPA and DHA.

With this information now being commonly known amongst experts of polyunsaturated fat metabolism, there’s been a new way to better calibrate your omega 6 and omega 3 fats and that’s called the omega 3 index.

The omega 3 index measures three values,

• The amount of omega-3 (EPA/DHA) in the blood.
• The proportion of EPA and DHA in the blood compared to all other fatty acids.
• The ratio of EPA to ARA (an omega-6 fatty acid).

This is then translated into a percentage. A value of over 8% is considered healthy and provides the most cardioprotection and a value under 4% is consider unhealthy and is linked to various health concerns. This method provides a more accurate way to track the omega 6 and 3 fats in your diet and gives tangible advice on how to improve your health. To learn more about the omega 3 index, listen to this week’s podcast.

Links To Papers Referenced on Podcast

The Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio: Does It Matter?

The Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio: A critical appraisal and possible successor

An Increase in the Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio Increases the Risk for Obesity

Importance of maintaining a low omega–6/omega–3 ratio for reducing inflammation

Ratio of serum n-3 to n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the incidence of major adverse cardiac events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid containing supplements modulate risk factors for cardiovascular disease: a meta‐analysis of randomised placebo‐control human clinical trials

Different Fatty Acids Compete with Arachidonic Acid for Binding to the Allosteric or Catalytic Subunits of Cyclooxygenases to Regulate Prostanoid Synthesis

The eicosapentaenoic acid:arachidonic acid ratio and its clinical utility in cardiovascular disease

Fatty acids: Health Effects of Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

The Omega-3 Index: a new risk factor for death from coronary heart disease?