Essential fatty acids and dietary stress

There are two families of essential fatty acids that must be obtained from the diet: the ω-6 fatty acids consisting of linoleic and arachidonic acids and the ω-3 fatty acids consisting of linolenic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (Prog Chem Fats Other Lipids 1968:9;275–348; Recent Pat Cardiovasc Drug Discov 2007;2:13–21; Mini Rev Med Chem 2008;8:107–115). Vegetables and vegetable oils are sources of linoleic and linolenic acids, and the higher ω-3s are obtained from fish. The estimated ratio of ω-6:ω-3 fatty acids in the typical Western diet is about 20:1, whereas, several lines of evidence indicate that a ration of 1:1 would be optimal. Both series of fatty acids can be oxidatively metabolized to a range of products. The oxidative metabolites of arachidonic acid are all proinflammatory and/or prothrombotic, while the corresponding ω-3 metabolites are anti-inflammatory and/or antithrombotic. The imbalanced consumption of the two families of essential fatty acids contributes to a range of diseases. Greater awareness of this problem is leading to increased use of dietary supplements and new products intended to decrease ω-6 consumption while increasing ω-3 intake.