Essential Fatty Acid (omega-6 to omega -3) Ratios and Asthma

A report published in 2002, by AP Simopoulos, in the journal Biomedical Pharmacotherapy, noted, “Several sources of information suggest that human beings evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) of approximately 1 whereas in Western diets the ratio is 15/1-16.7/1. Western diets are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and have excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids …Excessive amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today's Western diets, promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including …inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of omega-3 PUFA … exert suppressive effects…a ratio of 5/1 had a beneficial effect on patients with asthma, whereas a ratio of 10/1 had adverse consequences… it is quite possible that the therapeutic dose of omega-3 fatty acids will depend on the degree of severity of disease resulting from the genetic predisposition. A lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is more desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies…”²³⁶

All of our protocols include high daily intakes of omega-3 essential fatty acids.