Part 1. Omega 3 Fats & Cancer - The inflammation problem!
This fatty acid is one of your biggest health allies and packs a punch against cancer!
As the seed oils debate rages on, people are very confused about fatty acids. What is a saturated fat? What is mono or poly-unsaturated? Are seed oils really bad for me? Are all polyunsaturated fats the same?
Understanding the basics
Let’s explain what ‘saturated’ and ‘unsaturated’ means and then we can step forwards into why you need Omega 3 in your fight against cancer.
Imagine a circle with lines drawn off it, a bit like a child’s drawing of a sun. This is your fat molecule (for illustration purposes only).
At the end of each of the rays/line is a space for something to stick to the end, that would be a hydrogen atom in fact, represented by the letter H.
If all the rays have an H attached to it. Then the fat molecule is saturated or full, of H letters, or Hydrogen. If there is one H missing, one = mono, this is Mono UN-saturated (otherwise known as MUFAs ) and then if there are many H letters missing, many = poly, then this would be POLY UN-saturated (PUFAs)
Essentially the name of the fat tells you about the stability. If one of the rays is missing an H - that means there is an opportunity for the fat molecule to react, like when it comes in contact with another molecule such as those in fresh air, for example Oxygen (O2). There is also less stability when unsaturated, whether mono or poly-unsaturated fat, molecules are heated.
Omega 6 AND Omega 3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated, so they are susceptible to the same kinds of damage by air (oxidisation) and heat (peroxidisation), both of which cause problems in our bodies.
Where have we gone wrong?
Our Paleolithic ancestors and those before them ate fresh fish. The human brain is made from 60% fat with 25% of that being DHA (an important kind of Omega 3) and we thrived on it. Fat was our major energy source. Not grains, not seed oils, not processed foods and definitely not Omega 3 supplements.
The unstable Omega 3 oils in the fish were neatly bound up in the skin of the animal, meaning that they were eaten with almost no exposure to damaging oxygen, they may or may not have been heated, there were no PCBs, no micro-plastics, no pollutants, mercury or other heavy metals polluting our seas, the fish were a beautifully clean and rich source of nutrients for the humans of that time.
We share the same genes as our ancestors. We have stone-age genes but we are in a modern world.
With farming and the invention of refining and extraction processes, allowing us to cheaply mass-produce seed oils and grains for food processing, we have completely altered the composition of fats in our diet and therefore our bodies. Many of us now walk around with a ratio of up to 20:1 omega 6 to omega 3.
The paleolithic ratio was 1:1.
Sinc Omega 6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory and Omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory, can you see where this is going?
Omega 3s and cancer?
Cancer is a chronic disease, it is highly preventable in many cases. Controversial that might seem, but it’s a message of empowerment actually. It means we aren’t doomed, even with scary statistics like ‘1 in 2 of us are to get cancer by 2030’ and ‘Colorectal cancer is rising steeply in the under 35s populations’. We can do something about it! We can take action! Prevention is better than a thousand cures.
Inflammation is what it sounds like, it’s almost onomatopoeic. In the process of becoming ‘inflamed’ our tissues become flooded with immune factors called cytokines with names like IL6, TNF, IFNg, NfKb and so on. Traditionally these are released due to a trigger, like an injury or trauma, an illness or too much sun exposure. It’s a very important immune system function, we don’t want to suppress it, it’s a survival mechanism.
Here is an example of how this might work in a functional (normal) way… Unwanted bacteria breaks through our defences (we get a scrape from climbing a tree) and gets into the body and starts causing damage to cells. Immune cells called macrophages come into contact with the bad bacteria and start releasing these cytokines, these start raising the temperature causing the tissue environment to be suddenly too hot for the bacteria to live (fever and raised temperatures are an important part of how the body fights bacteria and we should be careful not to routinely suppress fever). The inflammation causes other immune cells to come rushing in and start fighting the bacteria through a variety of mechanisms, the swelling pushes the wound closed so no more bacteria can get in and the immune cells stand guard until the wound is closed, ready to attack if any more bacteria make it in.
We are a beautiful, biological orchestra of harmony and cooperation. When we are operating in our normal, natural environment with the right diet and lifestyle.
Bring in modern society. We are generations down the line of formula-fed babies, started on sugar and seed oils from the very beginning, our microbiomes disrupted by vaccines, antibiotics, pesticides in food, chemicals in our air (air fresheners/perfumes) industry and car exhausts.
We are stressed. Technology has taken away the household labour, intensive farming has removed widespread homesteading and the food industry has made it unnecessary for us to learn how to even cook a basic, healthy meal. We are constantly on the go, our technology demands our constant attention. We live, packed in around each other in cities, yet separated from each other by fear, judgements and competition. We are sold unrealistic ideals in the media, encouraged to discard everything from clothing, possessions to our relationships and friendships in the name of the next and best thing. Nothing is sacred in this world. Entitlement and narcissism are rife and it’s not making us any happier, we are depressed, infertile and expressing dis-ease.
We need to Stop! Slow Down! Take Stock! Reflect!
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished - Lao Tzu
Imagine if we could all embody that slowness a little. This week I tried to. Someone needed me toute suite and I was busy, carefully ladleling soup into a container to put into the fridge. The ladle was small and it occurred to me that it would be quicker if I went to get another ladle. I decided to slowly ladle the soup into the container as I was anyway and in that moment, it became a quiet 60 second meditation. The world waited. The soup was ladled and I didn’t rush or stress. The only person that really impacted was me, I didn’t hurry or worry. Anyway I digress…
Stress creates inflammation. Modern society creates stress. We aren’t escaping modern society (unless you live in the middle of nowhere which I do recommend actually), so we need a strategy.
Competition in the body
There are two parts to the problem of balancing those Omega 6/3 ratios. You might say, since you have found you have a ratio let’s say, (you can test it) of 12:1, you just need more oily fish or to supplement it up to a normal 1:1 ratio right? Well, you better really like salmon and sardines because you will be eating them all day long, day in and day out, and still struggle to meet that 1:1 ratio.
What’s also interesting is that the enzymes which are responsible for converting Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids into their final versions (for those who are interesting in a little more detailed biochemistry, which are DHA (n3) and AA (n6)) these enzymes are the same ones. Each fatty acid competes for these enzymes, so if you do have more Omega 6 in your diet than Omega 3, that little bit of Omega 3 you eat may not make the final conversion if the Omega 6s are hogging all the enzymes.
Much better then to remove the sources of Omega 6 - (the inflammation causing kinds) and the sources are:
Wheat and other grains (unhealthy)
Sunflower seeds (these are healthy eaten whole)
Almonds (healthy, get organic ones as they are heavily sprayed)
Sunflower oil, Vegetable oil, Safflower oil, Rapeseed oil (unhealthy - avoid)
Animal protein from grain fed animals. (you are what you eat, eats).
Eating more oily fish is definitely key to this. We are chronic under-eaters of oily fish and no, Tuna is NOT an oily fish, despite what you will read still on many outdated websites. Tuna is also higher in mercury and along with all other large predatory fish, should be avoided.
For oily fish think SMASH
Salmon
Mackerel
Anchovies
Sardines
Herrings
(there is also Trout which is great if you can get it from a local, clean rivers).
In part 2, I will explain to you what Omega 3 fatty acids do to cancer tumours.
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Thanks for the informative article. I struggle with the references to things our ancestors have done or what their ratios may have been, because to my understanding they had much shorter life spans. What are we aspiring to?
Love it! When I tested my 3's Vs 6's I was surprised that my 6's were much higher. I realized that my go-to snack every day was almond butter on celery. almonds have a high omega 6 content, as you mentioned. I cut that out and added a bit more supplement and tested 3 months later and boom - better than perfect:-). Amazing how great it is to test! Thanks for another great article!