<P> Human diet has changed rapidly in recent centuries resulting in a reported increased diet of omega − 6 in comparison to omega − 3 . The rapid evolution of human diet away from a 1: 1 omega − 3 and omega − 6 ratio, such as during the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, has presumably been too fast for humans to have adapted to biological profiles adept at balancing omega − 3 and omega − 6 ratios of 1: 1 . This is commonly believed to be the reason why modern diets are correlated with many inflammatory disorders . While omega − 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be beneficial in preventing heart disease in humans, the level of omega − 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (and, therefore, the ratio) does not matter . </P> <P> Both omega − 6 and omega − 3 fatty acids are essential: humans must consume them in their diet . Omega − 6 and omega − 3 eighteen - carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids compete for the same metabolic enzymes, thus the omega − 6: omega − 3 ratio of ingested fatty acids has significant influence on the ratio and rate of production of eicosanoids, a group of hormones intimately involved in the body's inflammatory and homeostatic processes, which include the prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and thromboxanes, among others . Altering this ratio can change the body's metabolic and inflammatory state . In general, grass - fed animals accumulate more omega − 3 than do grain - fed animals, which accumulate relatively more omega − 6 . Metabolites of omega − 6 are more inflammatory (esp . arachidonic acid) than those of omega − 3 . This necessitates that omega − 6 and omega − 3 be consumed in a balanced proportion; healthy ratios of omega − 6: omega − 3, according to some authors, range from 1: 1 to 1: 4 . Other authors believe that a ratio of 4: 1 (4 times as much omega − 6 as omega − 3) is already healthy . Studies suggest the evolutionary human diet, rich in game animals, seafood, and other sources of omega − 3, may have provided such a ratio . </P> <P> Typical Western diets provide ratios of between 10: 1 and 30: 1 (i.e., dramatically higher levels of omega − 6 than omega − 3). The ratios of omega − 6 to omega − 3 fatty acids in some common vegetable oils are: canola 2: 1, hemp 2--3: 1, soybean 7: 1, olive 3--13: 1, sunflower (no omega − 3), flax 1: 3, cottonseed (almost no omega − 3), peanut (no omega − 3), grapeseed oil (almost no omega − 3) and corn oil 46: 1 . </P> <P> Although omega − 3 fatty acids have been known as essential to normal growth and health since the 1930s, awareness of their health benefits has dramatically increased since the 1980s . </P>

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