Spiritual Portal

This is a list I made for myself based on a consensus that humans need to eat foods giving them a ratio of Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids much closer to 1 to 1 than it typically is now (usually about 17 to 1). Google and you will find this in a number of places.

Omega 3 is needed for joint support, among other things. 'Joints' are a big deal when you get over 50. These ratios are based on quantities of Omega 6 and 3 listed in foods on http://nutritiondata.com and then converted into ratios. Note that these ratios do not necessarily reflect the amounts of each fatty acid in foods. Certain things like soybeans and walnuts, for example, are loaded with Omega 3, but just happen to be much higher in Omega 6. I'm just aiming at balance here.

Certainly there are many other health concerns regarding foods. I also can't claim perfect accuracy on this one, and is also just a partial list, but may be (at least) one part of the puzzle..

Omega 6 to 3 Ratios

Legumes and Legume Products, cooked with salt
(uncanned)

Urad Dal or Mungo (not to be confused with Mung) Beans - 1 to 13.95
Green (or French) beans - 1 to 1.73
Kidney Beans - 1 to 1.58
Navy Beans - 1 to 1.3
Pinto Beans - 1 to 1.4
Black Beans - 1.20 to 1
Yellow Beans - 1.19 to 1
Split Peas - 4.9 to 1
Tofu - 7.5 to 1
Soybeans - 7.5 to 1
Mung Beans - 13.19 to 1
Pigeon Peas (red gram or toor dal) - 21.79 to 1
Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas) 25.89 to 1
Peanut Butter (chunky) - 177.4 to 1
Peanut Butter (smooth) - 180.74 to 1
Peanuts, oil-roasted - 1776.18 to 1

Legumes and Legume Products, cooked with salt (canned)

Pinto Beans 1 to 1.37
Navy Beans 1.19 to 1
White Beans 1.21 to 1
Kidney Beans 1.29 to 1
Great Northern Beans 1.23 to 1
Refried Beans (Vegetarian) 1.69 to 1
Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans) 25.8 to 1

Seafoods

Salmon, sockeye, canned, drained - 1 to 10.94
Salmon, ocean caught, canned (rough average) - 1 to 14
White albacore tuna canned in water - 1 to 17.3

Nuts and Seeds

Flaxseeds - 1 to 3.9
English Walnuts - 1 to 4.2
Black Walnuts - 16.48 to 1
Hickory Nuts - 19.69 to 1
Pecans - 20.9 to 1

Cooking Oils

Flaxseed Oil - 1 to 4.2
Canola Oil - 2.04 to 1
Walnut Oil - 5.09 to 1
Soybean Oil - 7.43 to 1
Olive Oil - 12.83 to 1

Dairy Products

Whole Milk - 1.6 to 1
Fontina Cheese - 1.09 to 1
Mozzerella Cheese (whole milk) - 1.05 to 1
Reduced fat Sour Cream - 1.55 to 1
Whipped Butter - 1.55 to 1

Vegetables

Spinach (frozen)- 1 to 813
Broccoli - 1 to 3.39
Cauliflower - 1 to 3.35
Onions - 7.29 to 1
Potatoes - 3.2 to 1

Yes you're right. There are plenty of supplements and food products out there touting 'Omega 3' that by themselves don't necessarily provide a balance.

Here is a study on the importance of Omega 6/3 ratios..

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

I thought Omega 3 was only found in fish oil. Can you explain to me, this ratio business ? this 6 to 3 ? Does the first number relate to Omega 6 and the second number relate to Omega 3 ?

for example: Pecans 20.9 to 1, translation please ?

Spirit fox

Certain fish (typically ocean caught) seem to have the highest level of Omega 3 so for that reason fish oil is sold as a supplement. But there are also vegetarian Omega 3 supplements.

Pecans for example; http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3129/2 As you can see from the link (if you scroll down a little) a cup of chopped pecans contains a total of 22487mg Omega-6 fatty acids *and* 1075mg Omega-3 fatty acids, so.. roughly 21 times as much Omega 6 than 3.

So if you're eating lots of pecans you might want to balance that with say.. hickory nuts which are more like 1:20 Omega 6 to 3.

Another article saying more of the same in layman's terms..(I *am* a layman by the way)
http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/9483.html

Many thanks o-polly ! I have heard of the Omega 3/ fish oil supplements. Also heard there is a strange taste to them, after they dissolve. Do you know if this is so ? And if so, which variety/ brand might not have this strange taste ? If not, not a problem. Amazing ! vegetarian variety for almost everything.

Makes sense now this 6 to 3 ratio idea, always thought almonds were a healthy choice, but perhaps not containing this Omega 3/ 6 as it is not on the list.

Many thanks for the extra link, you are a layman ? thought you were a parrot ? no wonder, this 6/3 ratio info is confusing, I am a fox.

I've never tried fish oil and don't really know that much about supplements. Except that when you look on the label it says "take with food".

So basically I want to skip the supplement and take the food that has the same thing.

Everyone's health and diet plan has a priority. In my case, since I am 53 years old and climb ladders and crawl along baseboards for a living I am trying to eat for joint health.

So, almonds may be healthy for a host of other reasons, even if they do have 2000 times as much Omega 6 than 3. But to compensate that you might just have to open up a can of cat food (er, uh tuna fish) every once and again!

I'm learning as I go, but basically it seems that Omega 6 is just as important, you just don't have to try as hard to find it. One of the reasons why we are so out of balance is due to things like margarine, partially hydrogenated cooking oils; corn and soybean oil that are found in a multitude of snack foods, junk foods and all kinds of pre-prepared foods. These all have disproportionately high levels of Omega 6 to 3 as do peanuts, etc., so it's probably good that they are trying to fortify some of these things.

Take a look at the Omega numbers here on cooking oils, lower left part of the page..
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/580/2

Here's someone who equally touts the value of Omega6..
http://www.aboutomega3.com/omega_6_and_omega_3_its_all_about_balance.html

You might notice that tofu is actually loaded with Omega 3, but has 7.5 times as much Omega 6 (perhaps it should be fried in flaxseed oil, lol). Some beans however, which also have significant levels of both, like pinto, kidney beans, etc., more seem to represent a perfect balance.

o-polly

good thinking, why take supplements when you can take the actual food - tastier I am sure.

about the ladders, better to climb a ladder than walk under one !

something not quite clear here, a can of cat food ? don't tell me you snack on that ? or does it have some mysterious health qualities unknown til now ?

according to the Edgar Cayce teachings and channelling ..

.a almond or two  a day will keep cancer away

many thanks ! will keep almonds on the list

Please Into Blue no more fish swimming in my stomach. i just get sea sick thinking about it. Let's get off the aquarium subject.

Steve  :o

Mccoy I thought you may find this thread of interest it was around before you frequented spiritual portal.

Steve, yes, that's another subject I had to review.
In the past I never considered this aspect but maybe it becomes more important with age.

Vegetarians and vegans ingest their omega 3s in the form of ALAs (alpha-linoleic-acids). These must be converted to the EPA and DHA molecules used by the body. Whereas EPA and DHA are ready in fish.
I've not been eating fish for nearly 40 years, so probably The plant-based ALAs are enough, although if you are a slow converter (you have some particular genetic polymorphism) then you might have problems.

What I'm doing now to ensure an adequate amount of omega 3s in teh form of ALAs?

I'm eating more walnuts and especially I'm eating ground flaxseed. Flaxseed is unexpensive, I buy one pound bags, I grind it finely, put it in the freezer and eat 3 tablespoons a day. That's enough to have more than my RDA of omega3s and to shift the omega3/6 balance to  favourable figures. Kia seeds are another good source of ALAs, although they are more expensive.

Also, I'm careful not to eat sunflower oil and other vegetable oils (except EVOO)  and I am reducing the consumption of sunflower seeds and other seeds rich in omega6. According to the cronometer app, it works. I'm going to post some more erudite elaborations by experts ASAP

What about DHA for vegetarians? There is around some vegan DHA based on the small seeweeds eaten by fish. By the way, eating fish may entail ingesting a lot of mercury, so it may not always be the best choice (sardines, anchovies, herrings and small pelagic fish is better).

I would like to add, during my health crisis, Swami Vidyadhishananda replied to my desperate plea for help. He instructed me, among other things, to try Ahi flower. This flower is a potent and healthy vegan replacement to get sufficient Omega 3's and 6's.

Presently I'm not concerned with the ratio or the amounts. I intuitively eat foods which contain omega 3s and 6s, the former are high in some foods (walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, spinach), the latter in others (sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, seeds oil usually).

Interesting about Vidyadhishananda, if he has intuitive knowledge of nutrition, then he knows that these are necessary nutrients.

Mccoy you have Mars-the planet of energy Natal in your 6th house of health and now Mars transiting that house as well! Is it any wonder you would be having a double whammy of health interests presently?

Maybe so, I feel my long-time interest is been kindled by something, probably the double expression of Mars you are citing. More specifically, I'm now expanding my interests from mere nutrition  into  the field of mental health, neuroscience, and exercise applied to longevity. When I'm driving my son around, which happens often, I'll listen to podcasts about these topics.

Hey Mccoy,

Yes well he survived in the Himalaya mountains off of nothing but green elixir. And he seems to know a lot about Ayurvedic medicine. He honored us with teaching us a very powerful mantra prescribed by the Lord of Ayurveda and I sincerely believe in it. I do believe he is very knowledgeable of Vedanta philosophy and nutrition! Interesting hmm?

I'm glad to hear about your interest in exercise! Did you see my 4 minute work out thread? http://spiritualportal.net/index.php/topic,7821.0.html
A Nitrous Oxide Dump!

Easy for any age to get moving!  :)

PS. Here's more on Swami Vidyadhishananda:
https://hansavedas.org/monastic-council/