Feeling Fine is as Easy as
Omega-3, 6, 9
What makes unsaturated fatty acids so essential?
Unsaturated fatty acids are essential because they are critical to human health, yet our bodies cannot manufacture them from other food sources. Essential unsaturated fatty acids serve many important purposes in virtually every tissue in the body. As mounting scientific evidence demonstrates, we need to eat them daily in sufficient quantity and the right kind of balance to meet our nutritional needs.
A Question of Balance
Many of the health problems faced today by multitudes in Western civilization have arisen from imbalanced intake—eating too much of one thing relative to a deficiency of something else. For optimal health, balanced intake is critical, especially when it comes to essential fatty acids. As human beings have gradually, over many centuries, moved away from the more balanced intake of essential fatty acids provided by the hunter-gatherer diet of our prehistoric ancestors to the modern refined, processed diet, we have inadvertently fallen into the unfortunate habit of depriving ourselves of a balanced intake of omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fats, while drowning in a sea of saturated animal fats and trans fats. This habit contributes greatly to chronic degenerative disorders, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
Essential Fatty Acids: A Family Affair
Each family of unsaturated fatty acids renders a specific kind of benefit. The latest research is suggesting that optimal wellness and disease prevention require a judicious balance of intake among all three of these families. A blend of a few key oils from rich natural sources of essential fatty acids can provide the kind of balanced fatty acid combination research supports and consumers are seeking.
Let’s take a quick look at the contribution each family makes and the best food sources for these indispensable nutrients.
The Omega-3 Family
One of the unfortunate developments of the modern Western diet has been the undesirable displacement of omega-3 fatty acids by excess intake of omega-6s. The omega-3 family includes LNA (alpha-linolenic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). LNA is the plant omega-3 whose richest commercial source is flaxseed oil (such as Barlean’s Organic Flaxseed Oil). EPA and DHA are animal omega-3s whose principal commercial source is fish oil (as in Barlean’s Fresh Catch Fish Oil). In healthy persons, the body has enzymes that convert LNA into EPA and DHA.
The immense volume of scientific evidence proving the value of omega-3s to human health and the enormous variety of medical issues to which these nutrients are applicable has been so overwhelming and undeniable that even the FDA was compelled to acknowledge their importance by allowing label claims of cardiovascular protection for products containing significant amounts of omega-3s. For what conditions do omega-3s provide proven benefit? Let’s name a few: protection against heart attack, stroke, sudden death from heart rhythm disorders, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammation (for example, rheumatoid arthritis).
The Omega-6 Family
Despite the negative press omega-6 fats have been getting lately in the holistic health media, omega-6s are not bad in themselves. We just eat too much of them relative to omega-3s. This imbalance, at the cell/tissue level, increases tendency towards inflammation and other undesirable states of disease susceptibility. In spite of this pervasive omega-6 excess, there is a unique omega-6 that research has identified as a key exception, proving its value as an essential fatty acid. That exceptional omega-6 is GLA (gamma-linolenic acid), whose major commercial sources are borage seed oil and evening primrose oil. GLA is the exceptional omega-6 because its effects on cells and tissues are similar to those of the omega-3s and are distinctly different from those of other omega-6 dietary fats. Many female consumers like GLA because of its benefits for women suffering from the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
The Omega-9 Family
Oleic acid (OA), the omega-9 fatty acid, has caught the attention of researchers due to their discoveries concerning the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Although olive oil is a major commercial source and the principal source in the Mediterranean diet, oleic acid is found in abundance in many seed oils (such as flaxseed oil and borage oil), as well as fish oil.
What are the health effects of oleic acid that make it a pillar of the Mediterranean diet? Oleic acid has some of the protective cardiovascular effects of the omega-3s, reducing risk of heart attack and stroke by controlling blood-clotting tendency. Oleic acid also displaces the excess, less desirable omega-6s, reducing chronic inflammation that can damage tissues throughout the body, including the inner linings of arteries. In these ways, oleic acid reduces risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart attack, and stroke.
Putting All the Omegas Together: Total Omega
In response to consumer demand, Barlean’s Organic Oils, award-winning maker of the most respected essential fatty acid products, has produced a well-conceived blend of unsurpassed sources of omega-3, 6, and 9. That product is called Total Omega.
The high-quality ingredients used to make Total Omega are:
Total Omega’s blend of premium ingredients supplies you with the most comprehensive and complete profile of unsaturated essential fatty acids available anywhere. It incorporates an intelligent selection of the best oils from land and sea, plant and animal raw materials of the highest certified quality. Each ingredient stands on its own as the premier example of its kind, extracted fresh, at the peak of nutritional value and potency. Because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, combining these impeccable ingredients into a master blend takes the finished product to a whole new level of potential benefit and convenience for you, the consumer.
Total Omega: The Power of Synergy
The full spectrum of essential fatty acids in Total Omega regulates thousands of important biological functions deemed critical for optimal health, life, and vitality in every cell and tissue of your body. With Total Omega as a key component of your daily wellness routine, you can expect to look and feel your best at all times.
How much Total Omega should you take? The recommended daily dosage for adults is one tablespoon. That amount can be adjusted downward for children according to body weight.
What is the Total Omega experience? The moment you open the bottle, you will notice the pleasant citrus aroma. The rich, dark amber oil has a fresh, clean taste with a delicious hint of lemon that both adults and children will enjoy. In addition to being a tasty supplement in itself, the delightful lemonade flavor of Total Omega can add a zesty spark to your fruit smoothies while taking them to a new level of nutritional value.
Try Total Omega today. Barlean’s Organic Oils’ acclaimed reputation for excellence stands firmly behind this exciting new product consumers like you have been asking for and offers it with a money-back guarantee of satisfaction.
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