Understanding Selected Vital Test Data: my results from 4-1-2012 are in red
Omega-3 ALA
This is the total amount of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids. Certain plant foods contain this “short-chain” omega-3 fatty acid, less than 10 percent of which the body may convert into the “long-chain” omega-3 HUFA (EPA and DHA) it actually needs.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an ALA score of less than 1%.
For optimal health, the ALA level in your blood should exceed 2%. 0.8
Omega-3 EPA
This is the total amount of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an EPA score of less than 1%.
For optimal health, the EPA level in your blood should exceed 3%. 2.90
Omega-3 DPA
This is the total amount of DPA (docosapentaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids. DPA is a lesser-known omega-3 fatty acid that is increasingly seen as important to health, in part because it can be converted to DHA by the body.
The average person eating a Standard American Diet will have a DPA score of less than 2%.
For optimal health, the DPA level in your blood should exceed 2%. 1.51
Omega-3 DHA
This is the total amount of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have a DHA score of less than 3%.
For optimal health, the DHA level in your blood should exceed 5%. 5.51
Total Omega-6 Score
Omega-6 fatty acids are essential to health, but occur in extreme excess in the Standard American Diet. This is especially true of polyunsaturated linoleic acid (LA), which predominates in the most commonly used vegetable oils (corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed) and the processed foods made with them. LA is converted in the body to an omega-6 HUFA called AA (arachidonic acid).
Omega-6 AA is the precursor to various hormone-like compounds called eicosanoids (eye-cos-ah-noyds), which strongly influence immune system processes. Having an excess of AA in your blood tends to produce a pro-inflammatory environment in the body.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an AA score of about 13%.
For optimal health, the AA level in your blood should be less than 9%. 11.43
DGLA (dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid) is created when the body converts dietary omega-6 LA to omega-6 AA. People’s DGLA levels don’t generally reveal much about their heart health. Although other omega-6s generally promote and sustain inflammation, DGLA typically exerts inflammation-moderating effects.
Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio
This result provides a general measure of where you stand in comparison to the U.S. average and to the optimal ratio (less than 5:1 omega-6s to omega-3s).
By itself, your Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio has limited meaning because it does not reflect the amounts of these fatty acids in your blood. Having a “good” (low) ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s might provide a false sense of security if the amounts of both are too low. However, it’s good news if you have a low Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio (less than 5:1) and your Total Omega-3 Score equals or exceeds the “optimal” level (more than 9%).
AA/EPA Ratio
This is the ratio of the omega-6 AA to the omega-3 EPA in your blood. AA is essential to human health and only becomes bad in excess.
For optimal health, you should have no more than five times as much AA as EPA; i.e., your ratio should not exceed 5:1. 3.85:1
Total Omega-3 Score
This reveals all of the omega-3 fatty acids in your blood, not just your omega-3 HUFA (EPA, DHA, and DPA). For example, if your omega-3 score is 5%, it means that 5% of all the fatty acids in your blood are omega-3s.
The Total Omega-3 Score is useful for monitoring your levels, but isn’t nearly as valuable an indicator of risk for coronary health disease as your Vital O-Mega Scores.
Optimally, your Total Omega-3 Score should be higher than 9%. 10.82
According to the results of several major epidemiological and clinical studies, this optimal score is linked to:
Omega-3 Index
The Omega-3 Index measures the concentration of EPA and DHA as a percent of total fatty acids in red blood cell membranes. In recent years a significant body of research has been published showing the Omega-3 Index to be a good predictor of heart disease risk, and especially the risk of dying from a sudden heart attack, which contributes to over half of heart disease-related deaths.
These studies have shown that an Omega 3-Index of 8% or greater is desirable for its cardio-protective benefits, and a score below 4% is undesirable. 11.78
So all of this was achieved on diet alone, eating salmon 2-3 days per week on average. I have choesn to add Tuna Omega 3 (slightly low EPA and DHA) at 4 perles and wheat germ oil (to increase ALA) at 2 perles in an attempt to move all my values to optimal level. I plan to recheck in 3 months. I'll let you know.
Don
Omega-3 ALA
This is the total amount of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids. Certain plant foods contain this “short-chain” omega-3 fatty acid, less than 10 percent of which the body may convert into the “long-chain” omega-3 HUFA (EPA and DHA) it actually needs.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an ALA score of less than 1%.
For optimal health, the ALA level in your blood should exceed 2%. 0.8
Omega-3 EPA
This is the total amount of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an EPA score of less than 1%.
For optimal health, the EPA level in your blood should exceed 3%. 2.90
Omega-3 DPA
This is the total amount of DPA (docosapentaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids. DPA is a lesser-known omega-3 fatty acid that is increasingly seen as important to health, in part because it can be converted to DHA by the body.
The average person eating a Standard American Diet will have a DPA score of less than 2%.
For optimal health, the DPA level in your blood should exceed 2%. 1.51
Omega-3 DHA
This is the total amount of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in your blood, as a percentage of all fatty acids.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have a DHA score of less than 3%.
For optimal health, the DHA level in your blood should exceed 5%. 5.51
Total Omega-6 Score
Omega-6 fatty acids are essential to health, but occur in extreme excess in the Standard American Diet. This is especially true of polyunsaturated linoleic acid (LA), which predominates in the most commonly used vegetable oils (corn, soy, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed) and the processed foods made with them. LA is converted in the body to an omega-6 HUFA called AA (arachidonic acid).
Omega-6 AA is the precursor to various hormone-like compounds called eicosanoids (eye-cos-ah-noyds), which strongly influence immune system processes. Having an excess of AA in your blood tends to produce a pro-inflammatory environment in the body.
The average person eating the Standard American Diet will have an AA score of about 13%.
For optimal health, the AA level in your blood should be less than 9%. 11.43
DGLA (dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid) is created when the body converts dietary omega-6 LA to omega-6 AA. People’s DGLA levels don’t generally reveal much about their heart health. Although other omega-6s generally promote and sustain inflammation, DGLA typically exerts inflammation-moderating effects.
Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio
This result provides a general measure of where you stand in comparison to the U.S. average and to the optimal ratio (less than 5:1 omega-6s to omega-3s).
By itself, your Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio has limited meaning because it does not reflect the amounts of these fatty acids in your blood. Having a “good” (low) ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s might provide a false sense of security if the amounts of both are too low. However, it’s good news if you have a low Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio (less than 5:1) and your Total Omega-3 Score equals or exceeds the “optimal” level (more than 9%).
AA/EPA Ratio
This is the ratio of the omega-6 AA to the omega-3 EPA in your blood. AA is essential to human health and only becomes bad in excess.
For optimal health, you should have no more than five times as much AA as EPA; i.e., your ratio should not exceed 5:1. 3.85:1
Total Omega-3 Score
This reveals all of the omega-3 fatty acids in your blood, not just your omega-3 HUFA (EPA, DHA, and DPA). For example, if your omega-3 score is 5%, it means that 5% of all the fatty acids in your blood are omega-3s.
The Total Omega-3 Score is useful for monitoring your levels, but isn’t nearly as valuable an indicator of risk for coronary health disease as your Vital O-Mega Scores.
Optimally, your Total Omega-3 Score should be higher than 9%. 10.82
According to the results of several major epidemiological and clinical studies, this optimal score is linked to:
- 40% lower risk of all heart-related deaths (Dolecek TA 1992)
- 19-28% reduction in risk of sudden death from any cause (Albert CM et al. 2002)
- 50% reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (Siscovick DS et al. 1995)
- 10-30% drop in the risk of a stroke or second heart attack (Marchioli R et al. 2001)
Omega-3 Index
The Omega-3 Index measures the concentration of EPA and DHA as a percent of total fatty acids in red blood cell membranes. In recent years a significant body of research has been published showing the Omega-3 Index to be a good predictor of heart disease risk, and especially the risk of dying from a sudden heart attack, which contributes to over half of heart disease-related deaths.
These studies have shown that an Omega 3-Index of 8% or greater is desirable for its cardio-protective benefits, and a score below 4% is undesirable. 11.78
So all of this was achieved on diet alone, eating salmon 2-3 days per week on average. I have choesn to add Tuna Omega 3 (slightly low EPA and DHA) at 4 perles and wheat germ oil (to increase ALA) at 2 perles in an attempt to move all my values to optimal level. I plan to recheck in 3 months. I'll let you know.
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment