Effects of ω-3 fatty acids and ratio of ω-3/ω-6 for health promotion and disease prevention

Abstract

Awareness of the role of essential fatty acids in human health and disease prevention has been increasing among the population over the past decades. It is known that the positive correlation of essential fatty acid content with a decrease in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, infant development, brain and vision functioning, arthritis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and neurological/neuropsychiatric disorders. Rich sources of essential fatty acids are fish, fish oil, and some vegetable oils. In this paper, the average content of linoleic and α-linolenic acids in oils (g/100 g of fat) and their ratio is presented. In Kazakhstan, among vegetable oils, sunflower oil is the most commonly consumed, in which the ratio ω-6 to ω-3 on average is about 220:1, which exceeds all recommended norms. Based on the examination of literary data on this topic, the desk-based research approach was used in this paper. According to the results, statistical data on the number of diseases of the cardiovascular system and diabetes mellitus are confirmed by studies on the positive relationship between PUWC and the development of these diseases, which indicates the need to conduct more studies on the ratio of ω-6 to ω-3 in the diets. The objective of this research is to encourage scientists to increase their basic grasp of biochemistry in order to improve health and prevent fatty acid illness.

Keywords:
ω-3; ω-6 fatty acids; ratio of fatty acids; effect on organism