EFA Education | Lifestyle Diversity

Lifestyle Diversity

A wide range of EFA in foods eaten by individuals
creates a wide range of EFA in body tissue. In health maintenance, the tissue is the issue.

Diversity among people - Similar metabolism of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats causes competition between them for storage space among the total long acids of tissue phospholipids. Thus, over two hundred people’s voluntary food choices in the USA (red and blue) and Japan (gold and green) created proportions of % long 6 in the total long acids from 20 to 80%.

Tissue HUFA Diversity-Omega-3 HUFA (DHA and EPA) complete with Omega-6 HUFA (AA and DGLA) for storage space among the total HUFA of tissue phospholipids, which can have from 15% to 90% n-6 HUFA.

DHA in breast milk -Mothers selectivley transfer docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to thier fetuses during pregnancy. Without sufficient dietary intake, mothers become depleted of DHA. Lower seafood consumption and lower DHA content in mothers' milk were associated with higher rates of postpartum depression.

Food Choices that balance your body's eicosanoids -Food choices that balance tissue stores of omega-6 and omega-3 eicosanoid precursors decrease the risk of excessive omega-6 eicosanoid action.
Ethnic food choices by Greenland, Japanese, Mediterranean, and American populations give proportions of omega-6 HUFA near 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80%, respectively.

Polyunsaturated Lipid Function
(Special Interest Group)

NIH Special Interest Groups

LMBB
(Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics)

ODS Eicosanoids

ISSFAL
  (International Society for the Study
  of Fatty Acids and Lipids)