Personally, I’m not a car guy, however, when it comes to changing my oil I am meticulous. When I was growing up, the one thing about cars that my dad taught me, was how to change oil in the car. I did this for a while but then as cars became a little more complicated, I quit doing it.

I currently drive a vehicle with about 235,000 miles on it. I have religiously gotten the oil changed every 3000-5000 miles since I purchased it. With the average cost to having that done being about $50, I have spent almost $3000 making sure I have good oil in my car and that it continues to run properly.

So why am I talking about my car in a health-related article? The reason is we spend a lot of money making sure we provide the correct amount of oil at the appropriate intervals in our vehicles, yet we don’t spend money or have no idea what the level of oil is in our body.

Essential fatty acids (EFA’s) are the oil in our bodies. They are considered essential because they cannot be synthesized by the body and need to be ingested in the food we eat. They are important structural components of cell membranes , serve as precursors to bioactive lipid mediators, and provide a source of energy. Long-chain omega-3’s in particular exert anti-inflammatory effects and it is recommended to increase their presence in the diet.

Omega-3 and 6 are the most commonly talked about oils and our bodies need both of these EFA’s to function optimally but most importantly is their balance. When looking at Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio, a high ratio is associated with a person being overweight and obese, whereas a balanced ratio decreases obesity and weight gain. If we had the ability to test our hunter gatherer ancestors, they would probably have a ratio of 1:1 where currently with the standard American diet, ratios tend to be more line 20:1. Optimally a ratio of 3:1 or less is most beneficial for good health.

It is essential that every effort is made to decrease the omega-6 fatty acids in the diet, while increasing the omega-3 fatty acid intake. This can be accomplished by (1) changing dietary vegetable oils high in omega-6 fatty acids (corn oil, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils) to oils high in omega-3s (flax, perilla, chia, rapeseed), and high in monounsaturated oils such as olive oil, macadamia nut oil, hazelnut oil, (2) increasing fish intake to 2–3 times per week, while decreasing meat intake and (3) lastly supplementing with a quality EPA/DHA fish oil.

If looking to supplement a baseline of 1000mg of EPA + DHA per day is recommended for everyone as part of a foundational supplement program. When looking to help reduce inflammation or if you want to treat elevated triglycerides the recommendation would be between 2000 to 4000mg per day. Recommendations are based on the goals of the patient.

Here is a recent example of a 66yo patient that has aches and pains taking a fish oil product containing 1000mg of fish oil. Upon further review of her supplement, even though it said 1000mg, it had only 125mg of combined EPA + DHA. I wanted her to take 2500mg per day of EPA + DHA so she would have had to take 20 capsules to get that amount. All fish oil is not created equal.

If you have been getting your oil changed for the life of your car and you found out that the oil being used was inferior and now you are having mechanical problems that could have been avoided, would you be upset? I know I would be. The same can be said about ingesting fish oil and this is your body we are talking about, not your car.

The solution to not knowing is quite simple, check your oil. For as little as $55 you can have a test run to find out your Omega 3 status. I have posted my last omega 3 test results below as an example of what can be tested and what the report looks like. The results are while taking 2880mg of EPA + DHA per day. The first page gives an omega 3 status and and if you are deficient it would give you the recommended amount of EPA and DHA you would need to increase to decrease your risk of a cardiovascular event. The second page compares your omega 6 to omega 3 and also arachadonic acid vs EPA, these are both inflammatory markers and can tell if your body is fighting inflammation.

If you are interested in having your oil checked, mention that you heard about testing in this article and you will receive a special discount.

Until next time, be vigilant about your health!!