Quote:
Originally Posted by SmellyOrc  Edit @ funchy: As far as I know, omega-3 fatty acids and its derivatives EPA and DHA are responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects. Doesn't make sense that one would center a diet around omega-6 for it's anti-inflammatory effects, since around 100% of the population in rich countries eat much more omega-6 than they need and is healthy for them. |
That's correct, although I just want to point out that EPA and DHA can be synthesized from ALA, however they are not derivatives. They are themselves n-3 fatty acids.
They just have different lengths of carbon chains with a double carbon bond in the n-3 possitions.
Here is a table form wikipedia of the common n-3 fatty acids
Common name Lipid name Chemical name
16:3 (n−3) all-cis-7,10,13-hexadecatrienoic acid
α-Linolenic acid (ALA) 18:3 (n−3) all-cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid
Stearidonic acid (STD) 18:4 (n−3) all-cis-6,9,12,15-octadecatetraenoic acid
Eicosatrienoic acid (ETE) 20:3 (n−3) all-cis-11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid
Eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA) 20:4 (n−3) all-cis-8,11,14,17-eicosatetraenoic acid
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 20:5 (n−3) all-cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid
Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA),
Clupanodonic acid 22:5 (n−3) all-cis-7,10,13,16,19-docosapentaenoic acid
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 22:6 (n−3) all-cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid
Tetracosapentaenoic acid 24:5 (n−3) all-cis-9,12,15,18,21-docosahexaenoic acid
Tetracosahexaenoic acid (Nisinic acid) 24:6 (n−3) all-cis-6,9,12,15,18,21-tetracosenoic acid