Fish oil supplementation restores normal omega balance

Restoring normal omega balance through fish oil supplementation is the best studied and most effective way of protecting tissue from damage and resolving persistent inflammation, argues Blackmores Institute Contributing Editor Dr Mark Donohoe. Inflammation is not a random and unregulated process, even in traumatic injury. It is a highly regulated stepwise process, as is tissue protection and recovery after injury. These processes are regulated by metabolic products of fatty acids at extraordinarily low concentrations through receptors and cell signalling. The diet that sustained human beings and on which they evolved is believed to have contained roughly equal amounts of dietary omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. With processed foods dominating Western diets of today, many Westerners are now deficient in omega-3s relative to omega-6s. This imbalance pushes the biochemistry towards inflammation and away from tissue protection and resolution of inflammation. This is reflected in clinical practice, where safe control of inflammation has become a major issue in patient management.