Omega in your Body
The Omega Balance Health Concept
A leading health concept to restore normal Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance in 120 days
...adding life to your years...
BioActive Foods forms its business around "The Omega Balance Health Concept", which is a preventative health concept aiming to restore the normal balance between the essential polyunsaturated fatty acid groups, omega-6 and omega-3, in the body within 120 days. This is in accordance with the official recommendations of the Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordic Nutritional Recommendations, 2005). Restoring normal Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance will improve the body's capacity to both resist and to fight various lifestyle related health issues.
Background
Man was "designed" to have an equal amount of the vital omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the body. The fatty acid balance of omega-6 and omega-3 at cellular level is determined by the composition of the diet. More than 50,000 fatty acid profiles in blood measured at Vitas AS (per May 2014) shows that the current Western diet provides 10 to 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3. According to The World Council of Genetics, Nutrition and Fitness for Health and the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance should be less than 5:1 in both body and diet. An imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the body may only be regulated through dietary changes.
Bloodtest
The Omega Balance Health Concept is based initially on a blood test measuring the fatty acid profile in whole blood. The blood collector device is 510 (k) cleared and may be legally marketed in the U.S. Our video will in approximately 1 minute explain how to take the test, and how the test is analyzed at one of our university laboratories.
The test requires a few drops of blood from your finger tip dripped onto a special filter paper. This can be done completely anonymously in your own home by following the enclosed manual, or by seeking the advice of a healthcare professional. The blood sample is placed in an enclosed opaque aluminum bag and sent to Vitas AS, Oslo Innovation Park for analysis. The same analysis, quantifying 11 different fatty acids (98 % of the fatty acids in blood), is performed when the blood samples are received at Vitas AS. Based on the results from the fatty acid analysis, the amount of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated vegetable fat and polyunsaturated marine fat present in your whole blood are presented. Additionally, five different risk factors related to lifestyle issues are presented, including Omega-3 level and the Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance. The results provide the basis for individual targeted dietary guidance.
Recommendation
Results from individual blood tests are obtained anonymously by entering a personal code at our website. Based on the results, each individual may decide if they want to change their Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance by changing their diet. BioActive Foods offers two solutions to help individuals to change their Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance within 120 days. The primary solution is a special mixture of fish oil and extra virgin olive oil produced in Iceland by Lysi, a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) approved Icelandic company. The alternative solution is an oil containing powder that may be mixed with water to a "milk beverage" with strawberry flavour. This powder is produced in The Netherlands by two GMP approved companies. The oil is also available in capsules produced by the Norwegian company Pharmatech AS.
Basic Information
There are many types of fatty acids present in the human body. The Omega Balance Health Concept focusses on the essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The marine omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) differ from the shorter omega-3 fatty acid from plants (alpha linolenic acid). It is mainly the marine omega-3 fatty acids that scientifically are proven to have positive health effects, particularly related to normal development of hearth, eyes and brain. The essential omega-6 fatty acids group also includes several fatty acids. The most important ones are linoleic acid in vegetable oils and arachidonic acid found in animal fat.
Nutritional debates about fats are often focused on saturated fat, the omega-3 fatty acids and compounds that have antioxidative effects, while discussions about the omega-6 fatty acids are almost absent. Both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are known to be main components of the cell membranes in all cells of the body. They are also known to be precursors in the formation of "local hormones", or signalling compounds such as the prostaglandins and thromboxanes. Such local hormones (eicosanoids) influence a variety of functions within the body, including the contraction of smooth muscle, adhesion of blood platelets, dilation of blood vessels and blood pressure, to mention some. An imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids will affect the types of eicosanoids which are produced. Increased production of the 2-series eicosanoids from omega-6 fatty acids may lead to effects on body functions like blood clotting and blood pressure that need to be balanced by the production of 3-series eicosanoids from omega-3 fatty acids.
The main source of omega-6 fatty acids in diet are the so-called "healthy plant oils". The large imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in our Western diet is caused by high consumption of vegetable oils, especially sunflower, corn and soy bean oils. These plant oils contain more than 50 % of the essential omega-6 linoleic acid (LA). Grain feed producers use the same plant materials in industrial meat production, both for white meat and red meat, as well as in fish farming. This leads to increased content of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) in both meat, egg and farmed fish. Our diet has never contained as much omega-6 fatty acids as it presently does.
The results from more than 17,000 Norwegian blood tests analysed (per May 2014) show that Norwegians in general, and the youths in particular, have a very high intake of omega-6 fatty acids and an unfavourable Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance. This is despite the fact that six out of 10 persons asked state that they take omega-3 containing food supplements regularly. Our data show no difference between genders, active or inactive people, including top athletes (internal BioActive Foods results). Thus, all population groups should benefit from normalizing their Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid balance in a safe and efficient manner by increasing their intake of anti-inflammatory polyphenols from olive and the marine omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA from fish, as advised by BioActive Foods.
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