Hi folks. I just received the results of some comprehensive lab work, and, apparently, I am a walking time bomb. My AA was 264 (on the low scale), but my EPA was a 7 (ridiculously low) resulting in the scary ratio score of 38 (normal is 1.5-3).

I am 41, extremely active (cycle 150 miles / week, and resistance train four days / week) and I appear very healthy. I have also been a vegetarian for over twenty years.

I am horrified by these results. Can I dramatically reduce this ratio to normal levels using fish oil, or is a more radical approach necessary?

Hi Garen,

You should be able to do it with the Zone diet, polyphenols and Omega RX. If you're looking for specifics on amounts of fish oil and polyphenols, I'd suggest you contact a Zone coach by calling the phone number at the top of this page. Good luck, you can do it!

_________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

Thanks sue - I appreciate the words of encouragement.

Garen,

I think you can do it with the Zone!

Pay attention to your fat choices, as well as fish oil dosing. Even if you "thought" you were using healthy fats, it is likely that the choices were from fats high in omega-6. Especially, pay close attention to the fats that are in your protein selections.

You're welcome Garen. It's important for you to strictly adhere to all the Zone diet principles for best results. Insulin control, together with avoiding omega 6 fats, is critical to lowering inflammation levels. The better your adherence to the diet, the lower inflammation levels you can achieve. Being a vegetarian gives you a leg up in avoiding AA (AA is found in animal products). The Zone food plan (the breads, bagels, pizza, etc.) would be optimal for you though you can benefit from strict adherence to the Classic Zone, also. Zone foods are designed specifically to provide lower insulin and inflammation levels. They digest in a way that promotes excellent hormonal and appetite control and they do not contain the fats that cause inflammation (there's no AA in Zone foods). For best results your carbohydrates should some from vegetables and berries as much as possible, and try to keep it all favorable. I'm referring both to carbohydrates you add to Zone foods and the carbohydrates you add to Classic Zone meals. The best vegetables for the Zone are things like tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow summer squash, cabbage, green beans, eggplant, spinach asparagus, peppers, onions, etc. Berries have a lower impact on elevating blood sugar than fruits like apples and grapes and oranges. The beauty of the Zone is that you can hone it to work for you needs.
Another important factor for you will be appropriately supporting your athletic activities to result in the least amount of additional inflammation possible. Cortisol levels rise with exercise. Elevated cortisol will increase inflammation. After approximately 45 minutes into a workout cortisol levels will have raised to a level will be detrimental to your inflammation lowering efforts. Supporting your workouts with Zone balanced snacks at appropriate intervals, and carefully considering timing of workouts will help immensely. This is another area that you should be able to get some help with by contacting a Zone coach.

Please keep us updated. Wish you the best!

Thanks again, Folks. My AA levels are really low (264) as are my insulin levels (<2), but it is the ratio of the AA to the EPA that is disturbing. As a vegetarian, I thought that I was getting the necessary omega 3s from flax, spinach, etc., but, although my ALA levels are good (5.5), my body is not converting enough ALA into EPA. I suppose I should be grateful for finding this out sooner rather than later. I am a huge fan of the berries and mushrooms, so sticking to a zone diet should not be a problem.

I definitely intend to contact a coach.

Garan, based on my talks with Dr. Sears , I don't think 246 is low a AA level, though I suppose you could say it could depend on the context(but in your context of AA/EPA of 38 and EPA of 7, 246 is not a low AA). My AA was 14 a few yrs back and he suggested I try to keep it below 10.

Dr. Sears doesn't advise depending on the conversion of plant omega 3's for your EPA because at best it's an inefficient conversion process resulting in little EPA.

Be sure to forward all you numbers to your Zone coach so they can show them to the appropriate parties for the best help. Providing them with a sample of your usual menus will be of great help, too.
________________________________________________

sue
Consultant of Zone Labs
Certified Zone Affiliate

*264 (sorry, typo!)

______________

sue

yikes. Thanks Sue. I will follow up.

What you are looking for are the following levels:

AA less than 9% of the total fatty acids
DGLA greater than 3% of the total fatty acids
EPA greater than 4% of the total fatty acids

But it is the ratio of these fatty acids to each other that tells the full story. The true marker of silent inflammation is the AA/EPA ratio. If it greater than 10 then you have it regardless of how good you look in swimsuit. A good ratio would be 3, and the ideal ratio is about 1.5
http://www.drsears.com/ArticlePrevi...fault.aspx

Thanks Tech.

How do I determine the percentage of AA, DGLA and EPA of the total fatty acids? The 38 score has very concerned especially because I consider my diet to already be very saprtan. I avoid sugars and artificial sugars, eat lots of veggies, olive oils, nuts, berries, etc. I suppose being a vegetarian for the past 20 years could have played a role in the imbalance. I am wondering whether I could have a serious issue that is causing this toxic fat syndrome. All my other labs were fine, and I feel okay.

I am now wondering whether there is something screwy with the results of my test (could also be the denial phase). Sue's earlier post about reducing AA to below 10 had me go back to the lab results. The "reference range" for the Metametrix labs is listed as 206-509 for Arachidonic omega-6. 10 would be off the charts. The EPA reference range is 6-102.

It does include the AA/EPA ratio and the reference range for that is 2-69.

Garen, did you ever get this figured out? Different labs can use different units. If you, who has been eating a decent-sounding diet for years is full of inflammation, there's no hope for me. If you really have all that inflammation, I wonder if it could be muscle damage from overuse....

Garen,

Many times labs will use the individuals being tested to determine their “normal” reference ranges which is why there is a big range that your value can fall within and still be considered normal. If you get many individuals who are inflamed being tested that will skew the results on the higher side making you appear normal even though you have high levels of inflammation within your body. Dr. Sears uses a range of 1.5 - 3 for the AA/EPA ratio as that is the level among the Japanese population. The Japanese are known to consume high levels of Omega-3’s in their diets and thus have far less silent inflammation then a populace whose diet is heavy in Omega-6.

It is recommended that you contact the lab you used for an explanation on your levels and how the reference range was determined and then discuss these findings with your physician.

TECH or Sue;
.
What does Dr. Sears state the ideal Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio should be?
My wife's Omega-6 / Omega-3 ratio is 4.05.
.
While her AA/EPA ratio is good at 2.61.
(Dr. Sears states it should be between 1.5 and 3.0)
.
I have not yet received my results. Probably receive them Saturday or Tuesday.
As they were probably mailed out at the same time,
since we mailed in the home blood test at the same time.
.

John, I don't know the answer.

John

The ideal omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 2:1 or better 1:1, however, based on our diets and lifestyle most American’s ratio is 20:1 and even 50:1

Thanks!