Using www.nutritiondata.com it's pretty easy to look up the Omega 6 content of food. Enter the food. Select the serving size. Scroll down to the Fats & Fatty Acids table and there's your omega 6 number (if the serving size didn't come out to a Zone block you'll need to do a little math).

Here are a few I've looked up -

Omega 6 in 1 Block

olive oil (1/3 tsp) - 146 mg
macadamia nut (1) - 37 mg
chicken breast (1 oz raw) - 48 mg
90% lean beef (1 oz raw) - 76 mg
hard tofu (2 oz) - 2784 mg
almond butter (1/2 tsp) - 317 mg
avocado (1 TBS, 30 g) - 237 mg
sardines (1 oz) - 34 mg
wild salmon (1.5 oz) - 94 mg
tuna canned in water (1 oz) - 3 mg

If you look anything up, please post it in this thread.

Thks for reminder and also for spelling out exactly how to find the omega-6 content ...

Good info!
.
Just for grins:
1 tsp Coconut Oil -> 81 mg
1 tsp Olive Oil -> 439 mg

Yeah, and actually, didn't I see some information somewhere around here about how moderate amts of coconut oil is fine? From either the Tech Support or Dave Schreck the zone expert? I think I need to reread that info ... hopefully I can find it again.

Me, I found a way around the olive oil that I normally use, based on the omega-6s. I use 2 tsps on my pollock, not the usual full tablespoon, and then for a desert, I eat a little cashew butter mixed with a little fructose and salt. It's very tasty and lower in omega-6s.

I'm also planning to add just some coconut oil into my diet over time ... not excessive, but, say, 25% of my total fat ...

oh and I use a tiny tiny little bit of almond extract and vanilla extract to the cashew butter to add flavour ...

alexy

canola oil (1/3 tsp) - 279 mg

YES, in MODERATE amounts, Coconut Oil is an acceptable fat.
According to Dave Schreck.

The question, of course, is, what constitutes MODERATE amounts? 10%? 30%? Etc ...

LOL

Alexy

unsweetened baking chocolate - 1/2 square (1/2 ounce) - 7g fat, and only 201mg Omega 6. This makes a better tasting hot chocolate than cocoa powder because of the fat.

Larry, Dark?

Hi John - it didn't say on nutritiondata.com The package I have looks pretty dark. I'm surprised the Omega 6 was so low because I think I remember seeing a post here recently that chocolate is high in Omega 6. It makes sens that it would be low, though, because most of the fat is saturated.

Does it have caffeine in it?

unsweetened baking chocolate, that is.

well ... duh. if it's dark, it'll have caffeine. Right?

it's about the same caffeine as decaf coffee

That's great news for me! :-)

A

i'm confused

is omega 6 good for us??? or bad??
does it matter where we get it from??
and how much should we be intaking daily?

When you read Dr. Sears books, you'll understand that there is a natural balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio we need.
This ratio occurred naturally in our ancestors because of the food they ate and their food choices.
The Zone diet based on both science and research - has some basis on our ancestral eating lifestyle.
The problem is both with the configuration of our food, today and the foods we eat today.
You need some Omega-6; however, our foods and our food choices have far too much Omega-6 and too few Omega-3.
The Zone is a two-pronged approach: 1) More Omega=3 intake through high quality fish oil and 2) food choices designed to reduce Omega-6.
For example: The wheat (all wheat not just white flour) grown since the early 1900's, when a Mexican scientist altered wheat, is not the same wheat our ancestors ate, the few periods in later history they ate wheat. And even then, it was fermented. Hence one reason for the now prevalent Celiac disease and its lesser Gluten Intolerance. That change in wheat and the addition of ADDED sugar to our diets.
So, you'll notice that almost all grains are considered unfavorable carbohydrates, and Sugar is limited, and fruits are limited to lower glycemic load value fruits, like berries.

[quote]
Posted By suzanne on 10 Sep 2012 09:21 AM
i'm confused

is omega 6 good for us??? or bad??
does it matter where we get it from??
and how much should we be intaking daily?
[/quote]


Hi Suzanne

The short answer, think of it as "bad" because your body produces AA (arachidonic acid, aka Inflammation) from it. You need only a little bit of omega 6 and the amounts occurring naturally in your foods will provide plenty without adding it in concentrated forms such as seeds and certain nuts and vegetable oils. One of the basic Zone principles at the core of the Zone to avoid foods in which the fat is predominately omega 6. Limit your added fats to mostly those on the Zoe Food Block Guide and you'll do fine. http://drsears.com/ArticlePreview/t...fault.aspx

thank you for clearing that up for me- sue.
although i have read entering the zone, mastering the zone, best foods, 2 weeks in the zone, and antiflammatory zone
i find the books to be difficult for me to read. maybe because me kids keep interrupting me as i'm reading.
or maybe i just don't have the terminology knowledge to understand. either way- i appreciate your input. i've
been seeing so many comments, most make sense--some confuse me-- so if i'm confused- i'm asking..

we are following the reccommended foods and their portions...and i'm sure with time (a lot of time) this all will
make more sense to me.. thanks again

Happy to help. Keep asking questions! Those books are all very good choices. I use mine as handbooks, and have referred back to them over and over throughout the years. Now that you have a good grasp of the diet itself, I'd highly suggest reading "Toxic Fat", the most recent Zone book that came out a few years ago. It covers the evolution of the Zone from the time of those first books you have to today, and shows the bigger overall picture and full potential of the Zone as it is today. Two key parts to the Zone improving hormonal responses by gaining insulin control and reducing cellular inflammation (this is where the understanding of fats comes in). Keep reading. :)

John, thanks for your input on the wheat issue, as well. I had a friend come to me with a revelationary moment about wheat, he had just learned about the problem with the wheat of today. I may have another zoner on my hands, who knows!

I'm re-posting the original list, sorted by type of food and amount of Omega 6.

Omega 6 in 1 Block

Fats...

almond butter (1/2 tsp) - 317 mg
canola oil (1/3 tsp) - 279 mg
avocado (1 TBS, 30 g) - 237 mg
olive oil (1/3 tsp) - 146 mg
macadamia nut (1) - 37 mg

Protein + Fat...

hard tofu (2 oz) - 2784 mg (includes 4 blocks or 6g of fat)
wild salmon (1.5 oz) - 94 mg
90% lean beef (1 oz raw) - 76 mg
chicken breast (1 oz raw) - 48 mg
sardines (1 oz) - 34 mg
tuna canned in water (1 oz) - 3 mg

I've been eating the Zone Cereal which is about 1/3 the cost of Zone Bars and saw that its main oil is canola. I'm not sure why canola oil isn't listed as favorable. It has pretty low Omega 6 numbers.

Olive oil it is for me, mostly ... can't afford macadama nuts.

BUT! I saw macadamia BUTTER (not nuts) for a jar that was one dollar cheaper than either the cashew butter jar (which I bought) or the almond butter jar (which I also bought). (I also have peanut butter ...)

So it might be cheaper, sometimes, to use macadamia butter than the actual nuts themselves? Although in USA it could be completely different ...

The reason I didn't buy the macadamia butter was because I didn't think it would have much flavour in it, and I was getting various nut butters to add interest to my diet ... has anyone tried macadamia butter? Does it have a strong flavour, or is it rather like the nuts themselves--not particularly strong taste?

Alexy

Hi Sarah - the one I tried was raw and it had no flavor. Roasted might be better. Raw almond butter is our favorite for taste.

Raw didn't work, huh? It figures ... those m. nuts are so mild-tasting.

I don't see any raw almond butter around here ... did you order online or ..?

A