Home Test For Omega-3 Status?

Forget about cholesterol; we NEED cholesterol. Forget about saturated fats; we NEED saturated fats.

What is vital for health is to have enough GOOD fats. None are better than omega-3s, the brain and heart preservers. Omega-3s block inflammation of all kinds and so are vital for protecting aging joints, skin and connective tissue. Where there is redness and pain, omega-3s work like soothing salve!

Now you can get your omega-3s lab tested with a simple take-home kit that allows consumers to measure their own omega-3 levels.

The ‘finger prick’ device allows consumers to get a reading of the omega-3 fatty acid profile in their blood for $149. Omega-6s and other fatty acids are also measured and ratios provided.

The test is based on the research of William S. Harris PhD, a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Basic Biomedical Sciences at the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota and co-author of the American Heart Association’s Scientific Advisory on Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Dr Harris has published more than 80 scientific articles on omega-3s, including a 2004 study published in Preventive Medicine (Vol. 39, 2004) that first proposed an omega-3 index as a cardiovascular risk factor.

Other research conducted by Dr Harris and published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, indicates the ratio between omega-3s and omega-6s may be responsible for an increase in body inflammation and associated conditions such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, allergies, diabetes and arthritis.

Dr Harris’s proprietary Omega-3 Index methodology recommends an EPA/DHA ratio of about 8 – 10%. At this level the risk of sudden cardiac death could be reduced by up to 90%. Levels of 4- 6% mean you should act swiftly, to correct the deficiency.

The test, called the Omega-3 Index, is available through Gene Smart.

In addition to predicting future heart events the test could act as an accurate means for those taking omega-3 supplements and foods to determine how much EPA and DHA was finding its way from the food to their blood stream – and by association – how much of the nutrients were in products in the first place.

It seems a good product and good delivery to me. But till the population wakes up to the fact that EFAs, like the EPA/DHA ratio, are far more important predictors of heart health than cholesterol and other blood fats, I don’t see it taking off.

By the way, if you go to the Gene Smart website, ignore Floyd Chiltern’s book. It’s muddle headed. Diet Wise is what you want to control inflammation plus getting your EFAs right!