Table 1

The dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids has dramatically declined in Western countries over the last century, the North American diet currently has omega-6 fats outnumbering omega-3 by a ratio of up to 20:1. There are a number of reasons for this skewed ratio, most notably the mass introduction of the aforementioned omega-6 rich oils into the food supply, either directly or through animal rearing practices [8]. The ideal dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 has been recommended by an international panel of lipid experts to be approximately 2:1 [9]. Given that approximately 20% of the dry weight of the brain is made up of PUFA and that one out of every three fatty acids in the central nervous system (CNS) are PUFA, the importance of these fats cannot be argued [7]. Considering that highly-consumed vegetable oils have significant omega-6 to omega-3 ratios (see Table 2), it is quite plausible that, for some individuals, inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids may have neuropsychiatric consequences. While far from robust at this time, emerging research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may be of therapeutic value in the treatment of depression.

Table 2