Good day, Mr. Jelínek,

I was intrigued by the information, and I would like to ask about the ratios of omega 3 and 6 in hunters and gatherers. As you mention in the lesson, their ratio used to be as close as 1:1. Lately, I have been hearing that the quality of meat influences the proportion of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. So, if we choose high-quality meat (difficult to define - let's say in the ideal case from our own, known farms...), then theoretically, it should contain a higher proportion of omega 3 fatty acids. This would explain why hunters and gatherers had such balanced fatty acid ratios. Does this factor play a role in it? Or did gatherers perhaps obtain omega 3 fatty acids from other sources?

Thank you for your response.

The representation of individual groups of fatty acids in animal fat primarily depends on the composition of their diet. Fat from animals in a free natural environment contains more omega-3 and generally less omega-6 fatty acids than that of livestock fed predominantly on grains. Furthermore, it is necessary to distinguish between the fat of warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals, where on average, fish are a richer source of omega-3.

The example of hunters and gatherers cannot be universally applied to the conditions of contemporary civilization. Our ancestors lived in a completely different manner regarding stress factors, levels of physical activity, the quantity and quality of food, including its regularity. They had different diversity in their gut microbiota... Comparing their diet to our current diet, focusing on the O3:O6 ratio, is essentially irrelevant because:

1. Hunters and gatherers did not consume grains (or only a minimal amount in the form of grass seeds), which today are the largest source of O6 in the diet.
2. The key source of O3 was not meat, as is commonly presented, but primarily insects (which are the richest source of omega-3 fats overall), as well as seeds of certain plants and nuts. Meat and fish were only supplementary parts of the diet based on the ability to capture these sources.

Even though insects are a common part of the diet on some continents and are experiencing a boom as a potential food of the future, it is not possible to compare this to the conditions of hunters and gatherers, as their metabolism was shaped by entirely different factors.

Themes:  Fish   Omega-3   Omega-6   Paleo