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The Anti-Inflammatory Newsletter
Dear Deflamers:
Below is the current Anti-Inflammatory Newsletter. If you would like, please forward this information to interested friends or patients.
David R. Seaman, DC
New osteoarthritis article is now available
Osteoarthritis - Joint Pain
Corn versus corn oil
A healthy ratio of omega-6 (n-6) to omega 3 (n-3) fatty acids is less than 4:1, with 1:1 being ideal. The ratio of corn ranges from about 25:1 to 60:1, depending on what you read. Either way this places corn in the pro-inflammatory category of foods.
After reading the above, some will ask: “does this mean that eating corn is bad?” And the answer is “no,” if you are just going to eat a couple ears of corn. Consider that a serving of corn (1/2 cup = I ear) has only .5 grams of total fat, which is not significant at all.
Corn becomes most troublesome when we eat corn oil. Consider that 1 tablespoon of corn oil contains 14 grams of fat, 8.12 grams of which is n-6, and only .1 gram is n-3 (1). If we wanted to take in 8.12 grams of n-6 from eating corn, we would need to consume up to 14 cups of corn or 28 ears of corn. No one eats this much corn; save for maybe at a corn-eating contest.
The only creature that eats pounds of corn would be domestic cattle and other such animals, and then, we eat the meat from the animals. In short, cattle are eating far too much corn oil, which leads to an inappropriately high ratio or n-6:n-3 fatty acids, such that we eat “inflamed” meat. For this reason, we should be eating grass-fed beef, chicken (eggs), and wild game. These animals eat green vegetation that has a 3:1 ratio or better.
In short, if you like corn, then eat a couple of ears, and do not worry. And try to eat the n-3 meat products mentioned above with lots of vegetables.
Shockingly we get 10 grams of corn oil [equivalent oil] in just 1 serving of corn chips or potato chips. This represents 1 ounce of chips or about 1 handful. So having 2 ounces of corn/potato chips provides more corn oil than eating 30 ears of corn!!!
1. Hands ES. Nutrients in food. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia. 2000: p.128
Inflammatory fish?
A recent study examined the fatty acids from various wild and farm-raised fish. All fish studied had appropriate levels of fatty acids except for three; those being farm-raised catfish, farm raised tilapia, and bronzini (Mediterranean sea bass), which had excessively high levels of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (1). In interviews regarding their paper, the authors urged those with inflammatory conditions to avoid these fish.
All of the following fish were found to have beneficial ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids, even farm-raised trout which have taken a bad rap in recent years: Mahi-mahi, skate, blue fin tuna, triggerfish, monkfish, red snapper, wahoo, grouper, corvine, tuna, toothfish, haddock, cod, hake, halibut, sole, flounder, croakers, perch, black bass, swordfish, escolar, sockeye salmon, Copper River salmon, Coho salmon, farmed Atlantic salmon, farmed trout.
Please note that in our Deflaming Guidelines, we indicate that fresh fish is an anti-inflammatory choice. It appears we should not be including farmed tilapia or catfish in our list of healthy fish.
1. Weaver KL, Ivester P, Chilton JA, Wilson MD, Pandey P, Chilton FH. The content of favorable and unfavorable polyunsaturated fatty acids found in commonly eaten fish. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:1178-1185.
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