Western diets PUFAs content

A typical Western diet contains approximately 100-300 mg and 20-50 mg of plant sterol and plant stanol, respectively. The relationship between total dietary phytosterol content and the fatty acid composition of the diet decreases with increasing saturated fatty acids, whereas the total dietary phytosterol content increases with increasing PUFA (89). Fortification of lipid foods, such as margarine, with plant sterols will dramatically increase the daily intake of phytosterols and significantly lower serum cholesterol (90). The dietary consumption of large amounts of plant sterols will interfere with cholesterol absorption, thereby leading to an increased daily neutral steroid excretion. 

The metabolism of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs is interlinked, as they compete for enzymes and metabolic substrates at all levels. Therefore, relative as well as absolute dietary intake is relevant in the determination of tissue n-3 and n-6 fatty acid levels. The Western diet typically contains high levels of n-6 fatty acids, as these are components of most animal and vegetable fats. Dietary sources of n-3 PUFA are varied. The most plentiful sources are fish, shellfish, and marine products, which contain large amounts of EPA and DHA. Certain plant oils, such as rapeseed (canola), soybean, and perilla contain large amounts of LNA (Crawford Sinclair, 1972 Sinclair, 1975). Although beef and lamb do contain n-3 PUFAs, both the absolute content and the n-3 n-6 ratio of PUFAs within these meats is low. 

Seaweeds are known as low-energy food. Despite low lipid content, (B-3 and (B-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) introduce a significant part of seaweed lipids. PUFAs are the important components of all cell membranes and precursors of eicosanoids that are essential bioregulators of many cellular processes. PUFAs effectively reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, ostheo-porosis, and diabetes. Because of the frequent usage of seaweeds in Asia and their increasing utilization as food also in other parts of the world, seaweeds could contribute to the improvement of a low level of (B-3 PUFAs, especially in the Western diet The major... 

Recently, novel dietary oils with modified fatty acid profiles have been manufactured to improve fatty acid intakes and reduce CVD risk. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of novel high-oleic rapeseed (canola) oil (HOCO), alone or blended with flaxseed oil (FXCO), on circulating lipids and inflammatory biomarkers v. a typical Western diet (WD). Using a randomized, controlled, crossover trial, thirty-six hypercholesterolaemic subjects consumed three isoenergetic diets for 28 d each containing approximately 36% energy from fat, of which 70% was provided by HOCO, FXCO or WD. Dietary fat content of SFA, MUFA, PUFA n-6 and n-3 was 6, 23, 5,... 

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