Page 345 - Total War on PTSD

The biggest source of Omega-6s in the American diet today is from soybean oil. Its consumption has gone up 1600% since 1970. Soybean oil is shelf-stable, so processed food is often rich in Omega-6s. In contrast, Omega-3s spoil very easily, so food additives rich in Omega-3s are not utilized by the food industry. The food industry isn’t intentionally trying to harm people; rather, the industry is focused on making food more shelf-stable so it can be shipped cross-country and sit on grocery store shelves for long periods of time. The result, however, is that soy and Omega-6s are in everything, particularly processed foods.
The result has been a growing imbalance between Omega-6s and Omega-3s in the food chain and subsequently in our brains. Omega-6s are critical for brain development and function, but they are also very pro-inflammatory. Inflammation is a crucial process to fight infections and bring healing to an infected or injured part of the body. Omega-3s are equally critical, and serve as balance with anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties. But, in the last half a century, the foods we eat have set the balance between the pro and anti-inflammatory Omega-6 and Omega-3s off kilter. We have way too many Omega-6s in our diet and in our brains.
Now the preconditions are set for additional trauma when the brain is injured. If there is a head injury, the brain is flooded with inflammatory factors from Omega-6s, which is necessary, to a point. We need inflammatory responses to address the injury, but we also need the anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving Omega-3s to calm the brain and extinguish the fire of inflammation. If that doesn’t occur, the acute injury can turn into a situation of chronic inflammation that continues to burn for weeks, months, or even years.
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