I once studied this topic, in the sense of that, "Would it be healthy to go below the minimal standard recommendations?". And it seems that the body responds to PUFA deficiency with creating the PUFA mead acid. This suggests that PUFA are essential for health, and that the body tries to correct a PUFA defiency. I'm not sure if mead acid is able to fully replace the functions of omega-3 and omega-6, and I stopped studying this topic because of it is limited practical use.RRM wrote: ↑Fri 19 Oct 2018 15:58Saturated fats are more efficient as pure fuel, but the more complex structure of PUFAs enables them to elicit more specific effects (eg 'messenger role')Kasper wrote: The high temperature and high metabolic rate of humans suggests that we do best with a more saturated fatty acid intake.
We naturally consume predominantly saturated fats, as fuel is consumed in bulk.
Are you suggesting that we should lower PUFA intake below standard recommendations?
It seems rather impossible to induce a PUFA deficiency in a natural diet, especially a deficiency of omega-6. And when you introduce some omega-6, it is better to have some omega-3 to balance the PUFA's.
The standard recommendations differ per country. The dutch version is 2 gram of omega-3 and 4 gram of omega-6 per 2000 kcal. I think it is optimal to eat the amount of PUFA the body minimally needs, and not much more. Get the bulk of fatty acids from SFA and MUFA.
The standard recommendations don’t list a maximum for PUFAs and say that PUFAs are best for your heart as they lower cholesterol. High PUFA oil like sunflower oil are often recommended. I think humans are not designed for such diets where the bulk of fat comes from PUFA.