Natural Health Partners, LLC, 125 SW 3rd Place, Cape Coral, FL 33991, USA.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Nutrients. 2023 Jul 13;15(14):3129. doi: 10.3390/nu15143129.
The intake of linoleic acid (LA) has increased dramatically in the standard American diet. LA is generally promoted as supporting human health, but there exists controversy regarding whether the amount of LA currently consumed in the standard American diet supports human health. The goal of this narrative review is to explore the mechanisms that underlie the hypothesis that excessive LA intake may harm human health. While LA is considered to be an essential fatty acid and support health when consumed in modest amounts, an excessive intake of LA leads to the formation of oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs), impairments in mitochondrial function through suboptimal cardiolipin composition, and likely contributes to many chronic diseases that became an epidemic in the 20th century, and whose prevalence continues to increase. The standard American diet comprises 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids, with the majority of omega-6 intake coming from LA. As LA consumption increases, the potential for OXLAM formation also increases. OXLAMs have been associated with various illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, among others. Lowering dietary LA intake can help reduce the production and accumulation of OXLAMs implicated in chronic diseases. While there are other problematic components in the standard American diet, the half-life of LA is approximately two years, which means the damage can be far more persistent than other dietary factors, and the impact of reducing excessive LA intake takes time. Therefore, additional research-evaluating approaches to reduce OXLAM formation and cardiolipin derangements following LA consumption are warranted.
亚油酸（LA）的摄入量在标准美国饮食中急剧增加。LA 通常被宣传为支持人类健康，但目前在标准美国饮食中消耗的 LA 量是否支持人类健康存在争议。本叙述性评论的目的是探讨假设的机制，即过量摄入 LA 可能会损害人类健康。虽然 LA 被认为是一种必需脂肪酸，并且在适量摄入时支持健康，但过量摄入 LA 会导致氧化亚油酸代谢物（OXLAMs）的形成、通过心脏磷脂组成不佳导致线粒体功能受损，并且可能导致许多在 20 世纪流行并其患病率继续增加的慢性疾病。标准美国饮食中的 omega-6 脂肪酸含量比 omega-3 脂肪酸多 14 到 25 倍，其中大部分 omega-6 摄入量来自 LA。随着 LA 消耗的增加，OXLAM 形成的可能性也会增加。OXLAMs 与各种疾病有关，包括心血管疾病、癌症和阿尔茨海默病等。降低膳食 LA 摄入量有助于减少与慢性疾病相关的 OXLAMs 的产生和积累。虽然标准美国饮食中还有其他有问题的成分，但 LA 的半衰期约为两年，这意味着损害可能比其他饮食因素更持久，而且减少过量 LA 摄入的影响需要时间。因此，有必要进行更多的研究——评估减少 LA 消耗后 OXLAM 形成和心脏磷脂紊乱的方法。
