Fats for Life

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Fats for Life

JoAnn Guest

Dec 17, 2003 20:25 PST

 

 

Imagine a kind of fat that could help reduce cholesterol levels,

lower blood pressure, fight dementia and slow down the aging

process.

 

This fat would be better than any known drug. Best of all, it is not

a fantasy but a reality.

We are talking about certain polyunsaturated, natural fatty acids,

whose beneficial effects have been documented in thousands of

studies

over the last decade.

Of crucial importance, however, is taking the right essential fatty

acids in the correct balance.

 

Years of conflicting messages about the role of fat in our diet have

caused much confusion and even skepticism toward new information. In

spite of scientific progress, few commercial messages today are

based on current scientific knowledge.

Instead they are deliberate half-truths and misinformation from

companies eager to sell their " fat-free " and " cholesterol-free "

products.

 

Hidden are the facts that the sugar and hydrogenated fats in their

products are the real culprits that will increase the body's own

production of cholesterol or other unhealthy

fats, causing exactly the damage thought to be avoided.

 

Fat is necessary for life. It is a key component in body chemistry

and energy storage. Knowing the difference between the beneficial

essential fatty acids (EFAs) and the harmful fats is of crucial

importance for health and longevity.

Extensive research has made it clear that a reduced or imbalanced

intake

of EFAs plays a significant role in the development of many

cardiovascular, neurological, metabolic and other age-related

degenerative diseases.

 

This research has singled out two particularly beneficial fatty

acids, GLA and DHA, and pointed to an ideal balance between them

that could guard against disease and age-related disorders in many-

fold

ways.

 

These key fatty acids protect the cardiovascular system,

lowering blood pressure, raising good (HDL) cholesterol while

lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

 

They reduce stress reactions, and may ameliorate insulin

resistance. GLA helps reverse the effects of aging on fatty acid

metabolism, while DHA is essential to the development and

maintenance of

brain functions,

being of crucial importance for children, as well as for the elderly

in prevention and treatment of dementia.

 

The richest known source of GLA is borage oil (23% GLA), while DHA

is plentiful in cold water fish. GLA and DHA make a wonderful team

for

health and longevity.

 

Omega-3 and omega-6 oil

 

Fatty acids serve as building blocks of nerve cells, cell membranes

and biochemical messengers such as prostaglandins. Essential fatty

acids (EFAs) cannot be produced within the body and therefore must

be provided through the diet.

 

If the diet is lacking in EFAs, saturated fats will take the place

of

EFAs within cell membranes, reducing membrane fluidity and

efficiency,

and thereby starting a process of premature

aging and disease

development. In addition, by taking the right kinds of EFAs

in the right proportions, we can maximize the production of

beneficial 'prostaglandins'

and other chemical messengers, while minimizing

production of harmful ones.

 

 

 

Getting the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the right proportions

can

reduce bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol

There are two families of EFAs: omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

 

Experimental studies confirm that a balanced combination of these

twofamilies is essential for maximal effect in lowering blood

pressure,

improving the serum lipid profile and reducing atherosclerosis. When

dietary omega-6 and omega-3 oils were used separately and in

combination in a study on the regression of experimental

atherosclerosis in rabbits, cholesterol levels decreased faster in

the group fed the combination oils.

 

In this group there was also a three-fold reduction of

atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta compared to untreated animals

(Khalilov et al., 1997).

 

An ambitious study of different ratios and dosages of EFAs, given to

20 Vervet monkeys over a 12 weeks period, documented the importance

of getting these essential fatty acids in the right proportion.

 

The results indicate that a combination of omega-6 and omega-3 (in

this case, GLA and EPA),

in a proportion ranging from 2:1 to 4:1 (two to four parts of omega-

6 toone part of omega-3),

is the ideal combination to reduce bad LDL cholesterol, raise good

HDL cholesterol and thus improve the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio (van

Jaarsveld et al., 1997).

 

This finding conforms with recommendations by a number of health

agencies around the world, including the World Health Organization,

the British Nutrition Foundation and the Japan Society for Lipid

Nutrition.

 

Based on evidence that an elevated ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty

acids is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, these

agencies

recommend a ratio ranging from approximately 2:1 to 4:1 (Horrocks et

al., 1999). Due to the disproportionate level of omega-6 oils in the

typical American diet, it is preferable to supplement at the lower

endof this range, at a ratio of two parts omega-6 to one part omega-3

oils.

 

 

GLA & DHA

 

To express their full biological activity, the two " parent " EFAs,

linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) must be

metabolized in several steps with the help of important enzymes.

 

In this process GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) is produced from linoleic

acid, and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) as well as EPA

(eicosapentaenoic acid) from alpha-linolenic acid.

 

The high ratio of linoleic acid (omega-6) to alpha-linolenic acid

(omega-3), typically found in western diets, will inhibit both the

uptake and the conversion of alpha-linolenic acid due to competition

for the same enzymes between the two EFAs.

 

Prostaglandins-The Good and Bad

 

Too much prostaglandin E2 can lead to degenerative disease, whereas

high levels of beneficial pros-taglandin E1 and E3 protect the body.

Here is a brief description of how these prostaglandins function in

the body:

 

• Prostaglandin E1 prevents blood platelets from sticking together,

thereby helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes caused by blood

clots. It relaxes blood vessels, improving circulation and lowering

blood pressure. It reduces inflammation, makes insulin work more

effectively and enhances the T-cell function of the immune system.

GLA increases this beneficial prostaglandin.

 

• Prostaglandin E2 promotes platelet aggregation, the first step to

clot formation, increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke.

 

It makes the kidneys retain sodium, leading to water retention, and

it causes inflammation. Diets high in saturated fats (arachidonic

acid) increase levels of this pro-inflammatory prostaglandin.

 

• Prostaglandin E3 has similar functions as prostaglandin E1. It

also

has a powerful effect of preventing the release of arachidonic acid

stored in cell membranes and its conversion to prostaglandin E2.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the source of this beneficial prostaglandin.

 

The first step in both these conversion processes is controlled by

the enzyme D6D (delta-6 desaturase).

 

Unfortunately, D6D activity declines with age, and is reduced in

some

individuals even at a younger age

(Horrobin, 1981). This not only inhibits the synthesis of GLA and

DHA, but also leads to a prostaglandin imbalance with decline of the

good series-1 and series-3 prostaglandins and other beneficial

eicosanoids, which exhi-bit potent anti-inflammatory and

immunoregulatory effects.

 

The reduced capacity to convert parent EFAs to GLA and DHA is

associated with conditions including cardiovascular disease,

diabetes, alcoholism,atopic dermatitis, premenstrual syndrome,

rheumatoid arthritis and

cancer (Bolton-Smith et al., 1997; Leventhal et al., 1993; Horrobin,

1993), as well as learning deficits and development of dementia.

 

The exciting news is that supplementation with GLA and DHA can

circumvent impaired D6D function, and restore levels of the good

prostaglandins.

Moreover, GLA supplementation actually increases D6D activity,

reversing

the effect of aging on the enzyme itself (Biagi

et al., 1991).

In this way, GLA supplementation improves the metabolism of both

omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. It has also become

clear that the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA limit the production

of the bad series-2 prostaglandins by preventing the release of

arachidonic acid from cell

membranes, inhibiting its further metabolism.

 

A high amount of linoleic acid (omega-6), on the other hand, limits

the

availability of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) as a precursor for

the

good series-

3 prostaglandins and stimulates the formation of arachidonic acid,

the precursor to the bad prostaglandins (series-2) and other

pro-inflammatory eicosanoids.

 

Biagi et al. (1991) studied both old and young rats that were fed

either a GLA-rich diet or a control diet. Old animals fed the

control

diet showed a clear decline in the level of delta-6-desaturated

meta-bolites

of both the omega-6 and the omega-3 series. In the GLA group of old

mice there was no decline of these metabolites.

 

A study of more than 10,000 middle-aged men and women in Scotland

showed that aging influences the fatty acid composition of adipose

(fatty)

tissue independently of diet (Bolton-Smith et al., 1997). The study

confirms the earlier mentioned experimental findings of an age-

related decline in the rate-limiting step of delta-6-desaturation,

and in addition discovered a greater decline in women than in men.

The results indicate that an increase in dietary GLA could offset

the age-related imbalance in fatty acid levels.

 

GLA and DHA both have preventive effects on atherosclerosis and

heart attacks by lowering blood pressure and serum lipids and

reducing

cardiovascular reactions to stress.

While GLA in addition has anti-aging effects, DHA has a unique role

in

the development and maintenance of

the nervous system. It has proven to be important for development,

learning and behavior in children as well as for prevention and

treatment of dementia.

 

Cardiovascular disease

 

Beneficial effects of both GLA and DHA on the cardiovascular system

have been extensively documented in experimental and human studies:

moderate but consistent blood pressure lowering effects, significant

reductions of serum lipids, and beneficial influence on insulin

resistance which

plays a large role in the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis

and heart attacks. Much research is currently focused on unraveling

the many-fold mechanisms of action behind these favorable influences.

 

Hypertension

 

Early detection is of great importance, since life style changes as

well as medication is likely to prevent further development of

serious complications. Incorporation of GLA and DHA in the diet has

proven to be one of these changes that can reduce the blood pressure

and help lower the risk of heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure.

 

Borage oil and DHA have blood pressure lowering effects

In contrast to earlier beliefs, we now know that a stable systolic

blood pressure (below 140 mmHg) is equally or even more important

than

a " normal " diastolic pressure (less than 90 mmHg).

 

Systolic blood pressure increases with aging as a result of

increased

stiffness of

the arteries and is a stronger predictor of risk in the elderly than

the diastolic pressure. A pulse pressure (the difference between

systolic and diastolic pressure) of more than 60 is a marker for

advanced atherosclerosis and indicates a high risk for a

cardiovascular event.

 

In most cases of hypertension (95%) no specific reason can be found

for the elevated pressure, a condition known as essential or

idiopathic hypertension. Results from a clinical, double blind,

crossover study by Venter et al. (1988) support the hypothesis that

deficiency of the enzyme D6D, so common in aging, may play an

important part in the etiology of idiopathic hypertension. The study

furthermore validates

the earlier findings that a ratio of 2:1 of GLA and DHA/EPA is

beneficial in prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

 

This trial involved 25 non-obese patients with mild-moderate

essential hypertension. One group was given capsules containing 360

mg

GLA and

180 mg EPA/day, while the other group received capsules containing

only linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, the parent EFAs that

need the enzyme D6D for their metabolism to GLA and EPA/DHA.

 

The average systolic blood pressure in the first group was

significantly

reduced (~ 10 %) after 8 to 12 weeks of therapy, while there was no

significant change in the second group, indicating that deficiency

of the enzyme D6D is likely to promote an increase of blood pressure.

 

 

JoAnn Guest

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