Saturated Fats and the Kidneys

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Saturated Fats and the Kidneys

_http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html)

By _Mary G. Enig, PhD_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#author)

One of the body's most important organs is the kidney. Properly functioning

kidneys are essential for maintaining proper blood volume and composition;

for filtering and excreting or saving various chemical metabolites; and for

helping to maintain proper blood pressure. Hypertension (high blood pressure)

is

known to result from improperly functioning kidneys. Research carried out

during the last few years indicates that both saturated fat and cholesterol

play important roles in maintaining kidney function, as do the omega-3 fatty

acids.

The kidneys need stable fats both for their cushioning and as their energy

source. We know that the kidney fat normally has a higher concentration of the

important saturated fatty acids than are found in any of the other fat

depots. These saturated fatty acids are myristic acid (the 14-carbon saturate),

palmitic acid (the 16-carbon saturate), and stearic acid (the 18-carbon

saturate). When we consume various polyunsaturated fatty acids in large

amounts,

they are incorporated into kidney tissues, usually at the expense of oleic

acid,

because the normal high level of saturated fatty acids in the kidney fat

does not change._1_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#1)

A species of rat known to be prone to strokes and to spontaneously develop

hypertension (high blood pressure) has been used to evaluate effects of

different lipids such as plant sterols or cholesterol, and also fatty acids

such as

omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids in the finely tuned functions of the kidney.

These animals are very sensitive to dietary cholesterol manipulations and a

deficiency of cholesterol in their membranes makes their membranes weak and

fragile. When plant sterols found in vegetable oils are substituted for

cholesterol in their diets, these animals have a shortened life span._2_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#2) Also, these

animals are

reported to need a proper omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in the kidney

phospholipids. It was further reported that feeding oils high in omega-6 fatty

acids

without omega-3 fatty acids resulted in renal injury, and that feeding oils

rich

in the omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil, perilla oil, and flaxseed oil

prolonged the survival time of this animal._3_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#3)

The omega-3 fatty acids are recognized as being important, and the

conversion of the flax oil-type omega-3 fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid) to

the fish

oil-type omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) is enhanced when the diet contains

saturated fat such as coconut oil. This conversion is hindered when there is

extra omega-6 oils in the diet._4_ (ht

tp://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#4) Injury to the

kidney from immune dysfunction (IgA

nephropathy) responds to omega-3 fats (both flax oil-type omega-3 and fish

oil-type omega-3)._5_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#5)

As noted, adding the saturated fats, especially coconut oil, improves the

body's use of omega-3 fatty acids.

Another reason that coconut oil enhances kidney function is because it

supplies myristic acid, the 14-carbon saturated fatty acid._6_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#6) Myristic acid

is involved in the

signalling from cell membrane receptors through G proteins and their

attachment to membranes. These signalling proteins require a lipid such as

myristic

acid to be added to one end of the protein, a process called myristolation._7_

(http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/kidneys_fats.html#7)

Thus, the fats that we recommend for general good health, namely various

saturated animal fats and tropical oils, along with a supplement of flax oil,

are also specifically helpful for kidney function. Products containing high

omega-6 oils and trans fatty acids should be avoided.

About the Author Mary G. Enig, PhD is an expert of international renown in

the field of lipid biochemistry. She has headed a number of studies on the

content and effects of trans fatty acids in America and Israel, and has

successfully challenged government assertions that dietary animal fat causes

cancer

and heart disease. Recent scientific and media attention on the possible

adverse health effects of trans fatty acids has brought increased attention to

her

work. She is a licensed nutritionist, certified by the Certification Board

for Nutrition Specialists, a qualified expert witness, nutrition consultant to

individuals, industry and state and federal governments, contributing editor

to a number of scientific publications, Fellow of the American College of

Nutrition and President of the Maryland Nutritionists Association. She is the

author of over 60 technical papers and presentations, as well as a popular

lecturer. Dr. Enig is currently working on the exploratory development of an

adjunct therapy for AIDS using complete medium chain saturated fatty acids from

whole foods. She is Vice-President of the Weston A Price Foundation and

Scientific Editor of Wise Traditions as well as the author of Know Your Fats:

The

Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and

Cholesterol, Bethesda Press, May 2000. She is the mother of three healthy

children

brought up on whole foods including butter, cream, eggs and meat.

REFERENCES

1. Suarez et al, Lipids 1996;31:345; Taugbol and Saarem, Acta Vet Scand

1995;36:93

2. Ratnayake, et al, J Nutrition 2000;130:1166

3. Miyazaki et al, Biochim Biophys Acta 2000;1483:101

4. Gerster, Int J Vitam Nutr Res 1998;68:159

5. Kelley, ISSFAL, 2000;7:6

6. Monserrat et al, Res Exp Med (Berl) 2000;199:195

7. Busconi and Denker, Biochem J 1997;328:23