Linoleic Acid, (N-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid), And UC

[tex]

Hi All,

Dr. Briffa pointed out in his weekly newsletter, that despite the fact that a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats, is encouraged for hearth health, there can be adverse consequences for ingesting too much, especially in the wrong balance. The two primary forms of polyunsaturated fats are omega-6 and omega-3, and it is well known that omega-6 fats tend to promote inflammation, while omega-3 fats help to suppress inflammation. Now, omega-6, (linoleic acid), has been linked with ulcerative colitis.

http://gut.bmj.com/content/58/12/1606.abstract

Here's a link to Dr. Briffa's blog on the topic:

http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2009/12/15 ... y-healthy/

Well, if 30% of UC cases can be attributed to excess intake of linoleic acid, (as implied in the GUT abstract, then that presumably may have significant implications for a similar link between omega-6 fatty acids and microscopic colitis, as well.

Tex

[Matthew]

Wayne

Great blog! And it makes so much sense with what I discovered about myself.

When I was first diagnosed with MC my hands and heels looked like the grand canyon with so many bleeding splits. I had tried every cream and emollient I could find and nothing worked. Just putting my hand in my pocket to get my keys would break my knuckles open to the point that they would bleed. The pain would keep me awake at night. To say nothing of the pain from my gut.

Dr. Fines test showed major fat malabsorbtion . My only guess was that the many years of symptom free undiagnosed celiac disease that resulted in MC and not absorbing fats well, Omega 3 or Omega 6, were all part of my problems. What an Ah Ha moment.

Along with a grain free, soy free dairy free and many other things free diet I have done my best to try to emphasize all the omega three oils. Fresh caught fatty fish like salmon. Carlsons fish oil , high omega three eggs and High omega three meat like bison that is so much cheaper than the grass fed beef. I don’t believe in taking huge doses of anything. Just slow and easy. Clearly I am absorbing oils better than I used to.

My digestion and guts feel great. And my hands and heels look like they did thirty years ago. Amazing. And no more pain.

I was cutting up vegetables for dinner at my sister house at Thanksgiving and my sister said OMG. I said what? She explained that for years I came with my fingers all taped up because of the splits and bleeding and now there is not a single sign of it.

Of course it makes me laugh. Emphasis on omega threes have made an enormous difference in my life and sense of well being to say nothing of digestion.

Hope this helps others.

Love and thanks again!

Matthew

[Polly]

Thank you so much, Tex and Matthew!

This is SUCH important information! For a long time now I have believed that a major factor making the American diet so unhealthy is the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats. From what I understand, the best ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats to eat is as low as possible...... 6:1 or even ideally 3:1. In the typical American diet, the ratio is often over 20:1.

As Tex indicated, the omega 3 fats (from fish oils, walnuts) are anti-inflammatory (just like vitamin D is), while the omega 6 fats (mainly in those oils like soybean, corn, sunflower, etc., that all of our processed foods are cooked in) are pro-inflammatory, IOW they PROMOTE inflammation in the body. This is the first time I have seen a specific omega 6 fat linked to a specific disease (UC). Very important finding!

So, the healthiest diet consists of:

1.) greatly reducing those omega 6 fats, by eating as little processed food as possible and switching to olive oil or canola oil for cooking

2.) simultaneously increasing the omega 3s eaten, by eating at least 2 portions of fatty fish a week, snacking on walnuts, adding ground flax seed to soups/ stews, looking for eggs rich in omega 3, and eating free-range meat whenever possible. (Animals who eat grass as nature intended, and are not stuffed full of corn and soybeans as is the common practice, have a healthier (lower) omega 6 to omega 3 ratio).

I have mentioned before that I seem to react to soybean oil, even though the "experts" tell us that the offending soy protein is removed by the refining process. Now I am wondering if it isn't the pro-inflammatory effect of the oil that's the problem. Has anyone else noticed how much soybean oil is used in processed foods? It drives me wild. It is also excessively used in restaurants - especially in Asian food.

It is beautiful around here today - almost 20 inches of new snow! We're gonna have a white holiday!

Love,

Polly

[tex]

Hi Polly,

Thanks for the insight. You inspired me to dig a little deeper, and I found the information below, (which I consider to be more than a little interesting). For those of us who are unfamiliar with the terms, (myself included), arachidonic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid, (or icosapentaenoic acid), is an omega-3 fatty acid:

The most recent information that I am aware of [Sears, Barry,(Ph.D), The
Anti-Inflammation Zone, ReganBooks, 2005], indicates that the most important
blood test for everyone is to determine one’s level of silent inflammation with the

Arachidonic Acid:Eicosapentaenoic Acid ratio, or AA:EPA

The optimal ratio it is 1:1

A 3:1 ratio is acceptable

The average American is a ratio of 30:1

The average chronic pain patient has a ratio of 50:1

Schizophrenics have a ratio that averages 70:1

To have your AA:EPA tested, check out www.siptesting.com

I haven't read that book, but it might be worthwhile reading. The red emphasis is mine, of course. Obviously, he goes even farther than you do, in his opinion of the ideal ratio, but I wonder if it's even possible to achieve that ratio. That quote comes from the article at this link:

http://www.blairwellnesspractice.com/me ... hritis.pdf

Concerning the inflammatory effects of soy oil, here's a research article that demonstrates the comparative effects of the direct application of an omega-3-rich oil, (seal oil), and an omega-6-rich oil, (soy oil), to the small intestine of IBD patients, to study the effects on IBD-related joint pain:

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16253653

The results were, of course, as we would expect - the seal oil helped significantly, while the soy oil made the symptoms worse.

Wow! That's a lotta snow.

Love,
Tex

[Bifcus16]

Gosh, it is years since I read good old Dr Sears work. His Zone books are great.

Tex, you would like his original book - lots of good science. The man has a background working on how to make oral drug delivery effective and got interested in how the omega's work.

His zone diet is aimed at reducing arachidonic acid and is about 40% low glycemic index carbs, 30% lean protein and 30% good fat (as a % of daily calories). We got into it looking for athletic performance for my other half. What I remember most from the zone diet is how bright, alert and clear headed it made me feel. Of course, it discouraged bread and processed food so whilst doing this I was often gluten free and eating lots of basic meat and vegies - so DUHHH!


While I was testing web browsing today I dropped by an old favourite New Scientist article I thought I might share. All about food intolerances and how they might work.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg1 ... oods-.html

Lyn

[Gloria]

Here's another article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Gloria

[tex]

Lyn,

That sounds interesting - I may have to try to locate a copy of that book.

Thanks for the link - that's a good overview of food intolerances, and immune system interactions.

Tex

[tex]

Gloria,

Hmmmmmmm. It's interesting that various diseases respond to different optimum ratios.

Thanks for that link.

Tex