Re: CLO and prostaglandins--Chris M.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

> Hi Chris. Would you please read the below quote by someone on the wap baby

> list and tell me if this is true or not? Many on that list are very confused

> by this and we would like to clear it up. Thank you!

> " I just wanted to let all of the mommies out there that while cod liver oil

> is great, it is a known fact that omega fatty oils suppress prostaglandins

> (these are needed to go into labor), so you may want to stop cod liver and

> other omegas at the beginning of third trimester. By then you will have

> built up enough of the good stuff and you will have an easier birth. "

There is some truth to it.

Just to clear up terminology first, there is no such thing as an

" omega fatty oil. " Fatty acids are either omega-3, omega-6, omega-7,

omega-9, etc, not just " omega. " The " omega " refers to the tail end of

the molecule and the number refers to the first carbon in where you

find the first double bond. All fatty acids have omega ends but not

all of them have double bonds.

Induction of labor is dependent on prostaglandins, which are formed

from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid. This is the one that

everyone calls " inflammatory " and is the most important essential

fatty acid in the body.

Cod liver oil is very useful during pregnancy because it supplies DHA.

The fetal brain takes up huge amounts of DHA in the third trimester.

The downside to cod liver oil is that it also contains EPA, which can

interfere with arachidonic acid metabolism, and thus could interfere

with labor induction.

There are a few ways you could address this:

-- Try to eat a diet very low in total PUFA by excluding all of the

PUFA-rich vegetable oils and poultry fats and using olive oil and lard

only in moderation, while primarily using butter, coconut oil, lamb

and beef fat, and so on. Eat a diet rich in vitamin B6 from bananas,

liver, and meats that are not overcooked. These practices will help

you convert the EPA in the cod liver oil to DHA.

-- Eat liver and large amounts of egg yolks. This will provide plenty

of arachidonic acid to balance the EPA. Pastured egg yolks are a

decent source of DHA as well, so if you eat a lot of them you could

reduce your CLO somewhat.

It is traditional to eat a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids during

pregnancy. One group I've read of used flax seed. Most of the

groups Price looked at used fish eggs if they had access. These are

high in EPA and DHA. It might be the case, however, that they are

high in arachidonic acid (unlike CLO), but this is not clear because

nutritiondata lists a 20-carbon 4-double bond fatty acid that is

usually arachidonic acid but in this case could be a different omega-3

fatty acid, because they don't say whether it is n-6 or n-3. So

anyway, I think in conclusion you want to make sure to get a source of

omega-3, ideally DHA, but you also want to make sure to get plenty of

arachidonic acid.

I don't know if cutting the CLO for the last week will help, since

your membranes will be influenced by what you've been eating through

pregnancy and the cell membranes are where the arachidonic acid is

stored, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to replace the CLO with extra

pastured egg yolks for that time period.

Chris

[Guest guest]

,

I just want to say thank you for this. Without even knowing how to phrase

my unspoken question about fatty acids, which had nothing to do with CLO or

labor induction, somehow you've answered it and a whole lot more.

I love this list!

-Lana

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 8:09 AM, Masterjohn <chrismasterjohn@...>

wrote:

> Induction of labor is dependent on prostaglandins, which are formed

> from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid. This is the one that

> everyone calls " inflammatory " and is the most important essential

> fatty acid in the body.

>

> Cod liver oil is very useful during pregnancy because it supplies DHA.

> The fetal brain takes up huge amounts of DHA in the third trimester.

>

> The downside to cod liver oil is that it also contains EPA, which can

> interfere with arachidonic acid metabolism, and thus could interfere

> with labor induction.

>

[Guest guest]

Um, what about having lots of sex? I thought the prostaglandin

content of semen was relatively high?

Amy (wondering what traditional societies would do)

>

> > Induction of labor is dependent on prostaglandins, which are formed

> > from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid. This is the one that

> > everyone calls " inflammatory " and is the most important essential

> > fatty acid in the body.

> >

> > Cod liver oil is very useful during pregnancy because it supplies DHA.

> > The fetal brain takes up huge amounts of DHA in the third trimester.

> >

> > The downside to cod liver oil is that it also contains EPA, which can

> > interfere with arachidonic acid metabolism, and thus could interfere

> > with labor induction.

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Amy,

> Um, what about having lots of sex? I thought the prostaglandin

> content of semen was relatively high?

Well that is why men need to have robust arachidonic acid levels for

fertility (as well as for other reasons) but that isn't going to do

anything for the female, because prostaglandins are transient

autocrine and paracrine hormones, not things that can be stored.

Thank God having sex doesn't induce labor, or anyone who had sex while

they were pregnant would have miscarriages left and right.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Well, sure... but in some of the " alternative " writings on birth, sex

is recommended to help induce labor (as well as castor oil).

How often is a woman so deficient in prostaglandins at the end of her

pregnancy that she can't go into labor? How often does a woman go

past 42 weeks?

Clearly, something happens to make the body more receptive to

prostaglandins at the end of pregnancy so that birth is possible at

that point, but not before (and/or the production of prostaglandins by

the woman's own body is upregulated).

Amy (for whom induction with pitocin and prostaglandins in the

hospital failed twice)

> Well that is why men need to have robust arachidonic acid levels for

> fertility (as well as for other reasons) but that isn't going to do

> anything for the female, because prostaglandins are transient

> autocrine and paracrine hormones, not things that can be stored.

> Thank God having sex doesn't induce labor, or anyone who had sex while

> they were pregnant would have miscarriages left and right.

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

Amy,

> Well, sure... but in some of the " alternative " writings on birth, sex

> is recommended to help induce labor (as well as castor oil).

Well, ok, I suppose that is possible, though it seems there could be

other explanations for the effect. Like relaxing or stimulating

certain muscles or certain pattens of the nervous system.

> How often is a woman so deficient in prostaglandins at the end of her

> pregnancy that she can't go into labor? How often does a woman go

> past 42 weeks?

It's not just the incidence of labor but its effectiveness too.

Arachidonic acid deficiency leads to prolonged labor. Lack of labor

on time is probably rare, but difficult and lenthy labor is pretty

common.

> Clearly, something happens to make the body more receptive to

> prostaglandins at the end of pregnancy so that birth is possible at

> that point, but not before (and/or the production of prostaglandins by

> the woman's own body is upregulated).

What happens before labor is that arachidonic acid accumulates in cell

membranes. This is a long-term function. What happens at labor is

not an increased sensitivty to prostaglandins, but a production of

prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are not synthesized continuously, but

only when needed. Their production is dependent on the availability

of arachidonate in the membrane and is inhibited by the presence of

EPA in the membrane.

Chris