PUFA Report: How Essential Are the Essential Fatty Acids?

[Guest guest]

My PUFA report is finally done!

Here is the link to purchase it and also the free abstract:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/PUFA-Special-Report.html

How Essential Are the Essential Fatty Acids?

The PUFA Report Part 1: A Critical Review of the Requirement for

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Cholesterol-And-Health.Com Special Reports Volume 1 Issue 2. 25 pages,

3 figures, 114 references.

Abstract

Current reviews and textbooks call the omega-6 linoleic acid and the

omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid " essential fatty acids " (EFA) and cite

the EFA requirement as one to four percent of calories. Research

suggests, however, that the omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) and the

omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the only fatty acids that are

truly essential. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) occurs in fish products

but is probably not a normal constituent of the mammalian body and in

excess it interferes with essential AA metabolism. The EFA requirement

cited in the scientific literature is inflated by several factors: the

use of diets composed mostly of sucrose, glucose, or corn syrup; the

use of diets deficient in vitamin B6; the use of purified fatty acids

instead of whole foods; the use of questionable biochemical markers

rather than verifiable symptoms as an index for EFA deficiency; and

the generalization from studies using young, growing animals to

adults. The true requirement for EFA during growth and development is

less than 0.5 percent of calories when supplied by most animal fats

and less than 0.12 percent of calories when supplied by liver. On

diets low in heated vegetable oils and sugar and rich in essential

minerals, biotin, and vitamin B6, the requirement is likely to be much

lower than this. Adults recovering from injury, suffering from

degenerative diseases involving oxidative stress, or seeking to build

muscle mass mass may have a similar requirement. For women who are

seeking to conceive, pregnant, or lactating, the EFA requirement may

be as high as one percent of calories. In other healthy adults,

however, the requirement is infinitesimal if it exists at all. The

best sources of EFAs are liver, butter, and egg yolks, especially from

animals raised on pasture. During pregnancy, lactation, and childhood,

small amounts of cod liver oil may be useful to provide extra DHA, but

otherwise this supplement should be used only when needed to obtain

fat-soluble vitamins. Vegetarians or others who eat a diet low in

animal fat should consider symptoms such as scaly skin, hair loss or

infertility to be signs of EFA deficiency and add B6 or animal fats to

their diets. An excess of linoleate from vegetable oil will interfere

with the production of DHA while an excess of EPA from fish oil will

interfere with the production and utilization of AA. EFA are

polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that contribute to oxidative

stress. Vitamin E and other antioxidant nutrients cannot fully protect

against oxidative stress induced by dietary PUFA. Therefore, the

consumption of EFA should be kept as close to the minimum requirement

as is practical while still maintaining an appetizing and nutritious

diet.

Chris