Arachidonic Acid

[Guest guest]

Hi Giuseppe,

Welcome to our group, and thank you for your post.

Giuseppe wrote:

(snip)

> I was wondering how an high amount of egg yolks and animal meats,

> lard, egg yolks and butter could deal with this metabolic condition.

The best source of Omega-3 is fish oils. In the winter months it is

advisable to take cod liver oil which contains Omega-3, Vits. A & D -

you should take at least 3,000 mgs. of Omega-3 per day, or more.

If you take 2 tablespoons of CLO daily (of most brands)in the winter

it will balance out the excessive Omega-6, and 4 teaspoons of fish

oils in the summer if you get plenty of sun.

The best in health,

Bee

[Guest guest]

I have also heard that having an AA issue hinders weight loss. Does anyone know

how this all relates?

Jeanne

-------------- Original message --------------

Hi all,

first of all many thanks to Bee and everyone else for the extremely

useful contributions.

I'd like to have Bee's opinion on arachidonic acid (an omega-6 fat),

considered by many (included Dr. Mercola) as a potential health

threat, for its strong pro-inflammatory metabolism.

This is the actual reason why a correct ratio between omega-6 an

omega-3 fatty acids is suggested to be maintained. People with

chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases are suggested to have an

even higher ratio in favour omega-3s.

The point is not only AA (arachidonic acid) in food but also other

omega-6 fats get easily transformed into AA an consequently into

inflammatory agents (type-2 prostaglandines) when omega-3 income is

not enough high .

The main sources of AA are egg yolks, lard, meats and even diary

(also butter), which are all very low in omega-6. Linoleic acid

(most widespread omega-6 fat found in food) is found in vegetable

oils but also in usual (especially cereal-fed) meats and diary

products.

I was wondering how an high amount of egg yolks and animal meats,

lard, egg yolks and butter could deal with this metabolic condition.

Thanks a lot,

Giuseppe

[Guest guest]

Hi Caryn - Well first, just to educate me, can you tell me what kind of a test

you did to determine this? Maybe you could give the results?

Also relevant, because of this:

http://onibasu.com/archives/am/62137.html

ANDY: " MetaMetrix and Great Smokies offer very good tests. . . .. "

but on the other hand ...

http://onibasu.com/archives/am/61810.html

ANDY: " BTW, the actual lab reports on fatty acids I have seen on ASD kids -

including a few out of BodyBio - do not bear any relationship to what

they are reported to look like. "

Now if it is relevant, then I'll have to say right up front that I don't have

any kind of broad overarching understanding of the biochemistry of AA. So

instead, I'll just mention two small points. First, you don't want to use any

borage oil which would give an AA precursor. You also want to make sure to

give either flax or cod liver oil, and if you give flax, you need the cofactors

(zinc, vitamin C, vitamin Bs) to make sure he can elongate the short to long

chain fatty acids.

It <<appears>> from the quote I used on AI p.49, that you also want to be

careful with choline precursors, but I'll point out that piecemeal logic like

this often gets you into trouble. These things can involve big feedback loops,

and as a general rule drawing conclusions from only one small bit can be

disastrous. (Just a warning, given that doctors seem to be in love with this

kind of piecemeal logic.) So, just keep an eye out in case it is a problem,

but don't this particular point on too much faith.

Dave

----------------------

Posted by: " Caryn Reid " caryn_reid@... Caryn_Reid

Date: Fri May 30, 2008 10:35 am ((PDT))

Dave, I hate to hijack another post, but I am trying to follow this

conversation & nbsp;and need your guidance. My son is very high in Arachidonic

acid. Do you have a recommendation on what supplements will help this or what

I should be staying away from?

Thanks.

Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

Hi Dave,

& nbsp;

We had the Great Plains Fatty Acid profile run before supplementing. & nbsp; His

out of range results were:

& nbsp;

Eicosapentaenoic acid & nbsp;= 1.95 which is high vs 0.6-1.7

Gamma linoleic acid & nbsp; = .07 which was low vs 0.1-0.3

Arachidonic acid & nbsp; = 27.02 which was high vs 14.2-19.2

Palmitic acid & nbsp; = 15.03 which was low vs 17.2-25.6

Stearic acid = 10.96 which was low vs 15.4-20.2

& nbsp;

Other than cutting back consumption of meats, which was recommended to reduce

arachidonic acid, I have not heard of a cause for this elevation or another

strategy to treat it. & nbsp; Any ideas?

Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

Start by avoiding peanuts and peanut oil.

Andy

> Dave, & nbsp; I hate to hijack & nbsp;another post, but I am trying to follow this

conversation & nbsp;and need your guidance. & nbsp; My son is very high in

Arachidonic

acid. & nbsp; Do you have a recommendation on what supplements will help this or

what I

should be staying away from?

> & nbsp;

> Thanks.

> & nbsp;

> & nbsp;

>

> & nbsp;

> Caryn Reid

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Caryn - I'll add what I can (below):

Posted by: " Caryn Reid " caryn_reid@... Caryn_Reid

Date: Sat May 31, 2008 10:35 am ((PDT))

>Hi Dave,

>We had the Great Plains Fatty Acid profile run before supplementing. His out

of range results were:

>Eicosapentaenoic acid = 1.95 which is high vs 0.6-1.7

Ok, that's an omega-3 oil. It's in fish/fish oil. It's also produced by

elongation of fatty acids in some grains, seeds, nuts (flax and walnut, for

instance). You appear to be fine here (are you giving flax or CLO?)

>Gamma linoleic acid = .07 which was low vs 0.1-0.3

>Arachidonic acid = 27.02 which was high vs 14.2-19.2

Those two are omega-6 oils and GLA (low) --> AA (high).

GLA is in vegetable oils. Andy has suggested Borage oil for this. Also

evening primrose. This seems low, so perhaps supplementation is in order?

AA: " Dietary sources rich in arachidonic acid include eggs, lean meats such as

poultry, organ meats and fish. " So perhaps restricting meat and eggs is in

order.

>Palmitic acid = 15.03 which was low vs 17.2-25.6

That's a saturated fat. Dietarily from palm oils.

>Stearic acid = 10.96 which was low vs 15.4-20.2

That's a saturated fat from many sources - animal and vegetable.

>Other than cutting back consumption of meats, which was recommended to reduce

arachidonic acid, I have not heard of a cause for this elevation or another

strategy to treat it. Any ideas?

So, it looks like the approach is to restrict meats and give some borage or

evening primrose oil, while sticking with whatever you are doing for omega-3s

That's all I've got. As for cause ... Other than dietary, I don't know. Why,

is s/he not getting much meat? Are you trying to find other reasons this might

be elevated?

>Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

Thanks. & nbsp; We do not give him any nuts. & nbsp; Any other ideas on what is

causing hight arachidonic acid?

Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

Thanks Dave. & nbsp; I have cut back meats drastically and added borage and EPO as

well. & nbsp; I am going to look into palm oil as well. & nbsp; I think this is good

for baking. & nbsp; I am just making sure there is not another non-dietary cause

that I am missing. & nbsp; )

Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

>

> Thanks. & nbsp; We do not give him any nuts. & nbsp; Any other ideas on

what is causing hight arachidonic acid?

>

>

Hi,

This is what I have on Arachidonic Acid:

It is an optional component of Cell Membranes (as an optional component

of Phospholipids), comprising 33% of the Fatty Acids those Cell

Membranes that it occupies- Arachidonic Acid continues to remain

harmless while " trapped " within those Cell Membranes that it occupies.It

concentrates in the Brain and is essential for the correct function of

the Brain (however it must be present in the correct ratio with

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) - many people have an imbalance (excess) of

Arachidonic Acid and a deficiency of DHA in the Brain):

Arachidonic Acid is manufactured within the body (in addition to dietary

sources) from other Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids:-Linoleic Acid is its

principal dietary precursor.

The conversion of Dihomo-Gamma-Linolenic Acid (DGLA) to AA is normally

performed only slowly by the body due to Delta-5 Desaturase's preference

for operating on Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) may reduce the body's production of

Arachidonic Acid. This effect occurs due to CLA not undergoing the same

metabolic transformations that lead to the endogenous production of

Arachidonic Acid that occurs with " true " Linoleic Acid.

Superunsaturated Fatty Acids (Omega-3 Fatty Acids) may inhibit the

incorporation of Arachidonic Acid into Cell Membranes: -

Alpha-Linolenic Acid may reduce the body's production of Arachidonic

Acid.

Both Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)may

inhibit the release of Arachidonic Acid from Cell Membranes and compete

with Arachidonic Acid for incorporation into Phospholipids.

In addition, EPA competes with Arachidonic Acid as the substrate for

Cyclooxygenase. Instead of Cyclooxgenase catalyzing the production of

detrimental Series 2 Prostaglandins and Series 2 Thromboxanes from

Arachidonic Acid, EPA " redirects " Cyclooxygenase into catalyzing

the production of beneficial Series 3 Prostaglandins and Series 3

Leukotrienes from EPA. references

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) may inhibit the release of Arachidonic Acid from

Cell Membranes (thereby preventing Arachidonic Acid from stimulating the

production of (usually toxic) Series 2 Prostaglandins and Series 4

Leukotrienes). Prostaglandin E3 (PGE3) may inhibit the endogenous

production of Arachidonic Acid and also inhibits the activity of

Arachidonic Acid (to an even greater extent than does Prostaglandin E1).

Vitamin E may inhibit the excessive production of endogenous Arachidonic

Acid from its precursor Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.

Flax Seed Oil, Perilla Oil, Fish Oils and Cod liver oil can help to

lower prduction of Arachidonic Acid.

Gail.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Dave. & nbsp; I think I will up our dosage of vitamin E as well. & nbsp; That

has been on my list to tweek for a while. & nbsp; )

Caryn Reid

[Guest guest]

In the context of fertility or inflamation, or any other health context, is

Arachodonic Acid affected by heat? Are egg yolks best eaten raw or cooked? Or

does it even matter?

Thanks,

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