D-6-D And The Omega-3s

I mentioned in my post yesterday of the importance Omega-3s played when it game to brain development during those early years of mankind.  To put briefly, the excess amount of Omega-3s available & consumed by our primitive ancestors provided the foundations to our superior brain sizes we enjoy today.  When I say “superior” I am referring the mental advantages we have over all the other animal inhibiting this planet.  The more I learn about Omega-3s, the more I realize just how important these fats are for our human physiology.  While I’m not going to name off all the areas of the body that Omega-3s are needed it, I will be getting into the modern-day crisis of Omega-3 deficiency.

It seems like Conventional Wisdom/the media has picked up considerably on the Omega-3 thing over the past couple years (at least that’s when I started hearing about them).  While it is a good thing to spread the message of consuming more Omega-3s, this could just play into another bit of nutritional trickery for the everyday consumer.  What I mean by this is while your strolling down the aisles of Safeway or Albertson’s, the Jolly-Time Popcorn with added Omega-3 content is not going to provide the same Omega-3s (if any) that a good piece of grass-fed beef or wild caught salmon would.

From a science perspective, a basic understanding of Omega-3s doesn’t require a two-semester course in biology at a major university.  In fact, it seems to be pretty clear cut on what you have to do in order to get good Omega-3s in the diet.

First off, lets distinguish some of the big Omega-3s.  Let’s start with the “parent form” of Omega-3s, which is called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).  ALA is found in “leafy green plants and plankton” (Primal Body-Primal Mind reference).  In fact, these leafy green plants/plankton seem to be the foundation of which we are able to obtain Omega-3s. The main Omega-3s ALA converts to are eicosapentanoic (EPA) and docosahexancoic (DHA).  These Omega-3s are essential fatty acids, meaning our bodies cannot produce these fats through other foods we eat.  We can only get these fats through Omega-3 rich foods.  EPA and DHA are crucial materials for the brain as well as the rest of the body.

So, when we eat ALA (parent form of Omega-3s), our bodies can convert the ALA into the EPA and DHA for the various needs throughout the body.  The final key factor in the Omega-3 equation is an important enzyme called delta-6-desaturase (D-6-D).  The importance of D-6-D lies in it’s ability to convert ALA into the more needed forms EPA and DHA.

So, when we eat dark green vegetables/seeds/walnuts that have some ALA in it, we are getting all the Omega-3s we need, right?  I can still avoid the plague red meat and eggs are, right?

Wrong.

While it’s true that dark greens/seeds/walnuts do have ALA that can be converted into EPA and DHA with the enzyme D-6-D, things are slightly more complicated.  Humans don’t do the best job of converting ALA into EPA and DHA.  There are a variety of reasons for this.  For starters, if you have ancestral roots from Northern Europe/Native Americans/Inuit, you probably lack D-6-D enzyme all together, which makes you completely dependent on consuming EPA and DHA rich foods in order to obtain these crucial Omega-3s.

To be fair, lets say you do have a copious supply of D-6-D.  There are other dietary factors that greatly affect the ability of D-6-D.  Lets start with those terrible starch-carbohydrates.  Starchy carbs tend to provide the body with the sister fat of Omega-3s: the somewhat vilified Omega-6 fatty acid.  Omega-6s are not as bad as they have recently been made out to be by the media, though.  The important thing to remember when it comes to Omega-6s is it’s ratio to Omega-3s, which should be close to a 1:1 ratio (but normally is as high as 9:1 in most people, if not higher).  The problem Omega-6s are causing is that they compete with Omega-3s for who gets the D-6-D.  I suppose it would be the equivalent of watching two sisters fight over the same clothes.  D-6-D would be the clothes, and Omegas 3 & 6 are the sisters.

So when Americans overeat the starches, they load up on Omega-6s, which than demand the D-6-D to be broken down, and leaves those wonderful Omega-3s to go untouched, and ultimately (I believe), unused.

While there are other factors that could be named that affect D-6-D function, suffice to say that by cutting down on starchy carbs and trying to get a more balanced Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio, we are vastly improving our chances of getting Omega-3s in our diet from ALA forms.

BUT, we could just avoid the issue all together and actually consume EPA and DHA foods.  Again, you can only get EPA and DHA foods from completely grass-fed animals.  That means grass-fed throughout the animal’s entire lifespan; not a couple weeks.  Wild-caught fish, not farmed fish, also have good amounts of EPA and DHA.  Or, you could even go with non-farmed sardines.  But the overall reason why the animal needs to have basically been raised on it’s natural diet is because the animals themselves are not born with EPA and DHA reserves, it’s the things they eat- grass, plankton, etc…- that give them their EPA and DHA content.

So by eating a cow who has been fed corn and cardboard all his life, you’re eating a cow who has not been been given the opportunity to obtain EPA and DHA through it’s natural diet. (And animals are much more efficient at converting grass to Omega-3s than humans are; maybe it has something to do with multiple stomachs…)  And, as Nora Gedgaudas says so often in Primal Body- Primal Mind, if it’s not in your diet, it’s not in your body.

If you have come to the end of this post, and are utterly confused, I’ll simplify this message a bit:

EAT GRASS-FED ANIMAL PRODUCTS OR WILD-CAUGHT FISH PRODUCTS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN OBTAINING VITAL OMEGA-3S.  DO NOT RELY ON JOLLY POP POPCORN-WITH-ENHANCED-OMEGA-3-CONTENT-ESQUE FOODS FOR OMEGA-3S.  IT’S NOT THE SAME.

If you’re interested in furthering your knowledge of grass-fed and grain-fed beef, check out Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  He actually follows the process our food goes through.  Good book.  Or, of course, you could read Primal Body-Primal Mind.

If you’re interested in obtaining grass-fed meat, check out www.eatwild.com or www.grasslandbeef.com.  Or check out www.WestonAPrice.org.

Sorry for any grammar errors, I have things to do and it’s already quite late so I will neglect editing.  I apologize.

E.M.R