Subject: Re: Omega 6 and cholesterol

[Guest guest]

I have been thinking about the high cholesterol epidemic and the

aggressive marketing of statin drugs. One TV commercial that really

bugs me says: " When diet and exercise are not enough ... "

After reviewing relevant factors in digestion and fat metabolism, I

have come to the conclusion that high cholesterol is a symptom of

omega-6 deficiency (when there is enough soluble fiber in the diet and

the sources of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol are restricted).

In a recent note about the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, Gay made the

observation that EFAs lower her cholesterol:

--- In , " Gay e " <@s...>

wrote:

> Thank you Al, that's very useful.

>

> May I ask your reasons for increasing the nuts and flax?

>

> I note your EFA intake is higher than Dr Walford recommends. I am

> trying to decide on whether I can trust the figures he suggests of

> 1-4% n-6

> .3-1% n-3

> If I have calculated correctly, on a 2,000 calorie diet this would

> give

> 2-9g of n-6

> 1-2g of n-3

>

> Figures suggested by Udo Erasmus as being optimal, give

> 7-13g of n-6 (3-6%)

> 4g of n-3 (2%)

>

> My concerns are based around the fact that, from my own cholesterol

> tests, EFA's seem to lower my HDL along with the rest but Olive Oil

> doesn't. I am aware of the fact that lower HDL is not

'necessarily'

> as relevant as once thought but ......

>

> Regards, Gay

==

My Message 14624 in September of last year discussed the Hegsted

equation. It turns out that this equation can be used to determine

the requirement of omega-6 (linoleic acid) if we know how much

palmitic acid is created by de novo synthesis of fatty acids.

Unfortunately, we don't because de novo synthesis of FAs depends on

the macronutrient composition of your diet. (A diet higher in fats

will not require the body to create fats from carbohydrate.) These are

the two aspects to be considered:

1) === Fatty acid metabolism:

The Hegsted equation provides a quantitative relationship of the

effects of fatty acid metabolism on total cholesterol:

DeltaTC = + 8.45 Delta C14:0 + 2.12 DeltaC16:0 - 1.87 DeltaC18:2 +

5.64 DeltaDietaryCholesterol - 6.24

Where DeltaTC is in mg/dL. DeltaC14:0, DeltaC16:0, and

DeltaC18:2 are in %kcal. DeltaDietaryCholesterol is in

mg/1000 kcal.

2) === De novo synthesis of fatty acids:

De novo synthesis of fatty acids involves the conversion of glucose to

pyruvate, to acetyl coenzyme-A (acetyl CoA), and then to saturated

fatty acids such as palmitic acid (C16:0).

See for example:

http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc460/spring/rlm/Lec35.html

http://herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9514270312/html/x252.html

==

Let us say that your dietary fat is mainly in the form of olive oil

which has a fatty acid constitution of:

palmitic (C16:0) 13%,

stearic (C18:0) 3%,

oleic (C18:1) 71%,

linoleic (C18:2) 10%,

alpha linoleic (C18:3) 1%

How does this affect your cholesterol? Using the coefficients of the

Hegstead equation, we can see that the cholesterol increase from 13%

palmitic acid [+2.12(13)=27.56] is greater than the decrease caused by

10% of linoleic acid [-1.87(10)=-18.70]. The conclusion is that olive

oil will increase your cholesterol slightly.

If besides the protein, the rest of your diet is basically

carbohydrates, your body will metabolize some for energy, and some

will be used for de novo synthesis of fatty acids, including the

cholesteremic palmitic acid (C16:0).

Since linoleic acid is an omega-6 *essential* fatty acid, and there is

no additional source of it in the diet, the end result will be

elevated cholesterol levels. For this reason, I am suggesting that

high cholesterol level is a symptom of INADEQUATE omega-6 EFA linoleic

acid, particularly when there is adequate soluble fiber intake, and

sources of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol are restricted.

Some sources of linoleic acid are sunflower seeds, walnuts, grape seed

oil, safflower oil (not high oleic), or sunflower oil (not high

oleic).

So, Gay, both Dr. Walford and Udo Erasmus could be right, depending on

the macronutrient composition of your diet. Your cholesterol level

can be used as a guide for whether you are deficient in omega-6.

I have set up a set of three web pages on how to normalize

cholesterol:

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cholesterol.html

Tony