On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Andrew S. Bonci, BA, DC, DAAPM wrote: > > According to Barry Sears, this is the same problem that > > accompanies the "therapeutic" use of flaxseed oil for its ALA > > content. It supposedly downregulates D6D, so you get less of the > > pro-inflammatory series 2 stuff, but you also get less of > > everything else. > > Hmmm, I vaguely recall Sears' discussion on this topic. It's been a > while since I read Sears. From page 123 of _Enter the Zone_: "ALA is like a wet blanket for the enzymes that control the eventual flow of omega-6 essential fatty acids toward eicosanoids. In many ways ALA is the biological equivalent of aspirin: by limiting the activity of the delta 6 desaturase enzyme, it knocks out the production of both good and bad eicosanoids." On the other hand, over on the Zone list there has been discussion of a recent study that shows that ALA supplementation offers significant protection against heart disease, and *not* simply by acting as a precursor to EPA. > > On a related subject, do you know any reason why saturated fats > > would inhibit D6D? I have a chart in front of me that says they > > do. If true, this would seem to be problematic. > > I am unaware of any reason unless you are talking transfatty acids; that > being vegetable oils which have been hydrogenated. However, this > stretches me a bit. I am skeptical myself. If SFAs inhibit D6D and ALA inhibits D6D and LA inhibits D6D and TFAs inhibit D6D then I think there are some confounding variables floating around... Todd Moody [log in to unmask]