On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 09:55:59 -0500, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Well, let's suppose that one eats about a kilogram of these meats per
>day.  Based on these figures, one's PUFA intake would be between about
>2 and 10 grams.
>
>>I think it should be a good idea not to decrease the PUFA amounts in our
>>daily diet, may it be high or low in fat.
>
>I agree, and I think 2-10g of PUFA (appropriately balanced) should be
>sufficient for most purposes.

and later
>I agree, except I think it is the absolute amount and not the ratio
> that matters.  Referring back to the other post, if we need 2-10g of
> PUFA per day to keep membranes permeable, then the amount of SFA being
> used as fuel shouldn't matter.  It would only be *absolute* scarcity of
> PUFA that would force more SFA to be incorporated in the membranes.

I think we have been at this point before.
And my viewpoint was that I think it would be wiser to eat a composition
like found in nature than to rely on this thought.
Since there are many oils with a very high PUFA percentage it would be a
easy job to equal out the lower percentages of industry meat.

If it's only the absolute amount of PUFA what matters, then the simultaneous
presence of SFA and MUFA at the location of cell membrane synthesis must not
play a role.
After that cell membrane composition *is* influenced by the diet eaten
this seems not to be the case.
Or would you assume the "4,304 middle-aged" subjects in the study
you quoted didn't eat even these 2-10 grams of PUFA?

The mechanism which builds the membranes is obviously able to use various
fatty acids, and so far I have not heared about a mechanism which regulates
the kind of FA used.
The membrane permeability regulative I know of is cholesterol.

If *this* is the cause of high cholesterol levels..... then some weeks or
months of addition of high-PUFA oils should be able to make it return to
normal levels.
"Weeks or months" would be the time it takes that most cells divide (and are
built with new membranes). I think in 6 months a big part of our cells are
renewed.
Any volunteers to try this? Don't forget to use LA *and* LNA (include flax).

regards,

Amadeus S.

(it's so cold back home.. -10 deg C)