How do Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Alpha Linoleic Acid & Linoleic Acid differ?
ALA increases insulin sensitivity whilst CLA decreases it??
I am baffled by fatty acids & any good links (Beradi?) would be appreciated
David you might want to check out Udo Erasmus’ book Fats That Kill, Fats That Heal. It does a fairly good job covering the basic biochemistry.
Berardi’s got a couple of discussions on fatty acids. Not sure if they’ll be of any use…
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/fatroundtable.htm
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/fatroundtable2.htm
Thanks guys
For those that care - the answers (from Fat Round Table):
The grand daddy of all omega 3s is a fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (LNA).
The grand daddy of the 6 family is linoleic acid (LA).
Omega 3s are mainly found in fish oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil, walnut oil, and green leafy vegetables. Omega 6s are mainly found in vegetable oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil.
During all training phases, make a conscious attempt to eliminate the omega 6 polyunsaturates from your diet while simultaneously increasing your omega 3s mostly in the form of fish/salmon oils (DHA, EPA) and some flax seeds or flax oils. This increase in 3s, as well as the more favorable ratio of 3s to 6s, can potentially increase insulin sensitivity in muscle, decrease it in fat, reduce body fat, decrease muscle damage and soreness, and decrease disease or injury-induced inflammation.
Thanks David
Thanks David - nice synopsis 
David, you state to make a concious effort to eliminate all omega 6 from the diet during all training phases. I take you are implying that an individual will often gain enough even if trying to eliminate it; since omega 6’s are widespread (omega 3’s not being).
It is worth noting the approx omega 6 content of your diet anyway however, since both omega 6 and 3 are essential, and the ideal long term ratio should actually be about 2:1 (omega 6:3) for the average healthy person.
Increased short term use of omega 3 can be applied where an individual has only eaten omega 3 rich foods infrequently, and their body stores may be low. Here consuming a ratio in favour of omega 3 is fine for a period of weeks/months to establish a favourable body tissue ratio of omega 6:3.
Other times when omega 3 can be in taken in greater amounts than omega 6 may be for cancer, inflammatory diseases and during injury.
The approx optimal amounts for omega 6 is 3-6% of daily calories, and omega 3 is appox 2-2.5% of daily calories.
David has stated many of the best sources of omega 3 and 6, but it should be stressed that these fatty acids cannot be heated much more than 100 degress celsius, so no frying etc. And if using the oils, buy preferably unrefined oils that have been favourably processed to as to not denature the fatty acids - discussed in another post.
This information was from the Udo Erasmus book ‘Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill’
Does that mean by grilling/pan frying my salmon steak I am reducing or losing all fatty acids?
Here are quality lines I would reccomend-
Udo’s Choice-
http://www.udoerasmus.com/productmain.htm
Barlean’s-
Hain
Originally posted by Tom Green
Here are quality lines I would reccomend-Udo’s Choice-
http://www.udoerasmus.com/productmain.htm
Barlean’s-
Hain
Tom,
In general, how do Health Food own-label versions of UDOs Oil measure up to the original?
Thanks.
I like to investigate the paleolithic diet during the evolutionary process…this shows that the Omega 3s were far more vital then now. Strand and others state that the levels are present to prevent disease, it’s like taking a few limes in your coronas as a way to prevent rickets…history has a clear path of showing how large amounts of O3 from shell fish near the African coast helped with brain development…
r-ALA is a great product.
One thing to really pay attention to is the formulation and if it needs to be kept cold after processing-
Flax would be the main example of this-
There are others also-
I am off to an American Indoor Football Game and will have to go into details at a later date.
Clemson,
Something you should know about the Sears Labs “phamaceutical grade” fish oil: it may not meet Dr. Sears’ own standard for “pharmaceutical grade”. In this recent book “The Omega Rx Zone”, Sears states that any fish oil that freezes when placed in a freezer is not “pharmaceutical-grade”. Well, a couple of months ago, some members on the drsears.com forum complained that they subjected their Sears Labs oil to the freezer test, and the oil did in fact freeze over. I broke open a few capsules of my own Sears Labs oil and put it in the freezer… guess what? It was like ice within a few hours. Sears Labs customer service blamed this on “seasonal variations” in the amount of saturated fat in the fish… blah blah blah. Try it for yourself. You have to be skeptical when an author claims that only way to achieve optimal health is to spend $50 a month on a supplement that only his company produces
David,
do you worry about qty of fat soluable Vits A & D present in fish oils?
That’s very true Flash, I also read (I think from JB) the uptake of oils from capsules is very poor, but maybe capsules is better than no fish!
i have 6 tabs with my two protein/fat meals. The’re just cheap Holland and Barrett.
Just wanted to share my subjective findings from including fish oils in my diet. I’ve been taking 12, 1000mg tabs per day for 2 weeks.
- +1kg BW and decreased body fat
- Decreased muscle soreness
- Improved general well being