Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.158 --> 00:00:02.648
Welcome to episode 21 of the cancer pod.
00:00:03.097 --> 00:00:06.878
On today's episode, we're talking about omega three fatty acids.
00:00:07.328 --> 00:00:11.257
They're essential nutrients, but how essential are they in cancer care?
00:00:11.708 --> 00:00:14.528
Stick around for today's discussion supplements.
00:00:14.768 --> 00:00:17.617
1 0 1 omega-3 fatty acids.
00:00:18.196 --> 00:00:18.736
I'm Dr.
00:00:18.736 --> 00:00:19.475
Tina Kaczor.
00:00:19.815 --> 00:00:23.775
And my favorite source of omega 3s is a nice piece of salmon.
00:00:24.292 --> 00:00:24.922
And I'm Dr.
00:00:24.922 --> 00:00:25.733
Leah Sherman.
00:00:26.003 --> 00:00:29.332
And my favorite source of omega 3s are sardines,
00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:33.249
And we're to naturopathic doctors who practice integrative cancer care.
00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:34.970
but we're not your doctors.
00:00:35.835 --> 00:00:40.185
This is for education, entertainment, and informational purposes only.
00:00:41.015 --> 00:00:45.335
Do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor,
00:00:45.716 --> 00:00:49.555
the views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the host and the.
00:00:50.345 --> 00:00:51.485
Are solely their own.
00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:53.628
welcome to the cancer pod.
00:01:05.367 --> 00:01:06.207
Hey, Tina,
00:01:06.447 --> 00:01:08.775
Hey, Leah, are you, all done with that oatmeal?
00:01:08.805 --> 00:01:09.614
Y'all well fed?
00:01:09.775 --> 00:01:11.275
I am, I am.
00:01:11.275 --> 00:01:12.204
It was delicious.
00:01:12.204 --> 00:01:16.545
Except I realized that I forgot to add my ground flaxseed.
00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:18.230
Well, the how appropriate
00:01:18.382 --> 00:01:18.772
Right.
00:01:18.802 --> 00:01:22.733
Cause we're talking about omega-3 fatty acids.
00:01:23.371 --> 00:01:24.989
and you just missed your first morning dose.
00:01:25.373 --> 00:01:26.436
I did.
00:01:26.766 --> 00:01:27.277
I'll go back.
00:01:27.277 --> 00:01:28.566
I'll add it to something else.
00:01:29.156 --> 00:01:34.780
So, um, yeah, this is our, it's our second episode in the supplements 1 0 1 pod.
00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.489
And it's the first one where we're actually talking about an actual supplement.
00:01:39.664 --> 00:01:44.209
so what we're going to do in this episode is we're going to talk about.
00:01:44.376 --> 00:01:46.656
What are omega-3 fatty acids.
00:01:46.865 --> 00:01:48.245
they are essential nutrients.
00:01:48.245 --> 00:01:49.956
So why are they essential?
00:01:50.007 --> 00:01:51.028
where do you get them?
00:01:51.108 --> 00:01:53.808
you and I are very big proponents of food first.
00:01:53.957 --> 00:01:55.968
So where do, where do you get them in your diet?
00:01:55.968 --> 00:01:56.718
I don't like fish.
00:01:56.757 --> 00:01:57.837
You know, where am I going to get them?
00:01:57.837 --> 00:01:59.167
People ask, you know, all the time.
00:01:59.212 --> 00:02:03.742
what are the specific benefits for cancer patients and cancer survivors?
00:02:04.162 --> 00:02:10.580
And then in terms of supplements, are there any contraindications as to when someone should not take them?
00:02:10.731 --> 00:02:11.301
Anything else?
00:02:11.361 --> 00:02:12.292
Are we going to talk about anything?
00:02:12.322 --> 00:02:14.361
Well, we might, we might talk about other stuff too.
00:02:14.646 --> 00:02:16.507
who knows what tangents we'll go on today?
00:02:20.072 --> 00:02:20.372
All right.
00:02:20.372 --> 00:02:22.771
So Tina Lee, what is an essential nutrient?
00:02:23.278 --> 00:02:26.241
starting with the word essential, I mean, it really is literal.
00:02:26.391 --> 00:02:32.108
These fatty acids are essential to consume in your diet because your cells require them.
00:02:32.108 --> 00:02:37.348
Your systems require these fatty acids, but you cannot create them from any other fatty acids.
00:02:37.348 --> 00:02:42.538
So a lot of times we'll take an, a fat and we can convert it and we can use enzymes and we can snip it here.
00:02:42.538 --> 00:02:43.669
We can, saturate it there.
00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:51.034
We can do all sorts of fun stuff with these fats that we consume and make what we need, the omega three fatty acids we cannot make them.
00:02:51.155 --> 00:02:56.627
We have to take them in through a food source and they are required for function.
00:02:56.627 --> 00:02:58.487
So the word essential, let's start there.
00:02:58.758 --> 00:03:03.798
It's an essential fatty acid or essential oils, no essential oils or something different.
00:03:05.913 --> 00:03:09.407
I'm not using my, omega threes as essential oils.
00:03:09.407 --> 00:03:10.818
I don't want to smell like a fish.
00:03:11.383 --> 00:03:13.393
Essential oils are completely different.
00:03:13.393 --> 00:03:17.431
Essential oils are from plants and they're the center aspect of the plant.
00:03:17.431 --> 00:03:20.070
So not that essential fatty acids, not essential oils.
00:03:20.231 --> 00:03:26.225
So what's kind of interesting to me is your body can make EPA and DHA, right?
00:03:26.225 --> 00:03:37.054
You can take in from plants, the alpha linolenic acid, and then through these enzymes, your body can convert that into EPA and DHA.
00:03:37.524 --> 00:03:38.033
Right.
00:03:39.033 --> 00:03:40.924
that's where, the food sources, right?
00:03:40.924 --> 00:03:42.813
That's where the, the fish get it from.
00:03:42.813 --> 00:03:44.924
And you know, it's in eggs, right?
00:03:44.924 --> 00:03:56.337
You buy these high DHA eggs, and it's because those chickens were fed They're fed flax, probably flaxseeds, and then their little bodies converted it.
00:03:56.337 --> 00:03:57.850
And then they pooped it out into a.
00:04:00.506 --> 00:04:00.806
Yeah.
00:04:00.825 --> 00:04:06.015
So it always starts with plants, whether it's alpha linolenic acid or it's Lin oleic.
00:04:06.770 --> 00:04:11.233
It starts from a plant, a plant has to make it, and then an animal consumes it.
00:04:11.311 --> 00:04:27.747
So that might be a little confusing because, I remember when I was first learning about this, a L a is alpha linolenic acid and that's omega three and then Leno, leic acid is omega six.
00:04:28.218 --> 00:04:28.759
Yes
00:04:29.052 --> 00:04:30.581
And so they both come from plants
00:04:30.795 --> 00:04:31.574
And they're both essential.
00:04:31.983 --> 00:04:32.944
they're both essential.
00:04:32.944 --> 00:04:33.363
Yeah.
00:04:33.783 --> 00:04:40.713
And there is a ratio that is ideal of omega six to omega three.
00:04:41.033 --> 00:04:48.798
And so ideally in our diet, we should be having like a three or a four to one ratio of six to three.
00:04:49.601 --> 00:04:53.242
what actually is happening with more of a more Western diet is it's.
00:04:53.242 --> 00:04:53.992
The ratio is more
00:04:53.992 --> 00:04:55.591
of 12 to 1.
00:04:55.776 --> 00:04:56.391
Right?
00:04:56.732 --> 00:05:00.781
So people are getting a lot more of the omega six.
00:05:01.148 --> 00:05:12.595
And so finding ways of ramping up that omega three in your diet is really important because of what we use omega-3 fatty acids for the processes in our body.
00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:13.279
Right.
00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:18.334
And on the flip side, and I think this is the last we're going to mention the omega six side of the equation.
00:05:18.793 --> 00:05:28.415
A lot of people are getting those mega six fatty acids from soybean oil Safflower sunflower vegetable oils, basically when you do the oil, cook with it, eat processed food that has it.
00:05:28.444 --> 00:05:30.995
That's what ups the omega six consumption
00:05:31.413 --> 00:05:31.872
Right.
00:05:31.872 --> 00:05:34.516
So it's, would you say like a double-edged sword?
00:05:34.516 --> 00:05:45.595
Like, it's a good thing, but it's also a, it could be a bad thing because of the fact that it isn't a lot of processed foods, so they're not necessarily getting the good sources of omega six, like the nuts and the seeds.
00:05:46.189 --> 00:05:47.749
they're getting them from those oils.
00:05:47.954 --> 00:05:48.463
right.
00:05:48.463 --> 00:05:51.403
Instead of the whole food, which limits your consumption of it.
00:05:51.738 --> 00:05:52.218
Right.
00:05:52.543 --> 00:05:52.843
Right?
00:05:53.144 --> 00:05:55.723
So we're not advocates of the vegetable oils in general.
00:05:56.209 --> 00:05:59.386
Oh, I want to say, a couple more cool things about, at least
00:05:59.658 --> 00:06:03.139
the alpha linolenic acids, the
00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:10.254
ALA, It's kind of neat that, you know, it does convert in our bodies to the EPA and DHA.
00:06:11.242 --> 00:06:14.062
Have we mentioned what the EPA DHA stand for.
00:06:14.130 --> 00:06:15.990
no, cause it's a hard to pronounce.
00:06:17.451 --> 00:06:17.781
All right.
00:06:17.781 --> 00:06:18.396
I'll do the honors.
00:06:18.834 --> 00:06:21.730
I Cosa pentameric acid is EPA and
00:06:21.798 --> 00:06:24.038
docosahexaenoic acid D
00:06:24.278 --> 00:06:24.517
a
00:06:24.630 --> 00:06:27.968
So those are the ones that, people will often see on supplement bottles.
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:31.309
you know, they'll see the EPA and DHA on a supplement bottle.
00:06:31.668 --> 00:06:35.819
And, one of the things I'd always teach my patients was how to read that, that label.
00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:43.072
I know we're talking about food, but I just wanted to kind of jump into like this part of it, because I think it does help to distinguish, what they are and like,
00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:43.810
a supplement
00:06:43.826 --> 00:06:44.245
at least.
00:06:44.516 --> 00:06:54.860
So when you look at a bottle of fish oil and it says a thousand milligrams of fish oil, and then you look at the label on the back, it breaks it down into EPA and DHA.
00:06:55.221 --> 00:07:03.983
And that those numbers, like, I usually have the patient total that amount, and it could be like 300 milligrams of one and 200 milligrams of another.
00:07:04.163 --> 00:07:11.180
So you're basically getting 500 milligrams of those essential fatty acids in a capsule of a thousand milligrams of fish oil,
00:07:11.543 --> 00:07:12.264
Right, right.
00:07:12.293 --> 00:07:14.836
So there's some other oils in there that just aren't
00:07:15.744 --> 00:07:16.103
Right?
00:07:16.112 --> 00:07:16.343
Yeah.
00:07:16.343 --> 00:07:21.752
in general, like I think that's a good way of people kind of being like, oh, there are different kinds of omega three fatty acids.
00:07:22.262 --> 00:07:29.221
And, what I find interesting, cause like you said, like the alpha linolenic acid can be converted into these EPA and DHA.
00:07:29.951 --> 00:07:33.187
And men and women convert these differently.
00:07:33.314 --> 00:07:38.925
And then there are other genetic variabilities to that affect how our bodies convert them.
00:07:38.925 --> 00:07:48.588
So in general, men don't convert it as well as women, women tend to have a higher conversion rate and estrogen plays a role in that, which I thought was kind of cool,
00:07:48.858 --> 00:07:52.608
So more estrogen means better conversion into the EPA DHA.
00:07:53.007 --> 00:07:53.598
yeah.
00:07:53.997 --> 00:07:54.338
Yeah.
00:07:54.379 --> 00:08:04.581
So, and then, yeah, there are, people who have genetic variability and the enzymes, the Delta six and Delta five to saturate enzymes that convert as well.
00:08:04.581 --> 00:08:13.148
So it's really important to eat these whole foods with the, you know, the ALA, but it's a lot harder to get to.
00:08:13.244 --> 00:08:17.954
The recommended doses of the APA and DHA from eating those foods.
00:08:18.216 --> 00:08:18.726
Right.
00:08:18.726 --> 00:08:27.608
So if you want to, you want a sure way to make sure that you're getting enough EPA DHA would be to eat food sources of those which cold water fish are probably the number one source
00:08:27.694 --> 00:08:28.173
Right.
00:08:28.173 --> 00:08:35.481
And for people who are allergic or don't eat, fish or even, or a vegan, you know, that poses a bit of a challenge.
00:08:35.481 --> 00:08:37.192
And so they usually go to the plant source.
00:08:37.192 --> 00:08:37.312
They
00:08:37.312 --> 00:08:38.201
go to the algae.
00:08:39.125 --> 00:08:39.485
Yeah.
00:08:39.485 --> 00:08:45.628
And I think they're making some algae that, intentionally are created to make more DHA and in particular
00:08:45.855 --> 00:08:46.544
Oh, interesting.
00:08:46.544 --> 00:08:47.445
I did not know that.
00:08:47.998 --> 00:08:50.097
So Tina, where, where exactly are we
00:08:50.097 --> 00:08:52.248
getting our ALA from?.
00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:55.392
Well, the healthiest sources are whole nuts and seeds.
00:08:55.392 --> 00:08:58.095
I mean, especially things like the flax seeds that you already mentioned.
00:08:58.116 --> 00:08:59.553
And they do need to be ground.
00:08:59.553 --> 00:09:02.163
If you are a human and you're consuming them.
00:09:02.163 --> 00:09:07.474
I, that was the other thing I would tell my patients, they would be eating foods that had whole flaxseeds.
00:09:07.474 --> 00:09:09.453
And I was like, you don't have a gizzard.
00:09:09.484 --> 00:09:10.653
You can't break that down.
00:09:10.653 --> 00:09:12.033
You can feed that to your chickens.
00:09:12.063 --> 00:09:14.464
Cause they'll break it down, but we'll just poop them out.
00:09:14.464 --> 00:09:16.923
So ground freshly, ground flaxseed.
00:09:17.153 --> 00:09:20.573
yes, freshly ground flax seed, pumpkin seeds also.
00:09:20.947 --> 00:09:22.597
you can get pumpkin seeds when they're in season.
00:09:22.597 --> 00:09:27.202
You can save them if you're buying pumpkin's for the family and, you know, pumpkin seeds are delicious.
00:09:27.773 --> 00:09:28.852
Oh, chia seeds
00:09:28.875 --> 00:09:29.230
Yeah.
00:09:29.413 --> 00:09:36.974
I knew also you get some from other foods like soybeans, but I don't advocate for soybean oil, which has added in everything.
00:09:37.004 --> 00:09:38.361
But if people are eating,
00:09:38.782 --> 00:09:40.822
you know, edamame, then great,
00:09:40.822 --> 00:09:42.981
you're going to get some ALA in that.
00:09:43.544 --> 00:09:45.975
Oh, also green, leafy vegetables,
00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:46.759
oh, sure.
00:09:47.024 --> 00:09:48.975
like dark green, leafy vegetables.
00:09:49.197 --> 00:09:49.376
Yeah.
00:09:49.376 --> 00:09:50.307
We actually talked about that
00:09:50.307 --> 00:09:51.576
in another episode
00:09:51.850 --> 00:09:52.735
Yeah, that's right.
00:09:52.855 --> 00:09:58.905
Oh, and then, the part that I think surprises a lot of people is in the purely grass fed animals.
00:09:59.101 --> 00:10:00.751
Okay, here goes the first tangent, here we go.
00:10:02.587 --> 00:10:03.466
tangential warning.
00:10:03.472 --> 00:10:08.105
so you know, grass fed beef and grass fed animals in general.
00:10:08.105 --> 00:10:16.582
Some people are turned off by them because they're too quote unquote gamey, the gaming business that people taste and meet the fishiness.
00:10:16.673 --> 00:10:20.462
We taste and fish, the flak soil that goes bad on their refrigerator.
00:10:20.462 --> 00:10:21.423
Cause you haven't used it.
00:10:21.602 --> 00:10:24.482
All of it is the omega-3 fatty acids going bad.
00:10:24.783 --> 00:10:27.123
So fresh fish is not fishy.
00:10:27.212 --> 00:10:28.712
It's only fishy when it sits around.
00:10:28.855 --> 00:10:31.196
oils will degrade eventually and become fishy.
00:10:31.615 --> 00:10:33.566
So fresh fish is not fishy pers.
00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:35.561
Because it's fresh.
00:10:35.591 --> 00:10:36.850
The omega-3 fatty acids are intact.
00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:41.594
It's the same thing with grass fed beef and, flax seeds, even flax oil will go bad.
00:10:41.594 --> 00:10:44.203
So if you're in a part of the country where it's sat on the shelf and it's on sale.
00:10:44.203 --> 00:10:46.144
Cause it's about to expire next month.
00:10:46.173 --> 00:10:48.693
It may go bad and it will smell nasty.
00:10:49.144 --> 00:10:49.563
All of
00:10:49.563 --> 00:10:50.354
these are the omega three
00:10:50.374 --> 00:10:52.583
fatty acids They're extremely volatile.
00:10:52.583 --> 00:10:54.802
And they, go bad because they get oxidized.
00:10:54.861 --> 00:10:59.032
So when fatty acids get oxidized, they're stinky and nasty and you
00:10:59.032 --> 00:10:59.491
don't want to eat them.,
00:10:59.543 --> 00:11:05.855
So there are fish that even when they're fresh, they are fishier and those would be the oily fish.
00:11:05.885 --> 00:11:07.163
I'm assuming, right?
00:11:07.163 --> 00:11:14.706
Like the cold water fish may have more than, a lake fish because the lakes are cold too, but it depends on your leg.
00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:15.100
yeah.
00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.197
I was going to say depends on the lake, yeah.
00:11:17.238 --> 00:11:19.350
in general, sushi grade, right?
00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:21.345
So Shimi grade fish when people eat
00:11:21.345 --> 00:11:25.004
fish raw in a Japanese restaurant, it's not super fishy.
00:11:25.394 --> 00:11:25.784
Right.
00:11:26.154 --> 00:11:26.840
They're usually pretty
00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:27.230
fresh.
00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:32.067
I mean, I get suspicious when it's the grocery store sushi where you're like, Ooh, that's a little fishy.
00:11:32.511 --> 00:11:32.932
right.
00:11:32.961 --> 00:11:34.221
Because it's been sitting there.
00:11:34.288 --> 00:11:36.761
its surface area is exposed to oxygen.
00:11:36.822 --> 00:11:39.750
And as long as that's happening, it's it's starting to go bad.
00:11:40.044 --> 00:11:47.461
And that's typically why I don't recommend people taking things like flax oil, because it often can be ranted right off the shelf.
00:11:47.774 --> 00:11:48.018
Yeah.
00:11:48.018 --> 00:11:50.149
And then people think that's what it, that's what it tastes like.
00:11:50.149 --> 00:11:51.361
They don't know that it's oxidized.
00:11:51.361 --> 00:11:57.085
It's kind of like the grass fed beef or if it's game meat like venison people are like, oh, that stuff's nasty because it's gamey.
00:11:57.085 --> 00:12:00.759
Well, if it's fresh enough it won't be rancid oils that you're eating.
00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:00.970
So it
00:12:00.970 --> 00:12:01.559
won't be gamey.
00:12:01.807 --> 00:12:02.437
Interesting.
00:12:03.294 --> 00:12:11.453
So why don't we take a break and we'll come back and talk about why exactly omega threes are essential.
00:12:12.109 --> 00:12:12.408
Yeah.
00:12:12.469 --> 00:12:13.759
How are they used in the body anyways?
00:12:14.267 --> 00:12:14.596
Cool.
00:12:15.849 --> 00:12:18.519
Here's a hot tip for keeping ground flaxseeds from going.
00:12:20.264 --> 00:12:24.943
Store them in a container in your refrigerator or freezer that keeps them fresher longer.
00:12:34.528 --> 00:12:39.388
so let's talk about some things that these omega-3 fatty acids do in the body and why we need them.
00:12:39.753 --> 00:12:40.832
Why they're essential?
00:12:40.883 --> 00:12:42.383
Yeah, why they're essential.
00:12:42.592 --> 00:12:46.067
They're essential because our cells are made of what's
00:12:46.067 --> 00:12:48.226
called a by lipid layer, all
00:12:48.226 --> 00:12:48.917
the cells in the body.
00:12:49.336 --> 00:12:50.506
Lipid being fat.
00:12:51.277 --> 00:12:51.756
Right.
00:12:52.326 --> 00:12:53.736
And bi-lipid meaning there's
00:12:53.736 --> 00:12:55.966
two fatty acids, that kind of point at each other.
00:12:56.071 --> 00:13:03.331
I picture like the image upload an image in the show notes, but I picture like the little heads on the outside and then the tails coming in
00:13:03.427 --> 00:13:03.908
yes.
00:13:04.054 --> 00:13:05.974
you have the head on the outside and the tails coming in.
00:13:05.974 --> 00:13:16.626
So you have the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic parts of a fatty acid and the hydro Fillic parts point towards the inside of the cell and the outside of the cell and the hydro phobic parts point toward each other.
00:13:16.626 --> 00:13:17.557
And that's the tail.
00:13:17.731 --> 00:13:28.600
and those hydrophilic and hydrophobic just means like water loving or water hating, I guess it's fearing I, phobic would be fearing.
00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:28.870
Right.
00:13:29.171 --> 00:13:29.681
So, yeah.
00:13:29.681 --> 00:13:33.919
So it's just how it reacts I mean, think about like when you drop a drop of oil into.
00:13:34.351 --> 00:13:36.495
Water and how it comes together.
00:13:36.865 --> 00:13:37.436
Right?
00:13:37.645 --> 00:13:38.066
Right.
00:13:38.155 --> 00:13:45.056
So a cell membrane has this BI lipid layer or two fatty acid layers.
00:13:45.326 --> 00:13:47.745
And there's all different types of fatty acids that Okay.
00:13:47.745 --> 00:13:49.755
I'm finding this a little challenging too.
00:13:49.785 --> 00:13:51.255
Well, you're using your hands.
00:13:51.255 --> 00:13:53.086
I'm seeing you use your hands, right?
00:13:53.086 --> 00:13:56.716
Like to show the tails and it's, it's hard when there's no video.
00:13:56.926 --> 00:13:57.796
This is a podcast.
00:13:57.796 --> 00:14:01.395
So I know that people do not see my hands right now.
00:14:02.056 --> 00:14:08.716
It's very clear if he saw my hands anyways, all you really need to know is the fatty acids are a variety of types of fatty acids.
00:14:08.865 --> 00:14:16.395
And you need a certain amount of these omega-3 fatty acids that are very fluid to be incorporated into the cell membrane.
00:14:16.905 --> 00:14:19.905
So what you want in a good cell membrane is fluidity.
00:14:19.905 --> 00:14:21.645
You want it to be able to move around.
00:14:21.645 --> 00:14:22.546
It's not static.
00:14:22.546 --> 00:14:28.635
So you have all sorts of channels and receptors and sugar molecules hanging off of it.
00:14:28.635 --> 00:14:31.336
But they're not sitting still they're moving at all times.
00:14:31.336 --> 00:14:33.405
And that movement is into.
00:14:34.186 --> 00:14:55.576
To good, proper, robust cellular function so that it reacts to its outside and it communicates with other cells and the immune system and interiorly, it also functions normally because the cell membrane allows things to get through those receptors and channels are functioning properly and it keeps out other things that shouldn't be going through the cell.
00:14:55.576 --> 00:14:55.846
Right?
00:14:56.202 --> 00:15:00.552
So fluidity is the key to a good cell function, which is interesting, right?
00:15:00.552 --> 00:15:02.202
Because resilience is the key to health.
00:15:02.232 --> 00:15:08.293
In general, resilient cells are made with some omega-3 fatty acids incorporated into their membranes.
00:15:08.485 --> 00:15:08.687
Yeah.
00:15:08.687 --> 00:15:10.187
So I always think of it as.
00:15:10.258 --> 00:15:22.243
the cell is less stiff and nutrients and information, everything that needs to come in and out of the cell can do so with the omega-3 is incorporated into it.
00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:24.172
So I think of like, like a blood cell, right?
00:15:24.172 --> 00:15:31.813
Because you need omega-3 is to incorporate into your blood cells and it allows them to be more fluid, And then the blood itself is more fluid.
00:15:31.836 --> 00:15:35.711
that's, that's kind of a really simplistic way of, you know, how I usually describe it to patients.
00:15:36.552 --> 00:15:36.851
Yeah.
00:15:36.881 --> 00:15:42.101
And you can think of fluidity as a literal term with the oil on your counter too.
00:15:42.101 --> 00:15:42.402
Right?
00:15:42.402 --> 00:15:44.562
So saturated fats, aren't fluid.
00:15:44.672 --> 00:15:45.581
You're talking about butter.
00:15:45.581 --> 00:15:46.511
You're talking about lard.
00:15:47.351 --> 00:15:48.363
coconut oil.
00:15:48.381 --> 00:15:54.621
I mean, they solidify at room temperature and depending where you live, coconut oil could be fluid or not.
00:15:55.232 --> 00:15:57.332
in any case, these polyunsaturated
00:15:57.332 --> 00:16:00.783
fatty acids PUFAs omega-3 is
00:16:00.783 --> 00:16:04.623
a polyunsaturated, fatty acid are more fluid in general.
00:16:05.246 --> 00:16:09.267
oh my God, three fatty acids can be put into the freezer and they still won't freeze.
00:16:09.267 --> 00:16:11.517
So that, that fluid, they just don't solidify.
00:16:11.517 --> 00:16:12.147
And that's the same in
00:16:12.147 --> 00:16:13.326
your, for cells..
00:16:13.346 --> 00:16:13.976
The fluidity
00:16:13.976 --> 00:16:16.226
is preserved with these polyunsaturated fatty acids.
00:16:16.293 --> 00:16:20.283
So the cell membrane function all around needs to have a certain amount in there.
00:16:20.613 --> 00:16:32.428
And when you have enough of these omega-3 fatty acids incorporated into the, your membranes of your cells, you have a more anti-inflammatory tendency.
00:16:32.428 --> 00:16:35.788
When your cell goes to break down some of that cell membrane.
00:16:35.788 --> 00:16:37.558
This is part of what happens all the time.
00:16:37.948 --> 00:16:42.719
We have enzymes that go up, grab those little fatty acids from the membrane and break them down.
00:16:42.749 --> 00:16:48.544
And if you have very little omega-3 fatty acids incorporated, that whole process is going to lead to more inflammation.
00:16:49.001 --> 00:17:00.769
if you have a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids incorporated, that same enzyme goes up, pulled down on a mega three fatty acid and the net effect of breaking down that particular type of fatty acid is anti-inflammatory.
00:17:00.979 --> 00:17:13.885
So this is one of the reasons we say omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory because naturally, if we have enough of them, your body will tend towards less inflammation in the same vein on the anti-inflammatory effects.
00:17:14.266 --> 00:17:25.781
The omega-3 fatty acids can also become resolvins and resolvins are a whole class of compounds that we make to resolve inflammation because inflammation is necessary.
00:17:25.781 --> 00:17:26.922
We have to have inflammation.
00:17:26.922 --> 00:17:29.531
We wouldn't heal from a cut or get over a flu.
00:17:30.041 --> 00:17:33.084
You have to resolve the inflammation and keep it from becoming chronic
00:17:33.134 --> 00:17:34.124
I like that name.
00:17:34.153 --> 00:17:35.054
Resolvins
00:17:35.378 --> 00:17:35.979
Nice and simple.
00:17:35.979 --> 00:17:36.249
Right?
00:17:36.517 --> 00:17:36.957
yeah.
00:17:37.258 --> 00:17:44.355
I guess the last thing I should mention, is that fatty acids are also by virtue of being these long chains of carbon.
00:17:44.565 --> 00:17:48.224
They are taken up into cells and we make energy from them.
00:17:48.704 --> 00:17:52.361
So fatty acids are used to make energy within the cell.
00:17:52.933 --> 00:18:02.443
So they're a source of energy, just like glucose as a source of energy for cells, fatty acids can be a source of energy for the cells in particular, the mitochondria is where that's produced.
00:18:02.901 --> 00:18:06.494
So you mentioned that, fatty acids are made up of carbon.
00:18:06.494 --> 00:18:11.565
So did you want to kind of touch on they're called omega three fatty acids?
00:18:11.740 --> 00:18:12.461
Oh, yeah.
00:18:12.461 --> 00:18:29.054
Let's I don't wanna get into too much detail, but when you have an unsaturated fatty acid, you have what are called, double bonds between the carbons where those double bonds occur has to do with calling it omega-3 fatty acid Omega just has to do with a site on the chain.
00:18:29.304 --> 00:18:29.693
Okay.
00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:34.869
I'm trying to think of like specific things as to like where omega-threes are beneficial in the body.
00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:42.416
And because of their importance in the cell itself, I mean, it's pretty much everywhere because we're made up of cells, right?
00:18:42.416 --> 00:18:43.646
We're a collection of cells.
00:18:44.426 --> 00:18:57.571
And so it's, our eyes, our brains, you know, the developing brain, you think about how pregnant women, their supplements contain DHA and how infant formulas, um, contain DHA.
00:18:57.571 --> 00:19:04.950
You know, like these RMA threes, you know, it's just, it's important for the nervous system it's important for our skin.
00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:06.669
you know, it helps with everything.
00:19:06.734 --> 00:19:10.924
I, I just kind of like trying to think about like, what doesn't it benefit?
00:19:11.174 --> 00:19:11.567
Right.
00:19:11.567 --> 00:19:13.277
They're just, they're, part of ourselves.
00:19:13.277 --> 00:19:15.136
And so they're part of every single part of our body.
00:19:15.906 --> 00:19:16.176
Right.
00:19:16.176 --> 00:19:21.020
So adequate amounts is essential for just good overall health for all systems.
00:19:21.471 --> 00:19:21.891
Right.
00:19:21.891 --> 00:19:27.230
And I mean, I think it's really rare to have an overt deficiency.
00:19:27.230 --> 00:19:36.137
I mean, I'm sure in, a lot of malabsorption cases or, malnutrition, there would be more of an actual deficiency.
00:19:36.218 --> 00:19:45.938
and that's why when patients get TPN, they get, you know, the nutrition through their port that has omega three fatty acids in it.
00:19:45.968 --> 00:19:46.328
Right.
00:19:46.605 --> 00:19:49.865
As do the nutritional drinks that, that people buy,
00:19:49.907 --> 00:20:15.678
So maybe the one, the one group that we do need to mention is anyone who has trouble absorbing fats in general, they're not going to have selective absorption troubles with this particular fat, but if someone has trouble because they have trouble with their pancreatic function, so there's less lipase or there's trouble, or they don't even have their gallbladder, you know, gallbladder has been removed for whatever reason and there's less bile acids.
00:20:15.931 --> 00:20:19.770
There's going to be a little more trouble absorbing fats in general.
00:20:20.266 --> 00:20:20.625
right.
00:20:20.625 --> 00:20:25.996
Or any surgery, because those fats are absorbed in the small intestine.
00:20:26.296 --> 00:20:28.636
And so any surgery that affects that.
00:20:28.686 --> 00:20:37.868
Um, So I think that's a really good time to kind of move on to why omega threes are important for cancer patients and cancer survivors,
00:20:37.962 --> 00:20:38.202
Yeah.
00:20:38.202 --> 00:20:39.192
So let's, let's break it down.
00:20:39.192 --> 00:20:45.073
We'll talk about prevention, like primary prevention of cancer in general, and then during treatment time, and then after cancer
00:20:45.392 --> 00:20:45.665
right?
00:20:45.665 --> 00:20:46.296
Survivorship.
00:20:46.506 --> 00:20:46.955
Yeah.
00:20:47.613 --> 00:20:47.942
Okay.
00:20:50.625 --> 00:20:56.490
Did you know that of all the nuts and seeds, chia seeds have the highest concentration omega-3 fatty acids.
00:20:56.557 --> 00:21:00.885
In fact, the word chia is derived from an ancient Aztec word, meaning oily.
00:21:06.976 --> 00:21:15.727
So one of the things that we know is when there is a systemic chronic inflammatory state for a long period of time, that's not good for health.
00:21:16.176 --> 00:21:23.498
And it seems, although nothing is conclusive, but it does seem that high inflammatory state systemic high inflammation.
00:21:24.246 --> 00:21:27.816
Is a risk factor for various types of cancer.
00:21:27.816 --> 00:21:36.796
and we know this because CRP or C-reactive protein is one way to test that in high CRP has been associated with many, many different cancers.
00:21:36.836 --> 00:21:50.852
Um, cause and effect are a little bit overlapping because once cancer is present, the CRP can go up just because cancer creates these inflammatory compounds, including that CRP, which just a marker of systemic inflammation.
00:21:51.122 --> 00:22:00.541
but in general, anything that dampens inflammation and keeps people in more of a balanced state between inflammation and anti-inflammation states is going to be preventative.
00:22:00.817 --> 00:22:05.001
I think the research is strongest in cancers like colorectal.
00:22:05.991 --> 00:22:07.192
Right for risk reduction.
00:22:07.192 --> 00:22:10.221
You know, I don't like you, you know me, I don't like the word prevention.
00:22:10.747 --> 00:22:12.457
I know because people promise it.
00:22:12.584 --> 00:22:12.866
Right.
00:22:12.967 --> 00:22:14.076
I know, it's it.
00:22:14.196 --> 00:22:14.586
Yeah.
00:22:14.616 --> 00:22:18.856
And you know, when, when you have a patient, who's like, I did all the right things.
00:22:18.856 --> 00:22:21.686
I ate all the right foods, and they still get cancer.
00:22:21.686 --> 00:22:25.047
It's like, we talked about risk reduction here.
00:22:25.717 --> 00:22:26.287
yeah, I know.
00:22:26.287 --> 00:22:28.116
I don't really like the word prevention either.
00:22:28.116 --> 00:22:33.522
I still used in the headlines and it's yeah, it's an over promise to say, you can prevent it.
00:22:33.535 --> 00:22:35.637
we can reduce your risk of it happening,
00:22:35.958 --> 00:22:36.347
Right.
00:22:36.387 --> 00:22:36.657
can't
00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:38.029
But yeah.
00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:44.653
So colon cancer has been one of the cancers that has been looked at with omega-3 fatty acids and risk reduction.
00:22:44.727 --> 00:22:45.237
Yeah.
00:22:45.237 --> 00:22:49.467
So of course that overlaps with where are they getting it and how are their diets in general?
00:22:49.527 --> 00:22:57.311
and in other words, if they're eating more, nuts and seeds or they're eating more cold water fish, then there's more happening than just omega-3 fatty acids, neutral.
00:22:57.750 --> 00:23:06.134
So like always observational studies that show trends in any consumption of a food and an outcome are just that they're trends.
00:23:06.134 --> 00:23:09.403
And they're what we call hypothesis generating.
00:23:09.433 --> 00:23:10.634
They're not proof of anything.
00:23:10.909 --> 00:23:15.409
'cause it's hard to control when it's in a diet, because the diet is so complex
00:23:15.544 --> 00:23:15.814
Yeah.
00:23:15.814 --> 00:23:23.941
So the only way to really know is to take a bunch of people over a long period of time, give them a supplement and then have a placebo group, and see what the rates
00:23:24.546 --> 00:23:26.855
and have them have the exact same diets as well.
00:23:26.855 --> 00:23:27.215
Right.
00:23:27.276 --> 00:23:30.125
I mean, which is like really hard to do.
00:23:30.371 --> 00:23:31.000
not likely.
00:23:31.030 --> 00:23:31.300
Yeah.
00:23:31.691 --> 00:23:37.030
So as far as risk reduction, we have trends that show that it may be beneficial, but we don't have anything conclusive.
00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:37.701
Okay.
00:23:37.814 --> 00:23:40.064
So then what about during treatment?
00:23:40.064 --> 00:23:56.461
You know, the majority of my patients who show up with their bag of supplements, they have some sort of fish oil, some sort of omega-3, they might have krill oil, even, you know, like they have something because they're taking it for their heart.
00:23:56.490 --> 00:23:59.641
You know, their cardiologist recommended it or whatever.
00:23:59.641 --> 00:24:02.431
It may be, their primary care recommended it for their eczema.
00:24:02.528 --> 00:24:02.858
Yeah.
00:24:02.858 --> 00:24:08.721
And so during treatment, whether it's chemotherapy, well, let's just take like a chemotherapy first.
00:24:08.721 --> 00:24:10.221
Let's divide this out a little bit.
00:24:10.550 --> 00:24:11.510
So it depends on the drug.
00:24:12.320 --> 00:24:12.891
First of all.
00:24:12.921 --> 00:24:24.448
So there's, there's evidence that, omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil in particular may lessen neuropathy in some chemotherapies, like the taxane based that paclitaxel and docetaxel,
00:24:24.877 --> 00:24:39.218
And again, we're going to say reduce the risk because as a person, I'm bringing it back to me as the person who took omega-3 fatty acids during their taxane, you're, you're reducing a risk of something.
00:24:39.218 --> 00:24:41.347
You're not going to guarantee anything.
00:24:42.228 --> 00:24:42.587
Right.
00:24:43.096 --> 00:24:43.517
Never.
00:24:43.617 --> 00:24:47.667
And I also ate a lot of omega-3 rich foods during treatment.
00:24:47.667 --> 00:24:50.367
So, you know, I was getting it from all sources.
00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:51.130
Yeah.
00:24:51.130 --> 00:24:57.510
And that, that was one study that was back in 2012, on the taxanes and, it used the word protective.
00:24:57.510 --> 00:25:03.327
it said something like omega-3 fatty acids are protective against paclitaxel induced neuropathy or something like that.
00:25:03.373 --> 00:25:11.383
in any case, There was a trial using omega-3 fatty acids and looking at peripheral neuropathy induced by oxaliplatin.
00:25:11.982 --> 00:25:15.913
And it reduced the risk of that for these folks who took it.
00:25:16.291 --> 00:25:22.201
The irony of that of course, is there's a whole nother mouse study that said don't take fish oils alongside a platinum drug.
00:25:22.261 --> 00:25:22.771
So,
00:25:23.166 --> 00:25:24.217
I know that's.
00:25:25.288 --> 00:25:26.518
In the back of my mind too.
00:25:26.647 --> 00:25:28.178
yeah, that was a mouse study.
00:25:28.278 --> 00:25:35.280
I'm not so sure it's all that relevant for what we do when you have a human trial showing that there could be benefit rather than, you know, any problem with it.
00:25:35.800 --> 00:25:43.561
And I mean, it was a form of an omega-3 fatty acid that I don't remember actually seeing.
00:25:43.892 --> 00:25:50.942
I think we actually contacted the suppliers of the fish oils that we had at the, at the cancer center.
00:25:51.212 --> 00:25:54.573
And they did not find that form in any of the supplements.
00:25:54.752 --> 00:25:59.373
The forum that created resistance in those mice to the drug, the platinum-based drugs
00:25:59.522 --> 00:26:00.153
Yeah.
00:26:01.383 --> 00:26:04.292
So, but, but that did make a lot of headlines.
00:26:04.722 --> 00:26:05.022
yeah.
00:26:05.833 --> 00:26:19.195
the other common use during treatment is if someone has trouble with weight loss, actual trouble, keeping their weight on, whether it's muscle loss or overall weight loss, we'll do higher doses official to try and maintain that.
00:26:19.570 --> 00:26:20.080
Right.
00:26:20.111 --> 00:26:23.260
And yeah, like I mentioned before, it is in TPN formulas.
00:26:23.291 --> 00:26:24.102
it's in,
00:26:24.247 --> 00:26:24.767
tube feedings,
00:26:24.767 --> 00:26:31.307
all of, all of those it's no, it important for helping patients to maintain muscle and to maintain weight.
00:26:31.807 --> 00:26:32.166
Yeah.
00:26:32.166 --> 00:26:47.391
And some of that has to do yes, it has calories in and of itself, but it's also its anti-inflammatory effect because at some point, especially if someone is in kind of that spiral of cookie Mexia, then that is an inflammatory process in and of itself.
00:26:47.406 --> 00:26:51.563
So fish oil can counter that and we use fish oil and higher doses for that during treatment
00:26:52.050 --> 00:26:52.201
Yeah.
00:26:52.201 --> 00:26:55.864
I think there was a study that looked at, specifically the EPA.
