Cofactors for Omega 3 metabolism

Vitamin B6 adequacy is critical, magnesium is also needed. Excess omega 6 competes for enzymes that help us make DHA & that is a bigger issue than lack of dietary DHA. EPA seems unnecessary metabolite

This post has summary points from a 25 page pdf by Chris Masterjohn - you have to subscribe to his Substack/Masterpass to download it for free. He doesn’t have an individual price. How Essential Are the Essential Fatty Acids?

I spent two hours reading it and wrote a few summary points for myself as it helped clarify my issues.

1. Vitamin B6 is a critical cofactor for an enzyme needed to make the omega 3 fatty acid DHA and my apparent pyroluria causes me to need a supplement with greater than dietary amounts. I lose too much from hemoglobin breakdown along with zinc. I need both as supplements most days or I start feeling a little weird, more anxious.

2. Magnesium is also a cofactor of some sort and I tend to be low in that too. Anyone with inflammation can become low in magnesium or short term following alcohol excess or use of other diuretics.

3. Biotin is also needed.

4. A high sugar diet interferes with omega 3 production.

5. Excess omega 6 fatty acids from seed or grain oils will negatively impact DHA production as the same enzymes are used - so the greater amount of omega 6 precursors would compete and win for the enzymes catalytic spots.

6. If someone had a gene allele causing dysfunction in some of the enzymes then they would need a dietary source of DHA.

7. Pregnancy does however require more DHA for fetal cognitive development than at any other stage of life. Breast milk does or should have DHA. (The fats in breast milk largely reflect the fats in the woman’s diet.)

The pdf by Masterjohn seems to be responding to the market’s focus on omega 3 fatty acids as supplements or fish oil — and is it really that important? He goes through a LARGE number of animal studies designed to show whether fats in the diet are essential for health or not. Very refined fat free diets were created to feed to lab animals to see whether or how they got sick - and then various types of fat sources would be provided to see what helped the animals get better. And a couple human examples were included. The review of research suggests or shows that having the omega 6 fatty acid arachidonic acid in the diet seems to be more essential for health than directly having DHA in the diet.

He doesn’t mention in the pdf but arachidonic acid is the lipid used in the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-AG - which are the THC and the CBD equivalents that we can make for ourselves if genetically normal and apparently when arachidonic acid is available.

Salmon swimming upstream. Photo by Brandon on Unsplash

Omega 3 fatty acid DHA also can be made into an endocannabinoid which has anti-inflammatory benefits and may help prevent autoimmune promoting Th17 and pro-inflammatory Th1 T-cells.

Abstract: “Epidemiological studies show that omega-3 fatty acid consumption is associated with improved conditions in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the mechanism of this association is not well understood. Emerging evidence suggests that parent molecules such as docosahexaenoic acid are converted into downstream metabolites that are capable of directly modulating immune responses. In vitro, we found that docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide (DHEA), another dietary component and its epoxide metabolite, reduced the polarization of naïve T-cells toward proinflammatory Th1 and Th17 phenotypes. Furthermore, we identified that DHEA and related endocannabinoids are changing during the disease progression in mice undergoing relapse-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (RR-EAE). In addition, daily administration of DHEA to mice delayed the onset of disease, the rate of relapse, and the severity of clinical scores at relapse in RR-EAE, an animal model of MS. Collectively, these data indicate that DHEA and their downstream metabolites reduce the disease severity in the RR-EAE model of MS and can be potential dietary adjuvants to existing MS therapeutics.” (Kim, et al., 2023)

*This DHEA, docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide, is not the same DHEA that is used for hormone support once over age 35. That DHEA is called dehydroepiandrosterone.

Summary of our needs for better omega 3 metabolism:

• Adequate vitamin B6, biotin and magnesium,

• and some omega 6 fatty acids for arachidonic acid, but not too much to disrupt omega 3 fatty acid production. Fatty fish can help but more variety of trace minerals and fats would be found in a mixed diet with (organically reared) meats including organ meats or oysters/shellfish.

• Avoid a diet high in sugar or simple carbohydrates as that also interferes with omega 3 production.

And some dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) for anyone over age 35 may be helpful for health too. As a female I use 25 mg a day, males might benefit from 75 mg a day. It helps us to build muscle tissue which is reduced as we age. It may be ‘anti-aging’ for us. *Addition - a comment shared caution regarding the dose of DHEA for men or women, not going above 10 mg/day might be safer. I should read more on this topic as new information may be available. Small doses of progesterone can be helpful for post menopausal women or men. Wild yam cream is how I use progesterone - topically. It helped reduce peri-menopausal hot flashes and irritability for me.

Random search result ~ What is the difference between DHA and DHEA and should I take them when pregnant or breast feeding? (myovaterra.com)

The amounts of omega 3 being recommended for pregnancy and lactation seem accurate. They do mention the risks of oxidized/old omega 3 supplements. Keep it refrigerated and use promptly. Fatty fish like salmon and sardines are a source and algae is being used to make a vegetarian supplement that is more similar to DHA than plant sources of omega 3 precursors. (myovaterra.com) *They are listing EPA as also beneficial which Chris Masterjohn’s pdf suggests is maybe not true for human needs.

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A food safety resource for industrial food processing

A free ebook for 2023 courtesy of Food Safety Magazine. The link goes to article 3 which is about how clean a food processing line in order to remove biofilm risk -

Salmonella or other hazardous bacteria can form hard to remove biofilm in crevices or damaged areas of machinery or interior surfaces of a food processing plant. The article for non-industry readers is still interesting to show how much work goes into keeping our food supply clean (or which should occur). The article is geared towards factories or a high risk food setting like chicken processing with salmonella risk, but it would be a helpful guide for any food service business - to increase awareness of risks and provide recommended steps for cleaning. (digital.bnpengage.com/ebook-pssi-effective-sanitation-1023/fsm-article-3/)

Disclaimer: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

Reference List

(Kim, et al., 2023) Kim JS, Soto-Diaz K, Bingham TW, Steelman AJ, Das A. Role of omega-3 endocannabinoids in the modulation of T-cell activity in a multiple sclerosis experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. J Biol Chem. 2023 Feb;299(2):102886. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102886. Epub 2023 Jan 7. PMID: 36626985; PMCID: PMC9926309. https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(23)00018-2/fulltext