Ep. 105: Challenging The Idea That Increased Omega-3 Consumption Lowers Mortality

In this episode we discuss:

Whether the research suggesting that omega-3s decrease mortality is valid

Omega-6 intake as a major confounding variable when looking at omega-3 research

The dramatic lifespan-lowering effect of omega-3s and total PUFA across all species

How omega-3s increase susceptibility to oxidative stress and damage

Looking at the Masai diet as an example of a low-omega-3 diet with high omega-3s in the red blood cells

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Click here to check out the show notes: 

https://jayfeldmanwellness.com/ep-105-challenging-the-idea-that-increased-omega-3-consumption-lowers-mortality/

Timestamps:

0:00 – intro

1:35 – why we’re discussing omega-3s and lifespan

8:10 – the studies showing an association between omega-3 content in phospholipid and reduced mortality

16:48 – conflict of interest as a confounding variable in these studies

18:12 – healthy user bias as a confounding variable in these studies

20:46 – omega-6 consumption as a confounding variable in these studies

29:04 – problems with using RBC phospholipids and serum fatty acids as markers of fatty acid composition of the diet

30:35 – a low omega-6 diet will increase omega-3 content in the RBC phospholipids and serum fatty acids

36:35 – the effect of heritability on RBC phospholipid and serum fatty acid composition

43:58 – the effect of oxidative stress on RBC phospholipid and serum fatty acid composition

52:57 – why it’s important to consider interventional studies and other research to determine whether we should increase omega-3 consumption to reduce mortality

55:30 – research looking at the relationship between composition of phospholipids and lifespan across species

1:07:33 – research looking at the relationship between composition of phospholipids and lifespan within species

1:23:30 – increased consumption of omega-3s increases omega-3 content in phospholipids and therefore the peroxidizability index

1:28:53 – looking at the Masai diet: low omega-6 intake increases omega-3 content in RBC fatty acids