Now this was an excellent conversation! Your guest appeared totally unbiased & honest in every response. No axe to grind, just level-headed in sharing his knowledge and deductions. Many thanks to him & you, Simon for the chance to hear from him & you asking all the key questions.
Thank you both, so informative Dr. Calder. The more I listen to this channel, the more I am convinced plant based diet is most healthy. Simon, notice most of your guests, genuinely respond to most of your questions as "Oh , that is a great question", you ask the most though provoking questions, the type of questions a scientist ask, more importantly you are an mazing listener, unlike some other channels, where the interviewer sounds like they know more than than expert guest and constantly interrupt to go to the next comment or question. you also make the best summaries of what was said in simpler terms and make the best "re-phrasing". so comfortable and inspiring to follow your channel.
Your channel is my go-to for in depth conversations packed with information from experts who are so incredibly knowledgeable like this one. Thank you for your channel.
Super helpful. I just got my results from a full fatty acids profile blood test including Omega 3 Index (Europe: Biopredix). Have been thinking about what to improve, and it is now obvious that increased omega 3 intake, lowered linoleic acid intake, also lowering fish/ chicken intake is the way to go. On the low side for the omega 3 index, high on linoleic acid, very high on ALA (Chia, walnuts), med-high arachidonic acid (Fish/ chicken), high palmitic acid (Fish/ chicken). I did not except this full lipid profile to be so helpful, just did it because I wanted to see my omega 3 index, but after this podcast it is clear that other data also is very important. I followed a vegan diet for around 5 years, and added lean chicken breast and fatty fish as salmon (3-4 times per week) 4-5 months ago. I looks like my consumtion pushed palmitic acid and arachidonic acid high as only real main sources of these fatty acids. So, seems to be something to think about and indicates that an algal omega 3 supplement is very useful. Which also lower risk for mercury intake.
Here is a little addition to the discussion on "ratio of EPA/DHA and price of supplements". Recently I found a cheap algal oil with Omega-3 but on the label it mentioned only DHA. I reached out to the customer rep. and asked about EPA. Here is their reply: "Our product is DHA only. DHA is known to be the real powerhouse of the Omega-3 family. A recent study from Quebec University found that “Supplementation with high-dose DHA increases the Omega-3 Index more than high-dose EPA”. Also, after being consumed about a third of DHA is converted to EPA." So according to their reply their DHA only algal oil is good to go. If that is the case, then their product has a very good price and I should not be looking for the more expensive EPA/DHA mix. MY QUESTIONS IS, what is going on with the DHA >> to >>> EPA conversion that they are mentioning?
Dr Brooke Goldner is healing people a low omega-6 and a high omega-3 diet, with high cruciferous vegetable intake. With any illness that has inflammation or is in need of cellular repair, she is giving a lot of hope and healing.
Another great episode. I love how you don't dumb it down, but respect your audience enough to really dig into these topics. I also enjoy listening to you win your interviewees over with great questions - true of this conversation and also the recent ones with Inigo San Millan and Joel Fuhrman. Please keep up the great work! I listened once through and then again taking notes and rewinding to make sure I got it all. I'm a longtime vegan and to be honest have never understood the whole Omega3/6/ALA/LA/EPA/DHA conversation other than knowing it was important and I've been unclear how much to supplement. I now feel properly educated (and have 6 pages of notes in case I need a refresher). Simon, will you be sharing your Omega-3 Index? I really appreciate his advice to test now for a baseline and then adjust practices. Totally makes more sense to get a baseline based on current eating pattern and whatever supplementation you've been doing.
Perfect timing! Will share with Mike of High Intensity Health, as he was talking about this very subject among Vegans, trying to persuade us to eat fish again! I told him that my local health food shop has omega oils and algae tablets.
8 different ways of categorising fats?: 1) By saturation 2) By chain length 3) By essentiality 4) By the Number of double bonds 5) By Position of unsaturation 6) By source 7) By Biological function 8) By combinations of the 7 previous ones When we understand this, we get a lot of clarity as different people use different frameworks.
I thought the studies have shown more often than not that supplementing with Omega-3 doesn't show the same benefits, or hardly any at all, and that you really need to get it from eating whatever contains the Omega-3.
Simon, you look so much better in that shirt than in black. Much friendlier looking, more intellectual, studious, and upright. And more trustworthy as well. And more upbeat.
@TheProofWithSimonHill According to a study published in the Annals of Epidemiology, the prevalence of heart disease among the Amish population is lower than that of the general population. The study found that only 4.4% of Amish adults had heart disease, compared to 12.8% of non-Amish adults....! They eat a lot of saturated fat and not much oils...! So why should saturated fat be avoided...?
The Amish are not sitting all day staring at screens. They move a lot, and do physical work. Does that apply to the general population? No. Oh, and they avoid junk food.
This is a very good interview with Dr. Calder. It’s interesting to me, because his insights are relevant to my current work during my PhD on oilseeds and veg oil metabolism and my future post-doc work on cottonseeds.
Thank you once again Simon for another really high-quality first-rate interview. You do such an exceptional job of bringing out all the important details and asking amazing questions as all of your guests seem to say this one included 🤗 The only thing I found that you did not touch upon was whether or not one can get sufficient amounts of DHA and EPA from non-fish dietary sources? So, for example if one deliberately consumed flax seed, chia, walnuts or even flax oil, would one get a sufficient dose? I seem to remember dr. Klaper doing a video, not all that long ago where I believe he said he was unable to get enough EPA and DHA from strictly vegan dietary sources and in the end I believe he concluded that supplementation was necessary. I'd love to know more about this if and when in the future or the topic comes up again. Thanks again so much for all you do and how will you do it.
My conclusion is that we can't rely on our conversion of ALA into EPA/DHA, although we could try to reduce our O6 pathway through diminishing O6 consumption in order to enhance our O3 conversion (as both conversion paths compete). But it is hard to say that minimizing O6 is a must, as it is in some way a good fat too. The thing is, in average american it must be benefiting them, but for WFPB eaters, it isn't an issue so I'd rather take algae supplement + keep my O6 consumption just as it is. Also some cases like women in their fertile age are more able to manage that conversion. That definitely isn't Dr Klaper's case heheh.
Excellent! I was on the fence about whether or not to supplement with Omega3 given my genetic predisposition to CVD risk. The only thing holding me back was info I had read that seafood, including salmon, and Omega3 supllements may be much more heavily contaminated given increased pollution of oceans, rivers, and risk. It would have been interesting to have tge good Dr address this re: benefit vs risk when this is taken into account. I imagine if some of these contaminants get into your adipose and body tissues, via life time exposure from consuming Omega 3 supplements or even increased consumption of salmon, mackeral, sardines cannot be a good thing for long term health. And I am not talking about mercury alone here as some of that can be mitigated by consuming more sardines which are generally believed to have lower mercury levels due to their size. Thanks again Simon I really enjoy your videos and learn a lot from them. My absolute favourites on You Tube On a unrealted note, is your essential 8 vitamin/mineral supplement available through and supplier in Canada??
One thing that wasn't addressed unless I just missed it, was whether oils are inherently bad? I saw a video with Dr Klaper saying that they're problematic due to the fact that it's refined and all that fat goes straight into your bloodstream. When you eat fats that are intact in a wholefood, it's a slow digestion process as the oils are gradually unlocked from the fibre etc. Is this something to consider?
Oils mean liquid, liquid implies PUFA, PUFAs imply oxydation, oxydation implies damage. Linoleic acid is much much more toxic than arachidonic acid but you won't hear it here. Vegetable oils are harmful.
Thanks for an informative interview. Given how essential DHA/EPA are for fetal/infant development, brain, and cardiovascular health, don't you wonder how our ancestors met their requirements, if they didn't live on an island or on an estuary?
I'm interested in supplementation of arachadonic acid and possible negative or positive effects. Would be great if you could discuss this topic in the future. Love your podcast. A nutritionist (well known in german speaking countries among vegans, Niko Rittenau, has a master degre, currently doing his PhD) with a conflict of interest (involved in "Watson Nutrition") advocates for supplementation of arachadonic acid for vegans. I dont think arachadonic acid is evil like some folks do and there quite a few anecdotes regarding benefits with strength training. He says there a quite a lot limitations with the current available data/science, but recommends a "better safe then sorry" approach. He has quite a long article about it with lots of references, i guess DeepL is your friend if you are interested. (My comment was deleted i guess because of the link, link removed...) Btw. he also advocates for Taurin, Glycin and Carnitin supplementation. I'm at least very sceptical about Carnitin, i think the evidence for benefits of Taurin and Glycin seem to be more reasonable. But still an interesting topic to dive into.
I was personally fascinated by effects of fish on triglycerides! I took a trip in a tropical island and I was fishing and eating fish almost daily, just like on an all you can eat mode, I ate a lot of fish and squids. My triglycerides usually are above 250 mg/dl, but when I checked my levels when I came back my triglycerides were 54 mg/dl but with elevated LDL(first time in my life). So I made decision that I will make fish an important component of my diet for my entire life if I can but also with losing 15-20 kg and maybe use statins to target below 50 LDL.
@@panes840 why should I do this? I enjoy eating fresh fish, more delicious and more beneficial. And in case I take a supplement I will take fish omega 3s triglycerides. However, I believe fish are more beneficial than omega 3 supplements. Catching fish by itself feels good.
LDL is only bad if you have metabolic issues or are insulin resistant. Reduce processed carbs bread/pasta/seed oils/sugars and you won't need a statin.
I hope I am not misunderstanding, but it seems to me that his position on Omega 6 is different from what Dr. Bill Harris said, at least in degree. That's one thing that I am unclear about.
Are you saying that having less amount of total LDL but which is more susceptible oxidation is better to having a high LDL but which is less suseptable to oxidation? How? Just how? Oxidised LDL is a worse enemy than having a lot of LDL. LDL's job is to simply carry Cholesterol to various tissues such as the adrenal gland, gonads, muscle, and adipose tissue, where its needed.
If you have an Omega6 to 3 imbalance, wouldn't it make more sense to correct the balance by changing the balance instead of trying to supplement one side of the equation?
Yes it makes much more sense, as said by the researcher at 44:53 Keep in mind that linoleic acid is (at least) 7 times more prone to oxydation than arachidonic acid. It means at least 7 times more toxic byproducts in lipoproteins and tissue. The fear of animal fat is not justified compared to plant, all the more considering the nutrient richness of organ meat and animal fat.
@@hyperTorless Meanwhile our government is subsidizing the use of the animal fat for use as fuel, and at the same time subsidizing seed oils for use as food. But they love us, and want us to be healthy.
It's impossible because it's litterally in everything. Even apples have 0.5% of LA. In fact there is no human study which proves LA or even ALA is anything essential (not talking about DHA/EPA here).
Is there any research showing how omega-[3/6] deficiency would show up? I suppose some of the symptoms would overlap with zinc and magnesium deficiency.
Love the information please do more cross-referencing on keto or carnivore. Summary statements made do not have the same effect. When you’re on these type of diets/ways of lifestyle I’ve heard countless studies on how keto Or carnivore have completely changed on recovery from lifting high sports. Athletes are now doing a lot of carnivore just a theory I’ve been doing this for three years now I feel amazing and I have a lot of blood tests/markers.
This was a fantastic interview on many levels. For years, I have been listening to Dr. Brooke Goldner discuss how inflammatory omega 6 is a problem because people take in so much and so omega 3 is not absorbed as easily due to the enzyme competition. What I still wonder about is the concern that too much DHA supplementation can cause some adverse heart effects. Since the Sherzai's recommend older folks take a large dose (1000-1500 mg) of algae supplementation, I wonder how this advice works for people who take LDL lowering drugs. Are they hurting themselves potentially with taking the large dose of DHA along with EPA? Any clarity you can provide on this question Simon?
Hi Simon - I have been a regular listener for about 3 years. Great podcast, thank you. I appreciate all the great guests and your great interview skills. Favorite guests that come to mind off the top of my head - Chris Gardner, Gil Carvalho, and Drew Harrisberg. I really appreciate the introduction to Gil Carvalho's Nutrition Made Simple channel. Gil is awesome. I really enjoyed your interview on the Rich Roll podcast. Lots of great information. Where does one get their Omega 3 levels tested? I think I heard you mention a test for around $40, and I thought I heard you mention on a previous podcast you found a good company in the U.S. to get tested. Thank you, Paul Portsmouth, New Hampshire PS - I don't know anything about the AFL, but I did google and watch the kick after the siren! :)
No. There is no "healthy fat" in vegetable. PUFAs oxydize, that's why all plant oil contain vitamin E (which is meant to prevent oxydation) and ALA (plant omega-3) conversion to DHA/EPA (animal omega-3) is very poor when no saturated fats are present. You also miss essential nutrients in animal fat (K2, D, A, etc.). So definitely no.
This was a great interview, the best information I've been able to find on lipids. If you interview Prof. Calder again, could you ask if 18:2 and 18:3 omega 6 lipids have different health effects? I'd also like to hear Prof. Calder's thoughts on Krill oil. Thanks for doing this interview.
Hey Simon, this was another great episode. i'm not sure i picked it up in the session so apologies if i have missed it. i'm interested in if there is a gold standard test for checking levels of omega 6:3 ratios and if there is, what the ratios would look like. I'm hearing 4:1 or lower but what is considered a trigger to be harmful to health? thanks 😊
Hey Simon. Another banger! Congrats and thank you so much :) I think I understood that the 1g of EPA/DHA is the daily dose recommended. I was wondering if you have explained the proportion recommended (ex 400mg EPA and 600mg DHA) or is it more of a 1g of each? I just heard that part where he claims that, for pregnant women and in early life, we should look for specially DHA
Also very interested in the answer to this question. My supplement is a 1,800mg fish oil capsule with 720mg EPA and 486mg DHA. Getting 1,000mg of EPA and 1,000mg of DHA is a large number of capsules if the capsules are not super concentrated. Some of the standard fish oil capsules are 1,000mg capsule with only 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA. Another excellent episode Simon. Love this channel and your interviews.
@@TheProofWithSimonHill an i remembering correctly that dr. Fuhrman recommends only 250mg, total EPA/DHA? It seems most of your guests have recommended dosages on the higher side. I think it would be great if you could somewhere summarize or condense all of the Omega information provided by the various experts!
Thanks for this episode.. I would be interested in his and your perspective on Bazinet’s work suggesting that the brain may only require 2-4 mgs daily of DHA.
Not sure how to reconcile Dr Calder's recommendation regarding 2mg EFA/DHA with the episode with Dr Alo #244 where he virtually says you place yourself at risk of cardio vascular disease if supplement Fish Oil/EHA/DHA (his words 'you only get pretty triglycerides figure') but place yourself at risk of cardio vacscular disease by consuming fish oil, a saturated fat. Simon, can you reconcile the two streams?
Throw a can or two f good sardines in a big bed of lettuce with a dribble of olive oil and you’ll be heading in the right direction. Cut all seed oils and your turn will be exponentially better.
I agree on the tribalism aspect. I wish it would end. But as its driven by deliberate confusion sown by the big money interests of the food industries, i cant see that happening soon. I'm a happy LMHR who has categorically refused statins. Dr was a bit shocked. I was shocked at his lack of curiosity or willingness to listen to my reasons. He just glazed over - he's probably too busy with metabolically ill people to even think about the root causes. 😢 I am Keto OMAD - all bloods are fab with high LDL. Same BP as 40 yrs ago- 110/70. Triglyc to HDL- 0.8 😊
wonder in those who had AF as SE of EPA/DHA at high dose, if they had pre-existing heart disease, or hx of arrythmia or AF, or what was their alcohol consumption, if they controlled for that in Study of ? Reduce it
To summarize: - omega3 is very important for health - omega6 compete with omega3 to be assimilated: because we eat too much omega6, we need to decrease o6 and increase o3 by eating more fatty fish, supplements and olive/canola(rapseed) oil - too much omega6 trigger unnecessary, unhealthy inflammation A lot of detail but in the bigger picture, I haven't learnt anything new. I'm surprised Simon talking about distinguishing bad fat from good fats because in my country, there's virtually no young adult who woudn't know that there are good fats and bad fats. I thought that any developped country had their population aware of what are saturated fats and omega3. It's even mandatory to be displayed on food labels.
I was wondering - what is the fatty acids makeup in newborns cell membranes, in terms of o6/o3/mono/saturated, and can we learn anything from that regarding recommended balance for dietary intake?
You can't compare new-borns with adults for recommended EFA ratios. Babies are basically fat metabolising machines for the first couple of years of life.
Basically no. And even for optimal conversion you need SFAs. PMID: 16188209 PMID: 9637947 "The use of ALA labelled with radioisotopes suggested that with a background diet high in saturated fat conversion to long-chain metabolites is approximately 6% for EPA and 3.8% for DHA. With a diet rich in n-6 PUFA, conversion is reduced by 40 to 50%. " Draw your own conclusion (hint: more seed oils => bad outcomes).
Hello Friends, I'm keen to find out which part of our chat you found most enlightening. Should you have any further questions on this topic, do please post them beneath this comment. I shall endeavour to include them in our next discussion.
Excellent. Again we hear how nuanced and multi factorial human nutrition is. And human health is very individual I love the over fishing question because I have wondered about this. As a plant based eater I worry about getting enough omega 3 but I can’t face eating fish. So I eat tons of flax. But does flax intake do the trick. On the omega 3 need- what about when beef is only grass fed which increases the meat omega 3 level while lowering omega 6 in the meat? Could that help meat eaters not need so much fatty fish - which is not sustainable?
@@TheProofWithSimonHillI see, the 1200mg Ω3 supplements I bought from Costco have 500mg EPA and 250mg DHA and the dosages suggested range from 1/day up to 4/day (4/day would equal 3g 😳)
Great conversation as always but particularly because I stay confused over omega 3 as my LDL is always around 100 while my Triglycerides are around 35, APoB is 74 and I have one copy of APoE4 so I tend to geek out on brain and cardiac health. Professor Calder recommends 1g but is that total DHA/EPA or 1g each?
It's not nearly as unhealthy as linoleic acid from seed oils, which is *at least* 7 times more prone to create toxic byproducts in lipoproteins and tissue.
@@TheProofWithSimonHill According to a study published in the Annals of Epidemiology, the prevalence of heart disease among the Amish population is lower than that of the general population. The study found that only 4.4% of Amish adults had heart disease, compared to 12.8% of non-Amish adults....! They eat a lot of saturated fat and not much oils...! Sometimes a simple reality check can be helpful and save a lot of confusion!
You can't argue with vegans... Saturated fat has been our primary fat source for over a million years until about 100 years ago. CVD was practically unheard of in western medicine until last century: Industrial seed oils, mass produced refined carbs and sugar. @@bendavid3129
There is litterally no basis. The basis was Ancel Keys but he turned out to be a complete fraud by ignoring clear evidence on the benefits of SFA, notably french people diet. The story is well-documented by now. Even large studies like the Minnoseta experiment and the Lyon Diet Study consistently show improvement in health outcomes when there is less PUFAs and more SFA.
Maybe the point of elevation in LDL is not that clear. Not enough to say bigger LDL can't get in the wall of blood vessels. There has to be a better explanation.
What if you don't consume highly processed commercial or industrial foods that are filled with omega-6, but only eat maybe a capful of omega-6 canola oil with some stir fried food. Is that considered problematic?
@@k.h.6991He clearly advocates for reduction of linoleic acid intake, meaning less seed oils, which is everywhere now thanks to modern food industrialization, eg at 44:53
I haven't watched all of this yet amazing wealth of information yet, but is ALA able to be used in cell membranes directly, or does the body have to convert it to DHA and EPA first?
@@-johnny-deep- Basically yes, so if you eat grass-fed animals or some wild fish from time to time you're all good. Also linoleic acid is the most toxic stuff there is in food, much moreso than arachidonic acid.
Bryan Johnson Blueprint, Ai will soon take the guess work out of it and all gurus and snake oil salesmen will soon be gone. Don't die, see you in 2500.
I wouldn't eat that farmed salmon ' stressed out fish living in closed cages ' I'm a house painter and when I do a interior job I notice in the kitchen overprocecced food ' white breads heavily sprayed fruit and vegetables ' farmed salmon ' seed oils junk cereals ' on wonder people get sick ' but I guess you can't put it down to one single thing ' but a combination of things '
These nutrition talks go way too far into detail. There is no way to reasonably track all details and substances. Just eat diverse, mostly natural don't go extreme. Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit some grains nuts and occasuonally stay hungry and you are fine.
You are a terrible commentator. You should have just used omega-3 and omega-6 in the conversation instead of the technical terms. It made it very hard for a novice which is probably your entire audience to follow this conversation
In my space the jargon he used is actually part of our common daily conversation. And using it is what made the presentation useful. To each their own.
Thanks for this excellent podcast . Simon you are a fantastic listener and communicator . The summaries you do are super helpful and require a lot of skill and knowledge to pull off . Congratulations to you ! Your the best in this space by a mile ⭐️⭐️
Wow, what a masterclass. This conversation brings so much light to this complex topic. Everything Prof Calder said supports my nutrition decision regarding Omega 3 intake. Do you have any website where one could make guest suggestions @TheProofWithSimonHill? I’m reading Up to Speed by Christine Yu at the moment. It’s a book about (the lack of) women in exercise research. I came across two nutritional scientists: Louise Burke from ACU in Australia and Anthony Hackney from University of North Carolina. I’d love learning more about specific recommendations for women when it comes to exercise and nutrition.
Now this was an excellent conversation! Your guest appeared totally unbiased & honest in every response. No axe to grind, just level-headed in sharing his knowledge and deductions. Many thanks to him & you, Simon for the chance to hear from him & you asking all the key questions.
Thank you both, so informative Dr. Calder. The more I listen to this channel, the more I am convinced plant based diet is most healthy. Simon, notice most of your guests, genuinely respond to most of your questions as "Oh , that is a great question", you ask the most though provoking questions, the type of questions a scientist ask, more importantly you are an mazing listener, unlike some other channels, where the interviewer sounds like they know more than than expert guest and constantly interrupt to go to the next comment or question. you also make the best summaries of what was said in simpler terms and make the best "re-phrasing". so comfortable and inspiring to follow your channel.
😊😊
Thanks for including the timestamps in your videos! They are always helpful
Your channel is my go-to for in depth conversations packed with information from experts who are so incredibly knowledgeable like this one. Thank you for your channel.
I agree!! This is one of my favorite channels and I love it more each time I watch 👍👍
Yes, thank you Simon, your channel is a blessing to us out here!
Super helpful. I just got my results from a full fatty acids profile blood test including Omega 3 Index (Europe: Biopredix). Have been thinking about what to improve, and it is now obvious that increased omega 3 intake, lowered linoleic acid intake, also lowering fish/ chicken intake is the way to go. On the low side for the omega 3 index, high on linoleic acid, very high on ALA (Chia, walnuts), med-high arachidonic acid (Fish/ chicken), high palmitic acid (Fish/ chicken). I did not except this full lipid profile to be so helpful, just did it because I wanted to see my omega 3 index, but after this podcast it is clear that other data also is very important.
I followed a vegan diet for around 5 years, and added lean chicken breast and fatty fish as salmon (3-4 times per week) 4-5 months ago. I looks like my consumtion pushed palmitic acid and arachidonic acid high as only real main sources of these fatty acids. So, seems to be something to think about and indicates that an algal omega 3 supplement is very useful. Which also lower risk for mercury intake.
It's chia seeds and flax seeds that are high in ALA, at a fatty acid profile ratio (omega6:omega3) of 1:4. Walnuts and hemp seeds are medium at 4:1.
Here is a little addition to the discussion on "ratio of EPA/DHA and price of supplements". Recently I found a cheap algal oil with Omega-3 but on the label it mentioned only DHA. I reached out to the customer rep. and asked about EPA. Here is their reply:
"Our product is DHA only. DHA is known to be the real powerhouse of the Omega-3 family. A recent study from Quebec University found that “Supplementation with high-dose DHA increases the Omega-3 Index more than high-dose EPA”. Also, after being consumed about a third of DHA is converted to EPA."
So according to their reply their DHA only algal oil is good to go. If that is the case, then their product has a very good price and I should not be looking for the more expensive EPA/DHA mix. MY QUESTIONS IS, what is going on with the DHA >> to >>> EPA conversion that they are mentioning?
Dr Brooke Goldner is healing people a low omega-6 and a high omega-3 diet, with high cruciferous vegetable intake. With any illness that has inflammation or is in need of cellular repair, she is giving a lot of hope and healing.
Another great episode Simon! Thank you for clarifying the confusion out there. You are changing the world. 🌱
Another great episode. I love how you don't dumb it down, but respect your audience enough to really dig into these topics. I also enjoy listening to you win your interviewees over with great questions - true of this conversation and also the recent ones with Inigo San Millan and Joel Fuhrman. Please keep up the great work! I listened once through and then again taking notes and rewinding to make sure I got it all. I'm a longtime vegan and to be honest have never understood the whole Omega3/6/ALA/LA/EPA/DHA conversation other than knowing it was important and I've been unclear how much to supplement. I now feel properly educated (and have 6 pages of notes in case I need a refresher). Simon, will you be sharing your Omega-3 Index? I really appreciate his advice to test now for a baseline and then adjust practices. Totally makes more sense to get a baseline based on current eating pattern and whatever supplementation you've been doing.
Perfect timing! Will share with Mike of High Intensity Health, as he was talking about this very subject among Vegans, trying to persuade us to eat fish again! I told him that my local health food shop has omega oils and algae tablets.
And those supplements get the omega and algea from....???
Why just not eat real food? I don't get it.
8 different ways of categorising fats?:
1) By saturation
2) By chain length
3) By essentiality
4) By the Number of double bonds
5) By Position of unsaturation
6) By source
7) By Biological function
8) By combinations of the 7 previous ones
When we understand this, we get a lot of clarity as different people use different frameworks.
I thought the studies have shown more often than not that supplementing with Omega-3 doesn't show the same benefits, or hardly any at all, and that you really need to get it from eating whatever contains the Omega-3.
Simon, you look so much better in that shirt than in black. Much friendlier looking, more intellectual, studious, and upright. And more trustworthy as well. And more upbeat.
@TheProofWithSimonHill According to a study published in the Annals of Epidemiology, the prevalence of heart disease among the Amish population is lower than that of the general population. The study found that only 4.4% of Amish adults had heart disease, compared to 12.8% of non-Amish adults....! They eat a lot of saturated fat and not much oils...! So why should saturated fat be avoided...?
The Amish are not sitting all day staring at screens. They move a lot, and do physical work. Does that apply to the general population? No. Oh, and they avoid junk food.
Thank you for this high quality and very informative interview!
This is a very good interview with Dr. Calder. It’s interesting to me, because his insights are relevant to my current work during my PhD on oilseeds and veg oil metabolism and my future post-doc work on cottonseeds.
Thank you once again Simon for another really high-quality first-rate interview. You do such an exceptional job of bringing out all the important details and asking amazing questions as all of your guests seem to say this one included 🤗
The only thing I found that you did not touch upon was whether or not one can get sufficient amounts of DHA and EPA from non-fish dietary sources? So, for example if one deliberately consumed flax seed, chia, walnuts or even flax oil, would one get a sufficient dose? I seem to remember dr. Klaper doing a video, not all that long ago where I believe he said he was unable to get enough EPA and DHA from strictly vegan dietary sources and in the end I believe he concluded that supplementation was necessary.
I'd love to know more about this if and when in the future or the topic comes up again.
Thanks again so much for all you do and how will you do it.
My conclusion is that we can't rely on our conversion of ALA into EPA/DHA, although we could try to reduce our O6 pathway through diminishing O6 consumption in order to enhance our O3 conversion (as both conversion paths compete). But it is hard to say that minimizing O6 is a must, as it is in some way a good fat too. The thing is, in average american it must be benefiting them, but for WFPB eaters, it isn't an issue so I'd rather take algae supplement + keep my O6 consumption just as it is.
Also some cases like women in their fertile age are more able to manage that conversion. That definitely isn't Dr Klaper's case heheh.
Excellent! I was on the fence about whether or not to supplement with Omega3 given my genetic predisposition to CVD risk. The only thing holding me back was info I had read that seafood, including salmon, and Omega3 supllements may be much more heavily contaminated given increased pollution of oceans, rivers, and risk. It would have been interesting to have tge good Dr address this re: benefit vs risk when this is taken into account. I imagine if some of these contaminants get into your adipose and body tissues, via life time exposure from consuming Omega 3 supplements or even increased consumption of salmon, mackeral, sardines cannot be a good thing for long term health. And I am not talking about mercury alone here as some of that can be mitigated by consuming more sardines which are generally believed to have lower mercury levels due to their size. Thanks again Simon I really enjoy your videos and learn a lot from them. My absolute favourites on You Tube On a unrealted note, is your essential 8 vitamin/mineral supplement available through and supplier in Canada??
One thing that wasn't addressed unless I just missed it, was whether oils are inherently bad? I saw a video with Dr Klaper saying that they're problematic due to the fact that it's refined and all that fat goes straight into your bloodstream. When you eat fats that are intact in a wholefood, it's a slow digestion process as the oils are gradually unlocked from the fibre etc. Is this something to consider?
Oils mean liquid, liquid implies PUFA, PUFAs imply oxydation, oxydation implies damage. Linoleic acid is much much more toxic than arachidonic acid but you won't hear it here. Vegetable oils are harmful.
Thanks for an informative interview. Given how essential DHA/EPA are for fetal/infant development, brain, and cardiovascular health, don't you wonder how our ancestors met their requirements, if they didn't live on an island or on an estuary?
I'm interested in supplementation of arachadonic acid and possible negative or positive effects. Would be great if you could discuss this topic in the future. Love your podcast.
A nutritionist (well known in german speaking countries among vegans, Niko Rittenau, has a master degre, currently doing his PhD) with a conflict of interest (involved in "Watson Nutrition") advocates for supplementation of arachadonic acid for vegans. I dont think arachadonic acid is evil like some folks do and there quite a few anecdotes regarding benefits with strength training.
He says there a quite a lot limitations with the current available data/science, but recommends a "better safe then sorry" approach. He has quite a long article about it with lots of references, i guess DeepL is your friend if you are interested. (My comment was deleted i guess because of the link, link removed...)
Btw. he also advocates for Taurin, Glycin and Carnitin supplementation. I'm at least very sceptical about Carnitin, i think the evidence for benefits of Taurin and Glycin seem to be more reasonable. But still an interesting topic to dive into.
The best informed, objective discussion on this topic I have found. Great job by both.
Great interview and questions! I had to sit down and concentrate and take a few notes but was very informative.
I was personally fascinated by effects of fish on triglycerides!
I took a trip in a tropical island and I was fishing and eating fish almost daily, just like on an all you can eat mode, I ate a lot of fish and squids. My triglycerides usually are above 250 mg/dl, but when I checked my levels when I came back my triglycerides were 54 mg/dl but with elevated LDL(first time in my life). So I made decision that I will make fish an important component of my diet for my entire life if I can but also with losing 15-20 kg and maybe use statins to target below 50 LDL.
Caution with statins!
First do some research in yt.
F.e.
Dr. Sten Ekberg statins
@@panes840 why should I do this? I enjoy eating fresh fish, more delicious and more beneficial. And in case I take a supplement I will take fish omega 3s triglycerides. However, I believe fish are more beneficial than omega 3 supplements. Catching fish by itself feels good.
LDL is only bad if you have metabolic issues or are insulin resistant. Reduce processed carbs bread/pasta/seed oils/sugars and you won't need a statin.
I hope I am not misunderstanding, but it seems to me that his position on Omega 6 is different from what Dr. Bill Harris said, at least in degree. That's one thing that I am unclear about.
I put mine in the freezer the day I come home. Especially for my winter months when in a tropical climate.
Me. Fish oil to freezer. Always buy high quality. Prefer a can of Sardinrs. 🏋🏻
Are you saying that having less amount of total LDL but which is more susceptible oxidation is better to having a high LDL but which is less suseptable to oxidation? How? Just how? Oxidised LDL is a worse enemy than having a lot of LDL. LDL's job is to simply carry Cholesterol to various tissues such as the adrenal gland, gonads, muscle, and adipose tissue, where its needed.
If you have an Omega6 to 3 imbalance, wouldn't it make more sense to correct the balance by changing the balance instead of trying to supplement one side of the equation?
Yes it makes much more sense, as said by the researcher at 44:53
Keep in mind that linoleic acid is (at least) 7 times more prone to oxydation than arachidonic acid. It means at least 7 times more toxic byproducts in lipoproteins and tissue. The fear of animal fat is not justified compared to plant, all the more considering the nutrient richness of organ meat and animal fat.
@@hyperTorless Meanwhile our government is subsidizing the use of the animal fat for use as fuel, and at the same time subsidizing seed oils for use as food. But they love us, and want us to be healthy.
Fairly a new subscriber, and so far, I am loving all of your interviews! This one was phenomenal! Thank you♡
P.S. Is it possible to be deficient in Omega 6, and if so, what are the symptoms?
It's impossible because it's litterally in everything. Even apples have 0.5% of LA. In fact there is no human study which proves LA or even ALA is anything essential (not talking about DHA/EPA here).
Zero mention of contaminants in supplements or fish, like mercury etc. Unless I missed it...
Zero mention of the fact that the fish oil PUFAs oxydize before you even consume them...
I use a supplement, but I take more like a gram a week, not a day, in conjunction with a lower overall fat diet (< 20% of calories).
No, just a reasonably educated guess. @@TheProofWithSimonHill
Is there any research showing how omega-[3/6] deficiency would show up? I suppose some of the symptoms would overlap with zinc and magnesium deficiency.
Love the information please do more cross-referencing on keto or carnivore. Summary statements made do not have the same effect. When you’re on these type of diets/ways of lifestyle I’ve heard countless studies on how keto Or carnivore have completely changed on recovery from lifting high sports. Athletes are now doing a lot of carnivore just a theory I’ve been doing this for three years now I feel amazing and I have a lot of blood tests/markers.
This was a fantastic interview on many levels. For years, I have been listening to Dr. Brooke Goldner discuss how inflammatory omega 6 is a problem because people take in so much and so omega 3 is not absorbed as easily due to the enzyme competition. What I still wonder about is the concern that too much DHA supplementation can cause some adverse heart effects. Since the Sherzai's recommend older folks take a large dose (1000-1500 mg) of algae supplementation, I wonder how this advice works for people who take LDL lowering drugs. Are they hurting themselves potentially with taking the large dose of DHA along with EPA? Any clarity you can provide on this question Simon?
Hi Simon - I have been a regular listener for about 3 years. Great podcast, thank you. I appreciate all the great guests and your great interview skills. Favorite guests that come to mind off the top of my head - Chris Gardner, Gil Carvalho, and Drew Harrisberg. I really appreciate the introduction to Gil Carvalho's Nutrition Made Simple channel. Gil is awesome. I really enjoyed your interview on the Rich Roll podcast. Lots of great information.
Where does one get their Omega 3 levels tested? I think I heard you mention a test for around $40, and I thought I heard you mention on a previous podcast you found a good company in the U.S. to get tested.
Thank you,
Paul
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
PS - I don't know anything about the AFL, but I did google and watch the kick after the siren! :)
Do we get enough healthy fats from vegetables and starches alone.
yes.
No. There is no "healthy fat" in vegetable.
PUFAs oxydize, that's why all plant oil contain vitamin E (which is meant to prevent oxydation) and ALA (plant omega-3) conversion to DHA/EPA (animal omega-3) is very poor when no saturated fats are present. You also miss essential nutrients in animal fat (K2, D, A, etc.). So definitely no.
@@hyperTorless I have seen good evidence to the contrary. Not proof just evidence.
Doesnt beef fat also contain EPA/DPA?
Yes, especially grass-fed (3x more and 2x times less LA, with an excellent n6:n3 ratio).
Thanks for a super informative podcast- full of so much valuable info❤️
DHA increases LDL cholesterol by 15-20 percent. Not insignificant! Compared to this increase the particle sizes don't matter much.
This was a great interview, the best information I've been able to find on lipids. If you interview Prof. Calder again, could you ask if 18:2 and 18:3 omega 6 lipids have different health effects?
I'd also like to hear Prof. Calder's thoughts on Krill oil.
Thanks for doing this interview.
I'll keep that in mind!
Hey Simon, this was another great episode. i'm not sure i picked it up in the session so apologies if i have missed it. i'm interested in if there is a gold standard test for checking levels of omega 6:3 ratios and if there is, what the ratios would look like. I'm hearing 4:1 or lower but what is considered a trigger to be harmful to health? thanks 😊
Hey Simon. Another banger! Congrats and thank you so much :)
I think I understood that the 1g of EPA/DHA is the daily dose recommended. I was wondering if you have explained the proportion recommended (ex 400mg EPA and 600mg DHA) or is it more of a 1g of each?
I just heard that part where he claims that, for pregnant women and in early life, we should look for specially DHA
Also very interested in the answer to this question. My supplement is a 1,800mg fish oil capsule with 720mg EPA and 486mg DHA. Getting 1,000mg of EPA and 1,000mg of DHA is a large number of capsules if the capsules are not super concentrated. Some of the standard fish oil capsules are 1,000mg capsule with only 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA. Another excellent episode Simon. Love this channel and your interviews.
Okey, great. Take care!
@@TheProofWithSimonHill an i remembering correctly that dr. Fuhrman recommends only 250mg, total EPA/DHA? It seems most of your guests have recommended dosages on the higher side. I think it would be great if you could somewhere summarize or condense all of the Omega information provided by the various experts!
Thanks for this episode.. I would be interested in his and your perspective on Bazinet’s work suggesting that the brain may only require 2-4 mgs daily of DHA.
Not sure how to reconcile Dr Calder's recommendation regarding 2mg EFA/DHA with the episode with Dr Alo #244 where he virtually says you place yourself at risk of cardio vascular disease if supplement Fish Oil/EHA/DHA (his words 'you only get pretty triglycerides figure') but place yourself at risk of cardio vacscular disease by consuming fish oil, a saturated fat. Simon, can you reconcile the two streams?
I share Philip Calders position. Optimise ApoB and supplement with 1-2g of dha/epa per day.
Throw a can or two f good sardines in a big bed of lettuce with a dribble of olive oil and you’ll be heading in the right direction. Cut all seed oils and your turn will be exponentially better.
I agree on the tribalism aspect. I wish it would end.
But as its driven by deliberate confusion sown by the big money interests of the food industries, i cant see that happening soon.
I'm a happy LMHR who has categorically refused statins.
Dr was a bit shocked.
I was shocked at his lack of curiosity or willingness to listen to my reasons.
He just glazed over - he's probably too busy with metabolically ill people to even think about the root causes.
😢
I am Keto OMAD - all bloods are fab with high LDL.
Same BP as 40 yrs ago- 110/70.
Triglyc to HDL- 0.8 😊
wonder in those who had AF as SE of EPA/DHA at high dose, if they had pre-existing heart disease, or hx of arrythmia or AF, or what was their alcohol consumption, if they controlled for that in Study of ? Reduce it
Excellent. High quality.
To summarize:
- omega3 is very important for health
- omega6 compete with omega3 to be assimilated: because we eat too much omega6, we need to decrease o6 and increase o3 by eating more fatty fish, supplements and olive/canola(rapseed) oil
- too much omega6 trigger unnecessary, unhealthy inflammation
A lot of detail but in the bigger picture, I haven't learnt anything new. I'm surprised Simon talking about distinguishing bad fat from good fats because in my country, there's virtually no young adult who woudn't know that there are good fats and bad fats. I thought that any developped country had their population aware of what are saturated fats and omega3. It's even mandatory to be displayed on food labels.
Sardines are low on food chain and clean. I prefer sardines from Europe not Asia. Kimh Oscar!
I have only listen to a few minutes, but I’m gonna go ahead and shout out to Tucker Goodrich.
Great episode. Thank you sir
I was wondering - what is the fatty acids makeup in newborns cell membranes, in terms of o6/o3/mono/saturated, and can we learn anything from that regarding recommended balance for dietary intake?
You can't compare new-borns with adults for recommended EFA ratios. Babies are basically fat metabolising machines for the first couple of years of life.
Do you want to check your triglyceride to HDL ratio
Can all plant-based eaters convert ALA to EPA and DHA optimally for healthy brain aging?
Basically no. And even for optimal conversion you need SFAs.
PMID: 16188209
PMID: 9637947
"The use of ALA labelled with radioisotopes suggested that with a background diet high in saturated fat conversion to long-chain metabolites is approximately 6% for EPA and 3.8% for DHA. With a diet rich in n-6 PUFA, conversion is reduced by 40 to 50%. "
Draw your own conclusion (hint: more seed oils => bad outcomes).
thanks again for another great podcast :)
what ratio of omega 3s to omega 6s is recommended?
Excellent
Hello Friends,
I'm keen to find out which part of our chat you found most enlightening. Should you have any further questions on this topic, do please post them beneath this comment. I shall endeavour to include them in our next discussion.
Excellent. Again we hear how nuanced and multi factorial human nutrition is.
And human health is very individual
I love the over fishing question because I have wondered about this.
As a plant based eater I worry about getting enough omega 3 but I can’t face eating fish. So I eat tons of flax. But does flax intake do the trick.
On the omega 3 need- what about when beef is only grass fed which increases the meat omega 3 level while lowering omega 6 in the meat? Could that help meat eaters not need so much fatty fish - which is not sustainable?
Just take algea oil capsules. Its epa dha
Is the recommended dose 1g of each EPA&DHA? Or 1g total between the 2 of them?
@@TheProofWithSimonHillI see, the 1200mg Ω3 supplements I bought from Costco have 500mg EPA and 250mg DHA and the dosages suggested range from 1/day up to 4/day (4/day would equal 3g 😳)
Great conversation as always but particularly because I stay confused over omega 3 as my LDL is always around 100 while my Triglycerides are around 35, APoB is 74 and I have one copy of APoE4 so I tend to geek out on brain and cardiac health. Professor Calder recommends 1g but is that total DHA/EPA or 1g each?
He said total of EPA and DHA combined!
Interesting that the unsaturated fat in meat is also unhealthy.
It's not nearly as unhealthy as linoleic acid from seed oils, which is *at least* 7 times more prone to create toxic byproducts in lipoproteins and tissue.
What is the basis for demonizing saturated fats?
@@TheProofWithSimonHill According to a study published in the Annals of Epidemiology, the prevalence of heart disease among the Amish population is lower than that of the general population. The study found that only 4.4% of Amish adults had heart disease, compared to 12.8% of non-Amish adults....! They eat a lot of saturated fat and not much oils...! Sometimes a simple reality check can be helpful and save a lot of confusion!
You can't argue with vegans... Saturated fat has been our primary fat source for over a million years until about 100 years ago. CVD was practically unheard of in western medicine until last century: Industrial seed oils, mass produced refined carbs and sugar. @@bendavid3129
There is litterally no basis. The basis was Ancel Keys but he turned out to be a complete fraud by ignoring clear evidence on the benefits of SFA, notably french people diet. The story is well-documented by now.
Even large studies like the Minnoseta experiment and the Lyon Diet Study consistently show improvement in health outcomes when there is less PUFAs and more SFA.
1 gram per day of EPA/DHA as a total?
Maybe the point of elevation in LDL is not that clear. Not enough to say bigger LDL can't get in the wall of blood vessels. There has to be a better explanation.
What if you don't consume highly processed commercial or industrial foods that are filled with omega-6, but only eat maybe a capful of omega-6 canola oil with some stir fried food. Is that considered problematic?
Canola oil is poison. Throw it away ASAP
@@MB10097 Thanks for that 👍
What he says is that we should increase DHA and EPA consumption, from algae or vegan pills. Decreasing omega-6 intake isn't the strategy he favours.
@@k.h.6991He clearly advocates for reduction of linoleic acid intake, meaning less seed oils, which is everywhere now thanks to modern food industrialization, eg at 44:53
I haven't watched all of this yet amazing wealth of information yet, but is ALA able to be used in cell membranes directly, or does the body have to convert it to DHA and EPA first?
It is, and it oxydizes just like linoleic acid and people don't want to talk about it.
@@hyperTorless Meaning what? That ALA is more important that people give it credit for, and DHA/EPA get all the publicity instead?
@@-johnny-deep- Basically yes, so if you eat grass-fed animals or some wild fish from time to time you're all good. Also linoleic acid is the most toxic stuff there is in food, much moreso than arachidonic acid.
Why do farmed fish have as much omega 3 as wild caught?
Was this guy the voice of Korg from the Marvel movie Thor Ragnarok?
Bryan Johnson Blueprint, Ai will soon take the guess work out of it and all gurus and snake oil salesmen will soon be gone. Don't die, see you in 2500.
In conclusion then: grass fed beef and fish is one way to keep omega 3 up and avoid polyunsaturated oils which can be easily oxidized.
Great intel led by a soyboy. I am a Egghead enjoying herring now. Sardines daily, now I know why. 🏋♂️
Bench press challenge?
I think Canola is controversial mainly because of battling business interests.
Why are you still chasing LDL cholesterol
I wouldn't eat that farmed salmon ' stressed out fish living in closed cages ' I'm a house painter and when I do a interior job I notice in the kitchen overprocecced food ' white breads heavily sprayed fruit and vegetables ' farmed salmon ' seed oils junk cereals ' on wonder people get sick ' but I guess you can't put it down to one single thing ' but a combination of things '
Great content Simon, but the word is "CUN - SOOM" not "CUN - SHOOM"
Id your
Much better if this guest were to carefully enunciate.
These nutrition talks go way too far into detail. There is no way to reasonably track all details and substances. Just eat diverse, mostly natural don't go extreme. Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit some grains nuts and occasuonally stay hungry and you are fine.
Hair is silly looking.
That's all you got out of this excellent podcast?!😮🤔
Hair in general?
So are noses😂
😮
when you're right, you're right.
You are a terrible commentator. You should have just used omega-3 and omega-6 in the conversation instead of the technical terms. It made it very hard for a novice which is probably your entire audience to follow this conversation
In my space the jargon he used is actually part of our common daily conversation. And using it is what made the presentation useful. To each their own.
Thanks for this excellent podcast . Simon you are a fantastic listener and communicator . The summaries you do are super helpful and require a lot of skill and knowledge to pull off . Congratulations to you ! Your the best in this space by a mile ⭐️⭐️
Wow, what a masterclass. This conversation brings so much light to this complex topic. Everything Prof Calder said supports my nutrition decision regarding Omega 3 intake. Do you have any website where one could make guest suggestions @TheProofWithSimonHill? I’m reading Up to Speed by Christine Yu at the moment. It’s a book about (the lack of) women in exercise research. I came across two nutritional scientists: Louise Burke from ACU in Australia and Anthony Hackney from University of North Carolina. I’d love learning more about specific recommendations for women when it comes to exercise and nutrition.