As the brilliant D.F. Horrobin, MD, PhD, made clear decades ago, Parent omega 3 and its derivatives are also important, but they are nothing close in power to the Parent omega 6 and its derivatives:
The parent omega 6 EFAs has at least four roles:
(1) The modulation of membrane structure.
(2) The formation of short-lived local regulating molecules such as prostaglandins (PGs) and leukotrienes (LT), together often known as eicosanoids.
(3) The control of the water impermeability of the skin and possibly the permeability of other membranes such as the gastrointestinal tract and the blood-brain barrier.
(4) The regulation of cholesterol transport and cholesterol synthesis. The membrane effects of the EFAs are possibly the most important.
“When animals and humans are put on diets deficient only in parent omega 6 EFAs, it is easy to show that they develop multiple biochemical and biological abnormalities. In contrast it has proved extremely difficult to demonstrate biological abnormalities in animals deprived only of parent omega 3 EFAs. There are abnormalities in the brain, the retina, the heart and platelets and the parent omega 3 EFAs are undoubtedly important in modulating the functions of these organs, but these abnormalities are not easy to demonstrate. “When animals are deprived of both parent omega 3 and parent omega 6 EFAs, all the readily observed abnormalities are quickly corrected by parent omega 6 EFAs alone. Parent omega 3 EFAs alone do not correct any of the abnormalities, and make some, such as the capillary fragility, worse.”
Mike Maunu – Founder
Oxygen4Life.com
