There are only three fatty acids that can made into eicosanoids (the hormones that control inflammation). These are arachidonic acid (AA), dihomo gamma linolenic acid (DGLA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). From AA comes all the pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that in excess accelerate chronic disease. From DGLA come very powerful anti-inflammatory eicosanoids that accelerate cellular rejuvenation. Finally from EPA comes very neuter eicosanoids, but its presence can help inhibit the formation of AA as well dilute out its presence in the cell membrane thus making it more difficult to make pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. The balance of these three fatty acids in the blood will tell your future with laser-like precison.
What you are looking for are the following levels:
AA less than 9% of the total fatty acids
DGLA greater than 3% of the total fatty acids
EPA greater than 4% of the total fatty acids
But it is the ratio of these fatty acids to each other that tells the full story. The true marker of silent inflammation is the AA/EPA ratio. If it greater than 10 then you have it regardless of how good you look in swimsuit. A good ratio would be 3, and the ideal ratio is about 1.5. You might ask where I get those numbers? If you ask who are the longest-lived people in the world today, the answer is the Japanese. If you ask who are people with the longest health span (longevity minus years of disability), the answer is again the Japanese. If you ask who have the lowest levels of heart disease in the world, the answer again is the Japanese. And you wouldn’t be too surprised to find out that the Japanese have the lowest rates of depression in the world today. When you look at the blood of the Japanese population, the AA:EPA ratio ranges from 1.5 to 3. If you have your AA levels at 9% and your EPA levels at 4%, then your AA:EPA would be 2.2 which is mid-range for controlling silent inflammation. For comparison the average “healthy” American has an AA:EPA ratio greater than 12. This means Americans are not only the fattest people in the world today, but also the most inflamed. If you have chronic disease, then it likely that your AA:EPA ratio is greater than 20.
The AA:EPA ratio is not a standard test, but is routinely used in research laboratories although many physicians are still unware of its existence.
Can your AA:EPA ratio be too low? The answer is yes. If the AA:EPA is too low, you might not be able to mount an appropriate inflammatory response when you need to. If the ratio is about 0.7 (as it is in the native Eskimo population), you will be more prone to infections. If it drops to 0.5, the risk of hemorrhagic stroke increases. This is why I like to keep the lower limit of the AA/EPA ratio to 1.5 as found in the Japanese population.
The AA:EPA ratio is a measure of the pro-inflammatory potential of your cells. The higher the ratio, the greater the amount of silent inflammation you have. The result is that you will age faster and lose your wellness more rapidly.
Coming soon from DrSears.com will be ability of physicians to order the fatty acid blood test directly.
There are also cellular rejuvenation mechanisms deeply imbedded in your genes, and they can be activated by your diet simply by decreasing the AA:DGLA ratio in every cell in the body. This ensures that you are increasing the likelihood of making more “good” eicosanoids and fewer “bad” eicosanoids. The better you do that, the more effectively your cells can rejuvenate themselves.
This is why keeping silent inflammation under control is only half your wellness equation. You also have to have a reserve of anti-inflammatory potential to maximize the rejuvenation of your cells to be considered truly well. The lower the AA:DGLA ratio the greater your potential to make “good” eicosanoids to enhance wellness and essentially reverse aging. Ideally the AA:DGLA ratio should be less than 3.
For the AA/EPA ratio test please contact - Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc. at 1-877-557-7722 or 519-827-8129.