1 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Now, 2 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: you probably heard me talk previously on this podcast about 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: the benefits of amiga three fatty acids for both your 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: heart and cardiovascular system and your brain. And from previous studies, 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: we know they lower triglycerides, they improve hates DL, the 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: good cholesterol, they reduced platelet aggregation, and their neuroprotective and 7 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: they resolve inflammation. 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 2: So very good all around for the heart and the brain. 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 2: That's pretty well established. But today I want to talk 10 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: about something that's only been recently recognized, and that is 11 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 2: that amiga threes actually change your muscle biology. And the 12 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 2: paper I'm discussing today is a twenty twenty four review. 13 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: The title of it is Dietary Omega three fatty Acids 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism. A Review of clinical and pre 15 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 2: clinical studies. So this was a structured review of twenty 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 2: seven different research papers, and they prioritize systematic reviews and 17 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 2: also mechanistic studies that examine the role of amega three 18 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 2: fairy acids in physical activity, obesity, sarcopania which is the 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 2: loss of bone and muscle, and keckexia, which is a 20 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 2: wasting disease that's usually associated with cancer or heart failure. 21 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: But let's dig into the paper first. Let's talk about 22 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 2: some basics. So the precursor a Mega three is something 23 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 2: called alphaalinelaic acid, or ALA, which comes from plants. But 24 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: the heavy hitters are APA and deita. Now they're either 25 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: made from eating ala from your diet and it's converted 26 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: into EPA and dta in the body, but that's an 27 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 2: inefficient process, or we can directly get APA and dha 28 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 2: from marine sources, and that inefficiency of conversion is really 29 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 2: really important. Like a lot of people that vegetarians and 30 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 2: begans talk about eight lots of flax seeds and things 31 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 2: like that, but conversion of ALA to EPA is roughly 32 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 2: eight to twelve percent and conversion to dha is about 33 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 2: one percent. So you need to eat a shitload of 34 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 2: linseeds or or g seeds to get the CM that 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 2: you would get from one serving of fish. So if 36 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: you're relying purely on plant sources, you're really not generating 37 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 2: much of the metabolically active forms of a media three 38 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 2: fairy assets. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Once 39 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 2: EPA and DHA enter the body, they're absorbed in your 40 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 2: small and testing, and then they're packaged into substances called 41 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 2: kylo microns and VLDL particles that then circulate through the 42 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 2: bloodstream ultimately, and then they deliver them and they're incorporated 43 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: into cell membrans, and this includes skeletal muscle membrum cell 44 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: membrans as well. And when they enter muscle membrans, things change. 45 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 2: They alter the fatty acid composition of what's called the 46 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 2: phosphol lipid biolayer or bilayer, sorry, and that shifts membrane 47 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 2: fluidity and it actually changes signaling dynamics inside the muscle. Now, 48 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 2: this is a bit of geeky sound speak. What it 49 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 2: means is basically, we're moving here beyond anti inflammatory fats, 50 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 2: which everybody knows what they are, to something called cellular 51 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 2: bio energetic, so affecting the energy processes within the cells, 52 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 2: particularly in the muscle cells. Now, this review highlights that 53 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: amiga threes they increase muscle protein synthesis. That's the creation 54 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 2: of new muscle or the protein that builds the muscle, 55 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 2: and it's via activation of a couple of different pathways 56 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 2: M tour and P seventy S six k if you 57 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 2: really want to know. Now, when we have exercise induced 58 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: damage of the muscle, they help to restore this signaling. 59 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 2: It's called akt M, tour and fox O three signaling, 60 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 2: and that reduces protein breakdown and enhances rapair so basically 61 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 2: helps your muscles to repair themselves and reduces the damage 62 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 2: as well. Now critically, they also suppress something called NFkB 63 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 2: nuclear factor cap a bravo if you want to really 64 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 2: want to know. That's a major inflammatory what we call 65 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 2: transcription factor. It's basically a trigger of inflammation and it 66 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 2: actually drives protein degradation. So this is getting a bit gikky, 67 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 2: but basically you're getting a dual effect here. When you 68 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 2: take a Mega three's you're getting increased protein anibolism or 69 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: build up and reduce protein catabalism. Now that is very powerful, 70 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 2: especially for older adults, because we know that muscle protein 71 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 2: synthesis gets very reduced as you get older, and it 72 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 2: leads to part of the way that it leads to sorcopedia, 73 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 2: that breakdown of muscle or loss of muscle and bone. 74 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 2: But there's also more. Amiga threes also influence mitochondrial biology. 75 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 2: And you know that I love a bit of mitochondrial biology. 76 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 2: It turns out that EPA promotes mitochondrial biogenesis brand spanking 77 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 2: new mitochondria, and deita increases mitochondrial mass. Now what does 78 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 2: that matter? Because these mitochondrial dynamics, they determine metabolic flexibility, 79 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 2: your ability to switch between fat and carbohydrate is fuel. Now, 80 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 2: APA and DTA they also activate a couple of pathways. 81 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: AMPK and PPA are alpha. Now they're important in lipid 82 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 2: or fat oxidation or fat burning and reducing the accumulation 83 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 2: of fat inside the muscle. We call it intramuscular fat accumulation. 84 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,799 Speaker 2: Why is this important because we know that excess intramuscular 85 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 2: fat is very strongly associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. 86 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 2: And we also know that sedentary people have much more 87 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 2: intramuscular fat than people who are active. So when AMIGA 88 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 2: threes enriched muscle membranes, what we actually see is improved 89 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 2: insulin sensitivity. You get increased glute one and glute four expression. 90 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 2: These are basically ways that of opening up the cell 91 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 2: walls to take in glucose. So therefore you get improved 92 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 2: glucose uptake and you also get reduced fat storage inside 93 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 2: the muscle. Now that helps to control inflammation, but it's 94 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 2: also metabolic reprogramming and in obesity models, as they discussed 95 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 2: in this paper, a mega threes improve insulin sensitivity and 96 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 2: they assist with weight loss maintenance. And if people with sarcopedia, 97 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 2: long term intake of amiga three fatty acids help preserve 98 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 2: muscle map both muscle mass and muscle function. And in 99 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 2: people who have pre a little bit of pre katetic 100 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 2: cancer states, so they're just about to go into that wasting. 101 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 2: Amega three is reduce the breakdown of protein, but they 102 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 2: can't reverse severe energy imbalance. Right. But one other fascinating 103 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 2: aspect that's discussed is this membrane incorporation. So it turns 104 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 2: out amega three fatty acids you may have seen supplements 105 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 2: that say phospholipid or others that say triglyceride forms. It 106 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 2: turns out that the phosphol lipid seems to be more bioavailable, 107 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 2: more available for your body to use, and once it's 108 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 2: embedded in the membranes of your cells, they influence this 109 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 2: biochemistry with what we call ion channels, neurotransmission, and even 110 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 2: more unit recruitment. There's also data suggesting that dita improves 111 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 2: and we're getting so many geeky academic terms here, but 112 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 2: it also improves action potential conduction basically the function of 113 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 2: your nervous system and motor unit recruitment right, which helps 114 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 2: to enhance your muscle strength. So mega threes don't just 115 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 2: come inny your body and sit there. They are signaling molecules, 116 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 2: They modify intracellular messaging systems. They also influence these what 117 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 2: we call enzymatic cascades that regulate fancy sounding but important 118 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 2: processes such as protein synthesis, lipid oxidation, inflammation resolution, and 119 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: mitochondrial adaptation. So, in simple terms, omega threes speak the 120 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 2: language of muscle health. Now, the review does point out 121 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: that why many studies show improvements in protein synthesis and strength, 122 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 2: not all down demonstrate and actual gain and muscle some 123 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 2: men in our report monistor inconsistent results and a lot 124 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 2: of us to do with different study designs. Maybe different 125 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 2: quality of the Amiga threes are different amounts of the 126 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 2: Amiga threes, but nevertheless, the kind of the signal that 127 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 2: we're getting across different domains, including exercise recovery, obasicly related 128 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 2: insulin resistance, aging, muscle loss. It's remarkably consistent and showing 129 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,199 Speaker 2: a benefit. So what are you doing, particularly if your 130 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 2: eyes are rolling back of your head at all? That 131 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 2: scientific terminology, Well, the recommendations in this paper suggest two 132 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty milligrams per day of EPA and two 133 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 2: hundred and fifty milligrams of dh Practically speaking, that equates 134 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,719 Speaker 2: to about two servings of oily fish per week with 135 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:46,959 Speaker 2: at sardines, macro herring, salmon, those sorts of things. If 136 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 2: you don't eat fish, then a high quality fish oil 137 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,239 Speaker 2: supplement can help you to bridge that gap. But definitely 138 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 2: look for something on IF's website. I take Nordic Naturals. 139 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 2: They're a great brand, but there's plenty any great brands 140 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 2: out there. I'm not associated with Nordic Natcho's just they 141 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,319 Speaker 2: are screened for a wholely of things and the good quality, 142 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,440 Speaker 2: as are lots of different brands. But the sort of 143 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,439 Speaker 2: cheap stuff that you get in your chemist probably not 144 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 2: the best. Right and now, I look for a product 145 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 2: that clearly states that combined EPA and DTA content ideally 146 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 2: about a gram combined per day. If you want to 147 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 2: target these metabolic or muscle benefits, and if you're vegetarian 148 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 2: or vegan, then go for alkaloil. I think that's one 149 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 2: of the most important supplements if you're vegetarian or you're vegan, 150 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 2: because algaloil provides pre formed dita and some formulations actually 151 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 2: include epa as well, So check and have a look 152 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 2: at the content of the box, and that actually bypasses 153 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 2: the poor conversion from LA entirely and gives you direct 154 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 2: access to the biologically active forms of dita and epa. Now, 155 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 2: given what we just to sum up, given what we 156 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 2: no I understand about muscle aging, insulin resistance, mitochondrial decline 157 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 2: and recovery from exercise, ensuring that you get enough amiga 158 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 2: three fatty acids is pretty critical. So we talked before 159 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 2: about heart health benefits, we talked before about brain health benefits, 160 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 2: and now you can add skeletal muscle benefits to that list. 161 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 2: And as always, it's food first if you can, and 162 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 2: then supplementation if required. But the key thing is to 163 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 2: be consistent over time. That's it for this week, folks, 164 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 2: Catch you next time.