Why omega-3 matters after 60
Dr. Martin opened this episode with five studies on omega-3 that had come out in a single week, and his summary of all of them was short.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653One of the tools to keep you healthy, there is no doubt about it, is omega-3.
One of those studies was about life expectancy. He reads it as saying people with higher omega-3 levels in their cells lived about five years longer. But for a woman in her sixties he is clear about what he actually cares about, and it is not the number of birthdays.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653I'm not so interested in life expectancy as quality of life, and here at the clinic, we do everything we can to inform people how to be as healthy as they can be.
He does not want to be 95 and unable to move, or with a mind that has stopped working. That is the frame for everything below. Omega-3, in his telling, is about a brain that keeps working, blood vessels that stay slippery and a body that is not quietly inflamed.
The four kinds of omega-3
He takes the time on this episode to separate them, because most women only ever hear the word omega-3 and assume it is one thing.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653Omega-3 is fantastic. You get omega-3 in the animal kingdom. You get omega-3 in the plant kingdom. You can eat eggs that have good levels of omega-3 in it. All omega-3 is good.
In the plant kingdom, the seeds and nuts, it is mostly ALA, a short chain fatty acid. He likes flaxseed in particular, though not for its omega-3. He likes it for its lignans, which he says block extra estrogen, and he recommends the seeds rather than flax oil.
In dairy you get CLA, a longer chain than ALA. This is why he says don't ditch dairy, switch dairy. Then, in meat and fish, come the two long ones, EPA and DHA. The rule he gives is simple: the longer the chain, the better your body absorbs it.
Why DHA is the king
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653The one that your body adores is DHA. It's the longest chain fatty acid. It is on the throne. It is the king of the castle.
His reason is the brain. He says about 20% of your brain is made up of DHA, and that there is nothing in an oil that is better for it. For a woman over 60, worried about her memory as much as her heart, that is the line that matters most. He also mentions what DHA does for your eyes and your skin, but he keeps coming back to the brain.
"All omega-3 is good."
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653Where you get it
Fish is the obvious answer, and he says if you love your fish, it is so good for you because of the oil in it. His other answer surprises people. He points at a cow standing in a field chewing grass all day.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653But that grass that they eat turns their meat into omega-3.
The cow, he says, is making omega-3 for you, DHA included, along with the protein and B12 in the meat. This is why he tells vegetarians and vegans, kindly, that they are missing the oil their brain and heart need. Nuts and seeds are good, he says, but they do not give you that oil. More on his view of red meat is in is chicken healthier than beef?
The oils working against you
The other half of the omega-3 story is omega-6, found in vegetable and seed oils: canola, soy and the oils that fast food is fried in. He calls them crappy oils and says the worst of all is soy.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653You got to be careful because those are vegetable oils generally and our ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 is so out of whack, so out of whack, that it creates inflammation in the body. A silent thing. You don't see it.
So the practical change for a woman over 60 is two sided. Get more of the good oil in, and take the bad oil out. If you cook, he says to cook with butter, olive oil or lard. For the bigger picture on silent inflammation, read inflammation in women over 60.
What the studies he read found
He walks through the rest of the week's studies one at a time. The one he calls a major study found three things for high DHA: lower insulin resistance, lower blood pressure, and a higher HDL.
That last result is the one he ties back to blood work. He does not read total cholesterol. He reads triglycerides against HDL, and he wants your HDL higher than your triglycerides. He says DHA helps raise HDL and EPA helps bring triglycerides down. The arithmetic of that ratio is in the triglyceride to HDL ratio after 60.
Food first, then a capsule
He is careful here, and his first rule comes before any supplement.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653Now, you'll never out-supplement a bad diet. So you just can't take high DHA and then eat all the crappy carbs you feel like and sugar, and expect to get results.
He wants you to eat your omega-3. Then he tells you what he does himself, because like a lot of women he is not a big fish eater.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 653I supplement because I don't eat enough fish. I want DHA because, guys, I want to lubricate that brain.
He compares it to his car and his motorcycle. He knows almost nothing about engines, but he knows the mechanic tells him to change the oil and keep it topped up. Your body, he says, is the same. Don't get low on oil, the good stuff.
Common questions
Should a woman over 60 take omega-3?
Dr. Martin says omega-3 is one of the tools that keeps you healthy, and all of it is good. He wants you to eat it first, from fish, grass-fed meat, eggs and dairy, and he takes DHA in a capsule himself because he does not eat enough fish.
What is the best omega-3?
He calls DHA the king of the castle. It is the longest chain fatty acid, your body absorbs it best, and he says about 20% of your brain is made of it.
Is flaxseed a good source of omega-3?
Flaxseed gives you ALA, a short chain omega-3. He likes the seeds, but for their lignans, which he says block extra estrogen. He does not recommend flax oil.
Why are seed oils a problem?
He says oils like canola and soy throw the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio out of whack, and that the imbalance creates silent inflammation you do not see or feel.
The oil he takes every day
He supplements because he doesn't eat enough fish, and DHA is the one he wants for the brain. Martin Clinic's DHA Upgraded is a high DHA oil from his clinic.
60-day money-back guarantee. Formulated in clinic.These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting a new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
