Dhru Purohit Show - #246: This Miracle Nutrient Will Add 5 Years to Your Life with Dhru Purohit

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi everyone, Drew Prode here. If you want to learn about the magic nutrient that can add potentially five extra years to your lifespan and help you reduce chronic inflammation along the way, this podcast episode is for you. Stay tuned. So while back, I was talking to my dear friend, Dr. Rungan Chatterjee, about this persistent knee pain that I was experiencing, which was super weird because I stretch regularly and I work out at least a few times a week with a big focus on most.

Starting point is 00:00:30 mobility. Now, Dr. Chatterjee asked me a super simple question. He said, could your shoes be causing the problem? That simple but profound question opened an entire rabbit hole for me around the idea that our footwear should conform to our feet, not the other way around. And that's when I discovered Vivo Barefoot, the minimalist footwear company. Vivo Barefoot is unique because it was created from the concept that the human foot is a biomechanical masterpiece. And when left to its own devices, it can thrive. But by cramming our feet into modern shoes, we are really messing with our feet's strength and function, which can have a whole stream of cascading effects.

Starting point is 00:01:15 In my case, it was the chronic knee pain that I was experiencing, even though I had top-of-the-line sneakers. So I switched to Vipo Barefoot, and I never look back. And get this. within two weeks my chronic knee pain completely went away. How crazy is that? What I love about Vivo Barefoot is that it was designed to be wide, thin, and flexible. So you feel as close to barefoot as possible, but with a ton of comfort.

Starting point is 00:01:43 They promote your foot's natural strength and movement, and studies have shown that foot strength increases by 60% in a matter of just months just by walking around in them. I honestly can't recommend these shoes enough, and I'm so thankful I've found them. Right now, Vivo Barefoot is offering my community 20% off their first order at Vivo Barefoot.com backslash Drew. That's V-I-V-O-V-O-B-A-R-F-O-O-T dot com slash Drew, D-H-R-U. If you miss that, just click down to the show notes and you'll find it there.

Starting point is 00:02:22 I also wanted to let you know that Vivo Barefoot is a certified B corporation, and it's extremely passionate about using sustainable and recycled materials. They make their footwear in small batches, and certain styles are limited. So if you see something you love, don't wait to grab it. And if regular styles are out of stock, you can sign up to get email alerts when it's available again. Plus, Vivo Barefoot offers a hundred day free trial. I know you're going to love these shoes as much as I do. I've been recommending them to everyone I know. Check them out. This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth.

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Starting point is 00:04:14 That's Cozy, C-O-Z-Y, Earth, E-A-R-T-H-H-H-D-H-E-H-E-R-T-H-H-E. with the code d hr you podcast p o d c a s t keep in mind that cozy earth has a 10 year warranty so you can't really go wrong with giving them a shot hi everyone drew pro it today we're talking about the miracle nutrient that can potentially add five years to your life here's what a longitudinal study that was recently done in the american journal of clinical nutrition said about this nutrient, which I'll tell you what it is in just a second. So there was a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition monitoring over 2,200 people for over 11 years. The study was an offshoot of the Framingham study. So they did a cohort of that from Framingham,

Starting point is 00:05:06 Massachusetts, which has followed a group of people and data from it has been parsed out over the years to give us all sorts of actionable and interesting information. So 2,200 people, over 11 years, and it found that those with higher levels of, drum roll, please, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-3 fats, had up to five years extra that they lived compared to other people who didn't have high levels of omega-3 fats in their blood. So what's the miracle nutrient? Omega-3 fat. So that's what we're talking about today in this.

Starting point is 00:05:45 episode. It's a solo episode where I'm going to do a deep dive into the topic of of omega-3s, including why they matter, why they're so important to all aspects of your health and reducing chronic inflammation, how to get them from healthy sources and which sources you want to avoid, what to do if you're vegan or vegetarian, and most importantly, a test, a simple test that cost $100, $99 to be exact. So, let's do. than 100 bucks that anyone can do from home to help them find out if they have accurate amounts of the right ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats in their diet. If this sounds interesting to you, stay tuned and let's jump right in with a little background. But before we do, this episode today

Starting point is 00:06:36 is based on an article and a newsletter that I wrote called Try This Raise Your Omega-3s. I've launched a new newsletter. It's called Try This. Every Friday, I put out a protocol, evidence-based protocol. Today's episode has over 36 references. So it's an evidence-based protocol with the argument on something that you might want to consider adding into your life that you might want to try. That's what it's called Try This. If you want to sign up, it's completely for free. click on the show notes or go to drew perroit.com, D-H-R-U-P-U-R-O-H-I-T dot com and click on the tab that says, try this and sign up so that you can get the newsletter every week and take your help to the next level. All right, back to today's episode.

Starting point is 00:07:28 The world of diet and nutrition is ever changing, confusing, and oftentimes misleading. Chances are if you're here, if you're listening to this, if you're reading this, you're interested in getting some answers on what to eat to support your long-term help. Now, despite living in an era where there's so much misinformation, where we have pretty much villainized fat over the last 50 to 70 years, surprisingly, omega-3s have rightfully earned their place as a health-promoting nutrient. In addition to being anti-inflammatory, omega-3 fats are integral to the structure, function, and fluidity

Starting point is 00:08:03 of virtually every cell in the human body. They're a pretty big freaking deal. Our brain, our heart, our eyes, our skin, our hormones all depend on omega-3 fats, specifically EPA and DHA to function optimally. But here's the key. Most of the world's population, maybe even some of you that are watching and listening today, are chronically deficient in this key nutrient. In the U.S., nearly 100,000 deaths per year are related to omega-3,000.

Starting point is 00:08:36 fat deficiency, making it the six biggest cause of preventable deaths every single year, outweighing alcohol and low intake of fruits and vegetables. So the question is, why are we so deficient in omega-3 fats? Now, before we dive into the protocol for increasing your omega-3-fat intake, it's important to understand why we're so deficient. Since we can't synthesize omega-3 fats internally, they need to come from our diets or through supplementation. Seafood is the best source,

Starting point is 00:09:08 high-quality seafood, of omega-3 fats, which is why the American Heart Association recommends having two, 3.5-ounce servings of oily fish per week or greater than 250 milligrams of combined EPA and DHA omega-3 fats per day. Even with these guidelines,

Starting point is 00:09:26 less than 20% of Americans. Hear that again. even with these guidelines, less than 20% of Americans, and I know we have a global audience, but here's the data on Americans, are meeting the recommended intake of omega-3 fats. Not only are we not getting enough of these omega-3 fats, this miracle nutrient, but we're also over-consuming the wrong kinds of fats. In addition to trans fats, which we know are problematic, but are still out there in the world, the permeation of omega-6 fats in our industrialized food supply from things like vegetable

Starting point is 00:10:04 oils and conventional animal products propose a whole new set of challenges to our metabolic health. Now, it's important to understand that most Americans, North Americans rather, are consuming alpha-linoletic acid or ALA as their primary source of omega-3 fats. ALA is found in vegetable seed oils, leafy greens, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemseeds, and walnuts. And by the way, most North Americans, again, are not getting their omega-3 fats from chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds. It's mostly vegetable seed oils. Now, here's the problem with ALA.

Starting point is 00:10:43 It's that it can't be used in the body until it's converted to EPA and DHA, the active form of omega-3s, that our bodies can actually use. Unfortunately, most of us are pretty inefficient at this process with less than a 15% conversion rate for most people, converting from ALA to EPA and DHA. Genetics, age, high intake of omega-6s can all contribute to that problem. Now, this is something crucial to understand because this will tell you if you are headed in the right direction

Starting point is 00:11:18 when having this miracle nutrient in, your bloodstream. Now, the following they I'm going to go into is super key. How do omega-6s make us inefficient at converting omega-3s to their active form? Well, ALA has to compete for conversion enzymes with linoleic acid, the main omega-6 fat in the Western diet. L-A is found in vegetable seed oils, a type of oil that's virtually in every single processed food ingredient out there with safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil being the biggest offenders. For this reason, ALA loses out to LA every time resulting in an exasperation of omega-3

Starting point is 00:12:04 deficiency and imbalanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, inflammation, and increased risk of chronic disease. Having a balanced omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is fundamental for long-term health. and yet most people aren't aware how off, so to speak, their ratio is. Eating excessive amounts of omega-6s with little to know omega-3s, so a lot of vegetable sea oil with little high-quality omega-3s results in inflammation and increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, IBS, cancer, infertility, autoimmune diseases, ADHD,

Starting point is 00:12:44 depression, anxiety, mood imbalances like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and even things like Alzheimer's disease. Now, I think most people would be surprised to learn how imbalance their mega-6 to mega-3 ratio is and how it plays into their overall health. Me personally, I was a lifelong vegetarian. I was raised in the Hindu and Vedic tradition and my parents were vegetarian and so I was vegetarian even though they said I could eat whatever I wanted. And my health journey eventually led me, primarily for animal rights concerns, to become vegan for several years. Actually, almost seven years I was vegan. Now, despite taking an algae oil supplement, granted, I wasn't taking them consistently. I will admit it, I was young and stupid and didn't really know what I was

Starting point is 00:13:29 doing. And despite also eating a lot of plant-based omega-3s, I found that I was still severely deficient when it came to my omega-3s in my bloodstream. Now, once I realized that what I was doing wasn't working because I got tested, and I'm going to tell you about that test in a minute, I added in high-quality fish into my diet and made eating it regularly more of a priority. Now, I mentioned that I tested my omega-3-to-Megas-6 ratio, so I want to walk everybody through a test that anybody can do from home. This isn't a paid advertisement.

Starting point is 00:14:05 I have no affiliation with the company at all. whatsoever. I just think this test is so crucial at helping you see the actual blood levels of omega-3s in your bloodstream, which is where all these studies that talk about the benefits, including getting those five bonus years added to your life, they all look at blood levels of omega-3s. Now, first, let me say this. I think that everyone listening today could benefit from knowing their omega-3 index, a measure of the percentage of EPA to DHA, in their red blood cells. I use a company called Omega-Quant

Starting point is 00:14:42 to test my Omega-3 levels because it's quick, easy, and affordable, and you could do it from home. I wish, by the way, and this is a little bit of a rant, I wish that insurance would get behind this test because there's so much data on how omega-3s impact our overall health. You would think that insurance companies

Starting point is 00:14:59 will want to get behind this and support people and getting access to this test. Until then, we have to pay for it out of pocket. but I wish, wish, wish, and my biggest hope would be that insurance would cover this so more people have access to it. Okay. So after you do a prick test and you take a little bit of blood from your fingertip, you mail in your blood sample and then you get back a detailed report telling you what your omega-3 to 6 ratio is and your percentage of EPA and DHA inside of your body, and you get personalized recommendations on how to improve those levels. Again, not an endorsement. Well, it is an

Starting point is 00:15:36 endorsement, but it's not a paid endorsement. Now, again, even though I think that most people would benefit from doing this test, I've made a list of about eight people who I think in particular should highly consider doing this test. Number one, people like me or were like me, vegans and vegetarians. Now, I want you to eat any diet that you want to eat. If you want to be vegan, you want to be vegetarian, go for it. I know nobody could have convinced me when I was in that place in my life where I wanted to be vegan and vegetarian. Now, the key is, because it's so difficult from just a vegan and a vegetarian diet without supplementation to get the right levels of omega-3s and get that ideal index ratio,

Starting point is 00:16:16 it's important to get tested. Wouldn't you want to get tested to know if you're headed in the right direction? And then if your test comes back and shows you that you need to make tweaks, you can do that without necessarily, if you are morally opposed to it, adding in fish, you can do that through high-quality supplementation. We'll chat about that a little later. Number two, women and their partners who want to conceive in the next year. Babies are 3D printed from the nutrients inside the body.

Starting point is 00:16:43 EPA and DHA and Omega 3s just in general are super important for brain health. Anyone looking to conceive wants to get started, especially women, a year ahead of time, to set up those right building blocks and support the best 3D printed human being that they can support. Number three, any woman with a history of postpartum depression. Now, talking about 3D printing human beings, creating babies takes a lot of nutrients. And then breastfeeding takes a lot of nutrients as well. It's no wonder that women in our functional medicine center in Massachusetts, El Toronto

Starting point is 00:17:25 Center, who are suffering from postpartum depression or have a history are often individuals that did not go through a mindful refeating process. Refeeding, that means restoring the nutrients to the mother because she lost so much nutrients in creating this baby. Many traditions around the world put a lot of attention on the mother after a baby was born to make sure that she was fed and refed with the key nutrients that she was missing out on. Number four, anyone with the history of depression or mood disorders. It's no wonder that places like Columbia and Harvard have departments of nutritional psychiatry in their medical schools. We've actually had a few really incredible doctors on this podcast, Dr. Drew Ramsey, Dr. Umanidu, and they are

Starting point is 00:18:18 psychiatrists who are sounding the alarm about how important things like omega-3 fats are to mood disorders, depression, or any other mood disorder that's out there. And there's a ton of data in literature that we've featured. By the way, if you go to drewpro.com and you click on the newsletter, you can find all the citations and references that we've used to put this solo episode and the newsletter together. So it's no wonder that nutritional psychiatry is exploding as a field and that you have modern mainstream psychiatrists more and more every day talking about the importance of how

Starting point is 00:18:52 your diet impacts your mood. Your food is directly impacted to your mood. number five those with skin challenges if you have eczema suriasis acne you want to pay attention and potentially think about doing this test number six those with asthma or respiratory issues that's also connected to inflammation and inflammation as a whole which is number seven anyone with the history of chronic inflammation we know that omega three is play a result in helping us cool the flame of chronic inflammation number eight those with high levels of blood pressure or heart disease. A lot of great data that's out there on these topics. And by the way,

Starting point is 00:19:32 a quick note, a lot of the observational studies that are out there that show does eating fish help with chronic inflammation? It's mixed results. Some show yes, some show no. But mostly people have understood that to be that when people are reporting back how much fish they eat, we tend to overestimate or when we're responding to a survey saying that what does our diet look like, people tend to underreport processed food and they tend to overreport healthy food. It's just a natural bias. People want to look good even if it's for a clinical trial. That's why blood studies of omega-3s in the blood are the best measure of understanding

Starting point is 00:20:09 how connected omega-3s are to all aspects of improving our health. Okay, so a quick note about testing. So companies like Omega Quant, which is the company that I used, they're revolutionizing the ability to test and measure your omega-3s and your EPA, DHA levels at home. Omega-quant, by the way, they've been used in institutions like Harvard and the NIH, and it's considered the gold standard in measuring your omega-3 index. Your omega-3 index is a measure of your percentage of EPA and DHA in your red blood cells over, and this is key, a four-month period of time.

Starting point is 00:20:44 The scores range from 0% to 12% with a score of 4% or less considered low and undesirable. If you get back a report and you are 4% or less, that's considered a low or undesirable. A score of 5 to 7 is considered intermediate and a score of 8% or higher is considered ideal or what functional medicine doctors call optimal. I know we all want optimal. So that's what we're shooting for. And that's where you get the deepest protection against chronic conditions. Unfortunately, the majority of the population hovers around 6% and most of the U.S. population,

Starting point is 00:21:21 scores at 4% or lower, which is considered a high risk zone. And again, most of the population of the United States isn't vegan or vegetarian. So this isn't just a problem for vegans and vegetarians. This is a problem for everybody. There's a lot of people that are out there that are under eating on high quality fish in their diet. Now, Omega Quant offers a bunch of different test. And the tests that I recommend for people is the omega-3 index complete. It has all the breakdowns of the individual fatty acids level.

Starting point is 00:21:51 It has your EPA to DHA percentage, and it also gives you your trans fat index two, because even though the government has said we want to get trans fats out of the food system, they are still allowed in tiny percentages. And if you eat a lot of processed foods, you might find that you have higher levels of trans fats, which we know are directly connected to increasing heart disease and so many other chronic conditions that are out there. We want to get rid of the trans fats, which is super key in our diet. So the mega-quant test will look at trans fats.

Starting point is 00:22:26 It'll look at your omega-3 index. It'll look at a lot of different things. And that's why I really love it as a great test. Lastly, again, I have no affiliation with the company. I'm just a fan of what they're doing. And I wish insurance would cover it. I wish your doctor knew about this test and could order it for you and knew how to interpret it. But as many of my friends who are doctors, including my brother-in-law and my business partner and many others that have come on this podcast will tell you, they weren't taught about nutrition in school.

Starting point is 00:22:50 So they'll generally say, yeah, yeah, eat some more fish in your diet. But they won't double down and tell you that omega-3s are so crucial to your long-term health. We need you to get tested if you're not including the right amount of fish in your diet from the right sources. Right sources is key. We're going to talk about that in a second. Now, I want to give a shout out to Taylor Groff, who is a nutritionist and my co-writer in this newsletter and try this newsletter. So shout out to Taylor. I made her be the guinea pig for trying the omega quant test because she was curious and I was curious

Starting point is 00:23:24 how would she do because she had been vegan for quite some time. And it was up until only about a year and a half ago that she stopped being vegan. Now, she did her test. It was painless. It was simple. It was easy. Took a few weeks to get back her report. And she found out that her score came back at 8%. Now, that made her pleasantly surprised and it made her feel confident that really only up until about six months ago, a year ago, I don't know the timeline exactly, is how long she's been including high quality fatty fish in her diet. So in a short period of time, anybody who's feeling like, shit, I'm not sure what my test is going to show or I don't know if my ideal ratio, I don't know if I'm in the ideal ratio. It's just good news to show you that this test can change and only takes

Starting point is 00:24:10 about four to six months to do that. So you can make an impact that you can head in the right direction if that's your goal. Okay, now that we've talked about testing, let's jump into the protocol. Protocol is like a recommendation. Try this. Part of today's solo episode and the newsletter that we're walking through. And so firstly, before we jump in with some recommendations, some telltale signs and symptoms of omega-3 deficiency are itchy, dry, or flaky skin, soft, cracked, or brittle nails, hardier wax, tiny bumps on the back of your arms or torso, achy or stiff joints, memory problems, ADD, diabetes, weight gain, depression, anxiety, and even chronic conditions like cancer. So basically, everything that people are struggling with can be connected

Starting point is 00:25:04 and linked back to omega-3s, that's how important they are. Interestingly enough, having adequate levels of omega-3 intake has shown to reduce your skin sensitivity to things like UV light and reduce your risk of skin cancer, talking about skin cancer. Now, whether you're a seafood lover or not, I have a list of options for you to incorporate more omega-3s into your diet. Recommendation one is always food first. we are going to talk about eating fish regularly because it offers numerous health benefits.

Starting point is 00:25:41 There's no reason to stick to the only two servings per week if you're avoiding, and this is the key, fish high in mercury. That's all the big fish that are out there. Swordfish, tilefish, marlin, king mackerel, and especially tuna, which we eat way too much of around the world. My friend and business partner, Dr. Mark Hyman, recommends eating small cold water fish, that fit into an 8 to 10-inch pan because they're lowest in mercury

Starting point is 00:26:08 and highest in omega-3s. Pound for bound, you're going to get the most amount of omega-3s, except for maybe mollusks, which we'll talk about in a second. He calls these. Dr. Hyman calls these the smash fish, sardines, mackerel, anchovy, salmon, and herring.

Starting point is 00:26:25 Always opt when possible for wild-caught, sustainably harvest fish. Of course, it's super important. I have to do a whole other episode on the plastics that are in the ocean, and other components. I know those things are out there. And yet still, most functional medicine doctors that come on my podcast still advocate eating high quality fish or supplementing with a high quality fish oil. We'll talk about supplements in a second. Now, let's talk about the smash fish

Starting point is 00:26:50 and their quantity in milligrams of omega-3s, starting with sardines. Sardines, one can has approximately 1,700 milligrams of omega-3s. And here's a key with any sort of canned fish, there, make sure you find canned fish that's either in water or olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, because many sardines and other fish that are out there can be canned with soybean oil or canola oil. These oils are high in omega-6s, which counteracts the anti-inflammatory nature of omega-3s. Next one, mackerel. Three ounces of mackerel contains approximately 1,100 milligrams of omega-3s. Antchovies. Two ounces of anchovies. contains approximately 1,200 milligrams of omega-3s.

Starting point is 00:27:39 Salmon contains approximately 1,800 milligrams of omega-3s. Pro tip, salmon is expensive, especially wild-caught salmon. You're going to spend an arm and a leg for it. If you can afford it, great. There's services that are out there like butcher box and other places that make it a lot easier and cheaper to buy because they send directly to your home. But if you can't, and you're looking to get high-quality salmon,

Starting point is 00:28:02 it's very easy to swap out the tuna that people might be eating in their diet for wild caught pink salmon, which can be found in things like Whole Foods, your natural grocery store that's local to you, your co-op, Trader Joe's, places like that. They all have wild caught canned pink salmon. It's good in fats. It's cheaper than fresh salmon, and it's lower in mercury, which makes it a much better option than tuna. And lastly, herring, which contains approximately 1,500 milligrams of omega-3s. I didn't mention cod.

Starting point is 00:28:32 Cod is also a really great fish. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I'd also toss that into the mix. Here's the thing. We don't have to stick to just fish. There are other forms of seafood that are also excellent sources of omega-3s. For seafood lovers, mollusks are an excellent source. Mollusks, these are another form of organ meats. By the way, if you've heard of the benefits of organ meats,

Starting point is 00:28:51 but you're not ready to have some of the organ meats from land animals like chicken and beef, another way of getting organ meats is to have mollusks. So that's muscles and oysters. Muscles have 1,300 milligrams of omega-3s for a 6-ounce serving, and oysters have 1,700 milligrams of omega-3s for a 6-ounce serving. Who doesn't love oysters? If you don't, go have some oysters with a friend who can show you how to prepare them in a way. I used to think oysters were disgusting.

Starting point is 00:29:20 And then I'm a huge fan. I had some this weekend with my wife on a little mini vacation that we took. Now, let's talk about Mercury, which is a hot topic, especially anybody that's gone to an integrative or functional medicine doctor, they're chatting about how important it is to be wary of mercury. Now, for most people, I would say most people that aren't exposed to some sort of environmental toxicity of mercury that's separate from fish, like working in a coal-powered plant and other industrial processes that might have mercury that's involved,

Starting point is 00:29:54 most people are going to get their mercury exposure through cracked dental amalgam fillings. That's where the highest exposure comes from, especially if you have the older form of fillings, the silver mercury amalgam fillings. I've done an entire episode on this with my personal dentist, Dr. Rosita Rostian. You can find that in the show notes, and you can listen about the dangers of mercury that we go into. And why it's important to work with a biological dentist to have them removed safely, safely, removing them safely is the key. So that's where most people are going to get their exposure of higher levels of mercury. Now, if you are avoiding large fish like swordfish, tilefish,

Starting point is 00:30:35 king mackerel, and albicourt tuna, the concerns around mercury from seafood isn't something that should stop you from eating fish. But if you are eating a lot of sushi or swordfish or tuna or mackerel or these big fish, you might want to talk to your practitioner, the ones that are trained in this, maybe a functional medicine doctor, about looking at your mercury levels overall. So the reason that mercury is so harmful, a little background, is because it binds to selenium-dependent enzymes that help prevent oxidative damage and lower inflammation, especially in the brain. When mercury is higher than selenium, neurological issues can occur. Cold water smash fish are higher in selenium than mercury, so unless you're selenium deficient,

Starting point is 00:31:23 there's a lower risk for mercury toxicity overall. I learned this through my dear friend and functional medicine practitioner, Chris Cressor. Shout out to him, he has an entire blog post that he wrote about this. So it's basically to say that we should be concerned about mercury, but avoid the bigger fish. That's going to be the biggest way to avoid the mercury. And of course, check your feelings. And if you're sticking to the smaller fish, you're still the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks because of the selenium connection, as well as the benefits that you're going to get from

Starting point is 00:31:58 omega-3s in your diet from high-quality fish. Now, what about pregnant women? The FDA and the EPA recommend pregnant women limit their consumption of fish to 12 ounces per week due to concerns of mercury toxicity and know that most people are going to be getting that through tuna. Again, a big fish. If you're avoiding tuna, that's not going to be a problem for you as much. Doesn't mean don't be mindful, but it's not going to be a problem if you're avoiding

Starting point is 00:32:22 the big fish. Given the critical role of DHA for the brain development, mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding need at least 12 ounces of fish that is high in omega-3s per week or an EPA DHA omega-3 supplement. It's crucial. It's crucial for the mother. It's crucial for the baby. In fact, one study found that mothers with high levels of DHA from fish intake during pregnancy had children with higher IQs

Starting point is 00:32:47 compared to mothers who consumed corn oil. Crazy. Naturally, when you're pregnant, you want to play it safe. Many functional medicine doctors, many that have been on this podcast, recommend that pregnant women avoid the big fish, eat the smash fish listed previously, and make sure they're supplementing with a high quality fish oil, which we'll talk about in a second, if they aren't getting enough fish or can't stomach it. That's a big thing. My sister just had a baby. Shout out to my sister, Kea. And she loved fish prior to being

Starting point is 00:33:16 pregnant. But when she was pregnant, she couldn't stomach it. So she had a high quality. high quality is a key not from Costco Walmart other places which often have no knock on those places you know but they often have low quality supplements so beware they're starting to pay attention places like target are starting to pay attention there's more high quality supplements there but just be wary so here's the thing if fish isn't your thing you can still get omega-3s in several plant foods but and this is the big but as we mentioned before this is aLA and its conversion rate to EPA and DHA is next to zero. Plant versions of omega-3s aren't going to raise your blood level of omega-3s.

Starting point is 00:33:58 Vegans and vegetarians, and again, it's not a vegan and vegetarian problem. Those who don't eat fish must supplement regularly with a bioavailable form of omega-3s. And again, if you are vegan and vegetarian, you could probably do that through a high-quality algae oil. In some cases, I know vegans and vegetarians are okay with krill oil. If you're not vegan or vegetarian, but just don't want to be a good. like fish. Grass-fed beef also contains some omega-3 fats about five to 33 milligrams per three-point-ounce serving. And there is some research that's out there that these come in

Starting point is 00:34:32 levels significant enough to increase circulating omega-3 levels. Okay, let's chat a little bit more about this ratio, this ideal ratio. Now, L-A and omega-6 fat that's abundant in the Western diet, competes for enzymes with ALA and omega-3 fat with bioavailability. We covered that earlier. Traditionally, our ancestors ate a ratio of three to one or less of omega-6s to omega-3s. Less omega-6, more omega-3s. Now the average American, North American, eats a ratio of 20 omega-6 to one omega-3. No wonder we're also chronically inflamed. This imbalance for results in the overproduction of inflammatory molecules that wreak havoc on our cellular and metabolic help. Here are a few ways you can reduce your intake of omega-6 fats. Number one, check ingredient

Starting point is 00:35:27 labels for the following vegetable seed oils and try your best to avoid or minimize them over time. Safflower oil has 75% omega-6, sunflower oil, 65% omega-6, sunflower oil, 65% omega-6, corn oil, 54% omega-6. Again, we want to minimize the mega-6s in our diet, and all these oils have high amounts of omega-6s. Soybean oil, 51% of omega-6. Cotton seed oil, 50% of omega-6. Canola oil, 20% omega-6.

Starting point is 00:36:02 Now, I'm not going to lie to you. This is tough because these freaking oils, these vegetable oils, which, by the way, often take a 10-to-a-22-step process and are filled with all sorts of gases, It's not like they're taking corn and just pressing it and getting an oil. No, these have to be. These are a highly industrialized process to try to make these vegetables into oils.

Starting point is 00:36:25 And we use it because it's cheap. Not for any other reasons at all. Well, some reasons like we villainized fats from animals and butter. And so we started steering everybody towards vegetable-based fats. And meanwhile, this whole thing blew up in our face. We're getting fatter and we're getting sicker than ever before. and we need to minimize these vegetable oils in our diet. So these oils are in everything.

Starting point is 00:36:50 But again, it's all about doing our best over time, and that starts with awareness. Number two, increase your intake of bioavailable omega-3s. Using the food suggestions above is one of the ways to, again, minimize the omega-6s in our diet because it's all about the ratio. If you take more omega-3s and you take less omega-6s, even if you have some in your diet, which obviously we don't want to demonize omega-6.

Starting point is 00:37:13 It's also important for us. We just don't want that ratio to get out of whack. So eating omega-3s is a crucial part of that. Number three, reduce your intake of processed food. Just by reducing your intake of processed food, this will reduce your ratio of your omega-6 fats and improve your omega-3s by again lowering your omega-6s.

Starting point is 00:37:35 Processed foods are largely where most people in the world are getting their omega-6. fats. Step four, supplement with the right omega-3s. Here's the thing, your brain needs them. Through my own experience and from having conversations with experts, I've learned just how essential omega-3 fats are for the brain and mental health. The roles that DHA and EPA play in the brain date back to over 35,000 years ago when many evolutionary biologists believe that hunter-gatherers first introduced seafood into their diet, which coincides with the rapid expansion of brain mass and development of personality, memory, and intellect that uniquely makes us human.

Starting point is 00:38:17 It's no coincidence that low EPA and DHA are continuously observed in people with depression, anxiety, mood disorders, and personality disorders. If you face mental health challenges, poor memory, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, you need to make sure you're getting enough omega-3s. Why? our brains are made up when you take out water, they're made up of 60% fat. And 90% of that comes from DHA and omega-3 fat vital for neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, cognition, and its protection against Alzheimer's disease and other chronic conditions.

Starting point is 00:38:55 EPA, another omega-3 fat regulates behavior and mood and has anxiolytic properties and has neuroprotective properties. Some studies show an even greater impact of EPA. on depression than even antidepressants. Getting enough omega-3s from your diet can be difficult, especially if you don't eat fish. For those who aren't eating fish, at least two servings of oily fish per week, but you probably need a little bit more. It's essential to take a high-quality bioavailable omega-3 fat supplement.

Starting point is 00:39:26 Studies show that supplementing daily with at least 1 to 3 grams, that's 1,000 to 3,000 milligrams, or a combined EPA DHA dramatically improves anxiety. depression, mood stability, and inflammation. If you care about inflammation and reducing your overall chronic inflammation, EPA and DHA is a key part of that. A ratio of two to one of EPA to DHA has shown to be the most benefit. And you'll find that most high quality supplements have that ratio. So here's my recommendation. Try this. Fish oil. If you're looking for a good quality fish oil supplement, I recommend generally the doctor's brands that are out there. So Thorne, Metagenics, Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health, Claire Labs.

Starting point is 00:40:14 These are all the brands that doctors who need clinical dosages of these supplements use and prescribe that are out there. Sometimes it's a little difficult to find these on Amazon. So I'll recommend something that's a high-quality fish oil supplement that you can find on Amazon or in your local grocery store. Nordic Naturals has really made a strong name for itself as a high-quality fish oil supplement, no affiliation. Nordic Natural's Ultimate Omega is one of the most highly recommended fish oil supplements by doctors for its high quality and its affordable price. It comes in a soft gel

Starting point is 00:40:45 and liquid form with no fishy aftertaste. Number two, cod liver oil, one of my favorites. I recommend a company that was started by a mentor and a friend of mine, Dr. Jeff Bland, who's considered the grandfather and the father of functional medicine. And it's called Dutch Harbor Omega. It's by Big Bold Health. Big Bold Health. You can find the links to all these in the show, notes, by the way. And this company I do have an affiliation with. I'm an investor in Big Bold Health. They make a lot of really great products. I love what Dr. Blan and his team are off too. And their Dutch Harbor Omega is one of the most powerful marine oils on the market. It's sourced from Alaskan cod liver, certified sustainable and contains vitamins A and D

Starting point is 00:41:23 to support immune function. And also those vitamins are super important for your dental health, too. Side note. Number three, krill oil. Now, krill are a very, very tiny, tiny little creature. It's what whale primarily eat, and they have a ton of really good quality EPA and DHA. And I've found that a lot of vegans who don't want to have fish oil, but are not really sure if algae oil is doing the trick for them. And I do have an algae oil recommendation. They're often okay with krill oil. Even though it is still a life form, it's a very small life form. Some some vegans are okay with it. So Bulletproof's omega krill oil is sustainably sourced and has optimal doses of EPA and DHA, as mentioned, and a bunch of other stuff that's great about it, too.

Starting point is 00:42:05 Number four, algae oil. For those who don't eat fish, performance lab omega-3, performance lab omega-3, again, no affiliation, is the highest-quality vegan EPA and DHA omega-3 I've seen. Again, that's vegan. Its algae are sustainably harvested and it doesn't contain any harmful gums, vegetable oils, or preservatives, which is key. So those are the supplement recommendations. Now let's go into concluding thoughts to wrap up today's episode.

Starting point is 00:42:33 Your omega-3 index can tell you a lot about your health, which is why. we say test, don't guess. It's a common phrase in the world of functional medicine. Now, modern life makes it difficult for us to get omega-3 fats from diet alone, since the primary source is from seafood with small, cold water, smash fish, containing the highest most buy-available amounts of EPA and DHA. Not only are people eating the wrong kinds of fish, especially in North America, but a rapid surge in plant-based diets, veganism, and vegetarianism,

Starting point is 00:43:04 make it virtually impossible for so many to get enough omega-3 fats from diet alone. And again, this isn't just a problem for vegans and vegetarians. ALA's low bioavailability, combined with how easy it is to consume, excess omega-6s from processed foods especially are a recipe for disaster. Since most people have low omega-3 index, it's safe to assume that everyone can benefit from taking steps to increase their omega-3 fat intake and decrease their omega-6 fat intake.

Starting point is 00:43:36 Increase omega-3s, decrease omega-6s. If you walk away from this episode with one takeaway, it's exactly that. Increase omega-3s, decrease omega-6s. I'm so excited for you guys to try my recommended protocol and tips to increase your omega-3 index and to see if you notice any changes in your mood,

Starting point is 00:43:58 your cognition, or your metabolic health. Now, little personal anecdote, I get to tell you from my own personal experiences, when I started to include high quality fish in my diet from the smash fish, I felt like a completely different person. I was chronically depleted in and I had the wrong omega-3 to omega-6 ratio that I found out through testing. When I changed that, I noticed especially my mood and the likelihood of me feeling the blues, especially in the winter and feeling depression-like symptoms that I had felt in the past, especially in college. primarily went away. I'm not saying that's going to happen for everybody, but I'm just sharing my own personal anecdote. For a full list of the 36 references that we used to source this information for today's solo episode, you can go to Drew Perot.com and click on the tab that says articles and then

Starting point is 00:44:51 go find the one on Omega 3s. It's called Try This. Raise your Omega 3s. And by the way, while you're there, sign up for the Try This newsletter. You'll get it every Friday morning. We'll feel a research back step-by-step protocol to help you take your health to the next level. If you enjoy this episode, let me know, shoot me a note. You can go to my website and find my contact information. I hope this inspires you to take your health to the next level and raise your omega-3s.

Dhru Purohit Show - #246: This Miracle Nutrient Will Add 5 Years to Your Life with Dhru Purohit

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