#154

The average college football player has the same Omega-3 essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency as most Americans. Unfortunately, that’s a dangerous situation. After years of research a team of scientists at Texas Christian University (TCU) concluded that the Omega-3 deficiency restricts the healing of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

Very few people understand how the Omega-3 deficiency is determined even though scientists have been explaining it for more than 40 years. It’s really simple. It’s based on the balance of EFAs. The Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids are in the membranes of the cells of the human body. For optimal health the EFAs must be balanced approximately 1:1 by weight. When the balance exceeds 4:1 (more Omega-6) the Omega-3 deficiency is fully apparent and chronic diseases start occurring.

“Essential” nutrients must be in the diet because they cannot be properly synthesized by the body.  For nearly all of time man ate a diet with an EFA balance of 1:1. But the American diet, the very one that has been promoted by the USDA for the past 60 years, has a balance of about 15:1. The consequences have been noticeable with ever increasing obesity rates, higher healthcare costs, and steadily rising incidences of chronic disease.

Other conditions beyond chronic diseases and obesity seem to also occur. One of them, TBI, is now of major interest to those in sports programs and the military.

The TCU scientists drew blood samples from 112 players and graded them based on an Omega-3 index. The average Omega-3 index was 4.35%. Only one player had an index of 8% which is the base level for Cardioprotective and potentially Neuroprotective benefits. For comparison, my index is 18.6%.

Take note of the two benefits the researchers made regarding the importance of a high Omega-3 index which translates to a low EFA ratio. One is Cardioprotection. It encompasses regimens that preserve the function and viability of cardiac muscle cell tissue subjected to heart stoppages or heart attacks. This is noteworthy for all people, athletes or not.

The second benefit, Neuroprotection, is more applicable for football players and older people. Neuroprotection refers to the relative preservation of neurons, which are electrically excitable cells that receive, process, and transmit information through electrical and chemical signals via specialized connections called synapses. Neurons are the primary components of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord, and of the peripheral nervous system.

Neuroprotection aims to prevent or retard disease progression and secondary injuries by halting or slowing the loss of neurons. Common mechanisms of CNS disorders include increased levels in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity, inflammatory changes, iron accumulation, and protein aggregation. The Neuroprotection mechanisms involved with Omega-3 include decreased neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, improved neurotrophic support and activation of cell survival pathways.

For years, researchers have linked neurofilaments (NFL) found in cerebrospinal fluid and blood with Alzheimer’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and other neurological disorders. The analyses of the TCU football players used NFL markers. What the researchers did not want to see was a sharp increase above someone’s normal levels, which would suggest some type of damage.

What they did detect is that NFL levels climbed throughout the football season, even though they did not reach levels high enough to indicate a concussion. Starting players experienced the most overall increases. Athletes who took high daily doses of Omega-3 DHA showed smaller increases in their NFL levels. Research findings are leading to more studies and have already inspired many football programs to be more conscientious about lowering the EFA ratios of their players’ diets.

Years ago Dr. Artemis Simopoulos was pointing out that the Omega-3 deficiency, defined as an EFA ratio that exceeds 4:1, is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma, to name a few diseases. She firmly stated that “A lower ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acids is more desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies.”

To this day we are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg regarding what there is to know about the damage the Omega-3 deficiency is causing around the world.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don't miss these links for additional reading:

The Importance of the Ratio of Omega 6 Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids by Artemis Simopoulos M.D.

Concussion Management and College Football by Lisa Martin

Study Shows Almost No College Football Players Get Enough Omega-3s

Jonathan Oliver Takes the Lead On Sports Injury Prevention, Recovery

More Research on Omega-3s in Muscle Building, Healthy Aging and Brain Health Called For, Expert Says by Hank Schultz

Cardioprotection from Wikipedia

Neuroprotection from Wikipedia

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Possible Neuroprotective Mechanisms in the Model of Global Ischemia in Rats by Maria Elizabeth Pereira Nobre, et al.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Traumatic Neurological Injury: from Neuroprotection to Neuroplasticity? by Adina T.Michael-Titus and John V.Priestley

The Neuroprotective Benefits of Omega-3 and Melatonin for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) by Anne-Marie Chalmers, MD

Ted Slanker’s Omega-3 Blood Test

Get Your Own Omega-3 Blood Test and use slanker as a code for a discount

Bill Lands’ EFA Education Website

Food Analysis: GI, GL, Fat Ratio, Nutrient Load by Ted Slanker

How Fast Can the EFA Ratio Change? By Ted Slanker