Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Insights and discussion from the cutting edge with reference to journal articles and other research papers.
harpsicon
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 7:33 am

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by harpsicon »

With regard to omega-3 eggs, there's a standout candidate egg containing 660 mg of omega-3, which compares very well indeed with the 225 mg which seems to be the standard for fancy store, expensive, eggs. I believe these were/are produced by Christopher eggs, and they pop up available here and there. One can currently get them from Kroger stores as part of their "simple truth" line, which seems to emphasize their "better" if not necessarily organic products.

They're currently $2.89/dozen where I live.

If omega-3 eggs are a great choice over krill oil, etc. at $1.77/g, then they should be even more attractive at three times the potency and 30-75% of the cost -- maybe $.50/g with these eggs.

I don't believe that these are pastured or "humane" eggs, but Dr. Gundry for one seems to be saying that "free-range" is baloney, organic doesn't matter, and that it takes a completely, honestly, pastured egg to achieve any nutritional advantage, and that apparently these are quite rare.
DoubleBond
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 4:21 pm

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by DoubleBond »

I have been wondering about the "simple truth eggs" mentioned by harpsicon for several months. I and my wife have been using them exclusively and we like their taste. Here is the link to their description:
https://www.kroger.com/p/simple-truth-n ... 1111083411

However, I been unsuccessful in trying to find an independent evaluation of their nutritional content. The box says 660 mg of omega-3 (but does not say if it is per egg? per serving? per box?). Also, what kind of omega-3? How much ALA vs DHA and EPA? If the omega-3 is mostly ALA, maybe it is not such a good source, as only a small percentage will be converted to DHA and EPA. Does anybody know?
BrianR
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 298
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:32 pm
Location: Central Florida

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by BrianR »

DoubleBond wrote:However, I been unsuccessful in trying to find an independent evaluation of their nutritional content. The box says 660 mg of omega-3 (but does not say if it is per egg? per serving? per box?). Also, what kind of omega-3? How much ALA vs DHA and EPA? If the omega-3 is mostly ALA, maybe it is not such a good source, as only a small percentage will be converted to DHA and EPA. Does anybody know?
Cronometer is a wonderful resource, I recommend subscribing to it. Below is a snapshot of the "CRDB" (user submitted) nutritional analysis for Simple Truth Cage Free Omega eggs. (I don't trust the CRDB entries as much as, say NCCDB or USDA, but they've at least been sanity checked.)
CRDB nutrition for Simple Truth Natural cage Free Omega-3 eggs.png
As for the breakdown between ALA, DHA, EPA, etc. see, for example:
Comparative omega-3 fatty acid enrichment of egg yolks from first-cycle laying hens fed flaxseed oil or ground flaxseed
Comparative study of fatty-acid composition of table eggs from the Jeddah food market and effect of value addition in omega-3 bio-fortified eggs
Or the somewhat less comprehensive Omega-3 eggs: healthier choice or marketing gimmick?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
harpsicon
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 7:33 am

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by harpsicon »

The Cronometer CRDB does indeed give .66g of omega-3 (=660mg) for these eggs, but that's a "community" number, not a lab number, apparently. It seems as though the eggs are mostly produced by adding a lot of flaxseed to the feed, but although flaxseed is only ALA, the chickens manage somehow to transform a bunch of it into DHA. Amazing... You can also add fish oil to the feed, but there's no mention of this, so it would seem that it's not likely to be part of the picture.

However, my understanding of the history of these eggs is that some big egg farmer like Pilgrim or Purdue designed these eggs for his own consumption. Which would seem to indicate they are for real...
DoubleBond
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 4:21 pm

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by DoubleBond »

I love the Cronometer, but one thing that could be improved is introducing a distinction between ALA and EPA/DHA. An ounce of walnuts will yield 2.6 g of omega-3, the same amount of omega-3 as 8.5 oz of sockeye salmon, but - correct me if I am wrong - the two amounts are not of the same value for our brains.

Looking at the first paper that BrianR cited (thanks!), I see the fraction of omega-3 in fatty acids in egg yolk varying from 2 to about 10% (Figure 1), and EPA+DHA lipid fraction of egg yolk about 1.3 - 1.7% (Figure 2), depending on how the hens are fed. With 5g of fat in an average yolk, this would translate into 100-500 mg of total omega-3 and 65-85 mg EPA+DHA. Which indicates that hens (like humans) manage to convert only a (relatively small) part of the ALA in flaxseed to EPA/DHA.
JJ 007
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 1:24 pm

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by JJ 007 »

Hey guys.
how about a product called Sharp PS Gold?
https://supplementsinreview.com/brand/sharp-ps/
http://www.countrylifevitamins.com/stor ... upplements
Or is this amount to small?
It says its the most potent, which is odd!

Also, if we are going with the Nordic naturals, what dose is best do we think?
I've just ordered mine.

Thanks :)
JJ 007
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 1:24 pm

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by JJ 007 »

Hey guys
I just found this one, which has 500mg Phospholipids, with 400 DHA, 100 EPA (and includes PS).
So could this be more genuine based on it adding up?
https://www.cytoplan.co.uk/r-omega?sqr=dha&
Thanks.
DoubleBond
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 4:21 pm

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by DoubleBond »

New paper by a group from the Keck School of Medicine shows that daily supplementation of 2g DHA in triglyceride form increases DHA in the brains of APOE4's - just not as much as for APOE3's:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32690472/

Here is the Abstract:
Background: Past clinical trials of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) supplements for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia have used lower doses and have been largely negative. We hypothesized that larger doses of DHA are needed for adequate brain bioavailability and that APOE4 is associated with reduced delivery of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to the brain before the onset of cognitive impairment.

Methods: 33 individuals were provided with a vitamin B complex (1 mg vitamin B12, 100 mg of vitamin B6 and 800 mcg of folic acid per day) and randomized to 2,152 mg of DHA per day or placebo over 6 months. 26 individuals completed both lumbar punctures and MRIs, and 29 completed cognitive assessments at baseline and 6 months. The primary outcome was the change in CSF DHA. Secondary outcomes included changes in CSF EPA levels, MRI hippocampal volume and entorhinal thickness; exploratory outcomes were measures of cognition.

Findings: A 28% increase in CSF DHA and 43% increase in CSF EPA were observed in the DHA treatment arm compared to placebo (mean difference for DHA (95% CI): 0.08 µg/mL (0.05, 0.10), p<0.0001; mean difference for EPA: 0.008 µg/mL (0.004, 0.011), p<0.0001). The increase in CSF EPA in non-APOE4 carriers after supplementation was three times greater than APOE4 carriers. The change in brain volumes and cognitive scores did not differ between groups.

Interpretation: Dementia prevention trials using omega-3 supplementation doses equal or lower to 1 g per day may have reduced brain effects, particularly in APOE4 carriers.
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by circular »

DoubleBond wrote:New paper by a group from the Keck School of Medicine shows that daily supplementation of 2g DHA in triglyceride form increases DHA in the brains of APOE4's - just not as much as for APOE3's:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32690472/
This paper makes some interesting points.

As to the OP, they address different formulations of DHA and emphasize that the science behind phospholipid uptake is based on animal studies and not yet shown in humans:
Direct comparisons of the different formulations do not support an advantage for TG or PL-based formulations on plasma levels [48], although animal models indicate that PL-DHA may increase in the brain more efficiently than other formulations [49]. Unesterified fatty acids and specific phospholipids such as lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC DHA) are the preferred brain DHA substrates [50]. Following absorption, dietary TG-DHA is hydrolyzed by lipases to produce free or unesterified DHA and LPC DHA. A second phase PL-DHA is produced from hepatic metabolism of TG-DHA. When in free fatty acid form, DHA detaches from albumin in the plasma and is transported via passive diffusion across the outer membrane of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) [41]. LPC DHA is transported along the inner membrane of the BBB via the major facilitator superfamily domain-containing 2a (MFSD2a) receptor [51]. Accordingly, LPC DHA formulations may produce faster enrichment of brain DHA concentrations than TG-based DHA formulations [52] [This footnote cites Rhonda], but this has not yet been demonstrated in human studies.
There's an interesting bit about peroxisomal dysfuntion in E4s:
In the current study, we observed an increase in EPA levels after DHA supplementation which is likely secondary to retroconversion from DHA. Although acute carbon tracer studies suggest minimal retroconversion of DHA to EPA in tissues [53], longer-term DHA supplementation leads to an increase in circulatory EPA by up to 10% [54,55]. This process involves peroxisomal oxidation of DHA and occurs in both astrocytes and hepatocytes [56]. Furthermore, the EPA content of the n-3 FA capsules provided in this trial was very small (<0.1%), making it a less plausible explanation for the observed increase in plasma or CSF EPA levels following supplementation. The lower rate of retroconversion of DHA to EPA in APOE4 carriers may signify peroxisomal dysfunction. Peroxisomes play a key role in the production of reactive oxygen species and contribute to the oxidation of long-chain PUFAs [57]. In AD mouse models, decreased efficiency of peroxisomal b-oxidation was observed in the hippocampus and was associated with the accumulation of toxic very long chain fatty acids [58]. It is plausible that older APOE4 carriers with evidence of oxidation markers in tissues may not benefit from n-3 FA supplementation, underscoring the need for early intervention.
There follows a brief discussion of the vital importance of EPA as an anti-inflammatory in the brain.
EPA plays fundamental roles in neuroinflammation and neural proliferation processes [[25],[26]]. EPA can work to attenuate the effects of inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1b (IL-1b) via various cell signaling pathways [27]. EPA also serves as a source of eicosanoids and resolvins involved in mitigating inflammation and excitotoxicity in the brain [[28],[29]]. This finding contributes to our understanding as to why APOE4 carriers with limited omega-3 intake might be at a greater risk of neuroinflammation and AD progression [30].
Have we been underplaying the importance of EPA supplementation while being focused on ApoE4 issues with DHA? Are there studies addressing brain uptake of EPA in ApoE4s?

They note that:
APOE4 non-carriers showed a trend toward greater CSF DHA levels and significantly greater EPA levels compared with APOE4 carriers. Lower CSF DHA and EPA levels in APOE4 following DHA supplementation could result from lower brain uptake or greater brain consumption.
They have a larger study to follow that is designed to shed light on this critical question, PreventE4 (NCT03613844)
The Brain DHA Delivery Trial will examine the effect of APOE genotype on the changes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) DHA to Arachidonic acid (AA) ratio in 160 cognitively healthy older individuals in response to DHA supplementation. Randomized clinical trials have yielded mixed results on the effect DHA supplementation on cognitive outcomes. This study asks the critical question of whether DHA gets into the brain in sufficient amounts after supplementation, and whether APOE genotype affects brain penetrance.

This trial will also test the effect of DHA supplementation on changes in brain structural and functional connectivity assessed by MRI, and changes in cognition after two years of supplementation in all 320 participants.
If higher daily TG-DHA levels are shown to improve ApoE4 brain uptake, maybe this study will provide some reassurance that we can be helped using lower cost TG-DHA instead of higher cost daily phospholipid intake -- or some more cost effective combination of TG-DHA and PL-DHA? ... (depending on the forms used of each type).
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
MoJoe
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:15 pm
Location: Christchurch N.Z

Re: Dr. Rhonda: Get some DHA in phospholipid form

Post by MoJoe »

Best fish for ethanolamine plasmalogens and high DHA is squid or squid roe. Any source that supplies the choline plasmalogens are not as good, such as chicken etc. The Omega 3 DHA is King of the Castle, there are no silver medals here.
As a sidenote, and with the greatest respect, I would venture that the oil that Goodenowe supplies is ridiculously expensive. Its a common oil, and nothing too magical. Its use as a precursor for enhancing plasmalogen production has been known since the late eighties.
MoJoe
Post Reply