Does Omega 3 Index reflect contents of brain?

[sandyt]

Hi sandyt. The short answer to your question is- NO. From what I can glean, Rhonda hasn’t studied this directly. Her theory is based on mouse and human observational study correlations and by the fact that low levels of phosphatidylcholine DHA, the precursor to DHA-lysoPC, appear to predict the occurrence of dementia. That said, I would be very hesitant to have low Omega-3 levels in the periphery given our presumed difficulty transporting it to the brain, especially as we age. For now, I find Dr. Bredesen’s observations about Rhonda’s work most helpful as far as translating it to clinical practice.

From an earlier post, these are his recommendations for us based upon her working hypothesis:

So it's just a suggestion, but multiple observations fit with the idea that ApoE4 enhances the response to inflammatory insults—again, great for Tsimane Indians, bad for older Americans/Europeans/etc. (a)

1) The MFI of Milan Fiala shows that those with AD do not phagocytose their Abeta.  I believe they are “keeping it active” in the circulation so it can exert its antimicrobial effect. (b)

2) Multiple genes’ transcription reduced by ApoE4 transcriptional effect lead to increased inflammation when they are reduced. (c)

3) The metabolism you mentioned—same net effect. (d)

4) The transport effect Rhonda mentioned—same net effect.  This may be related to #3 as an overall response but not necessarily by the same mechanism. (e)

So, as you mentioned, how do we counter these effects?

•Increase transportable omega-3 (fish or the formulation Rhonda mentioned).
•Increase dose of omega-3.
•Reduce all sources of inflammation, such as leaky gut.  As you’ve been doing, it’s key to reduce anything that would activate the hair trigger of ApoE4 to produce inflammation.
•Help resolve ongoing inflammation, even if modest, with a trial of resolvins. (f)
•Keep omega-6:omega-3 ratio optimal (about 2:1 in blood).  Avoid <1 (bleeding) and >4 or so.  Perhaps this should be reduced to 1:1 given that the brain may not see the same ratio?
•Target specific pathogens, as you are doing.
•Consider including other anti-inflammatories such as ginger and curcumin.
_____
a. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5349792/
b. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2955441/
c. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28879423
d. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4210928/
e. https://www.fasebj.org/doi/10.1096/fj.201801412R
f. https://www.metagenics.com/spm-active (Recommended in The End of Alzheimer’s, pg. 199)

Thanks JulieG. So it seems that even though the omega index/ratio may not accurately reflect brain contents they still are worth knowing. I will ask my doctor for these tests at my next appointment.

[rclifford]

Years ago I took some Berkley heart lab blood test and that's when I first learned I had the APOE 3/4. Berkley recommended not taking fish oil and in fact said it would be bad for me to do that. Someone, who was not with Berkley, later told me I may have been advised against taking daily fish oil supplements because most of the fish oil supplements have massive amounts of Omega 3 oil as if a person is eating massive amounts of oily fish every day. Because of my being APOE 3/4 I don't digest & metabolize fats well etc. Has anyone heard of this? This was the advice I was given around 10 yrs ago by Berkley and would like to hear what you have been told. Also, recently I went thru Vitamin Lab who customizes vitamin supplements after downloading your DNA so the vitamins are suppose to be formulated with your individual DNA needs. The vitamin they are making for me has all the vitamins and additional nutritional supplements that I've read that I need except for they did put in Fish Oil (Omega-3) 84 mg. That is a small amount of fish oil compared to what is being sold other places. I think it's around 3 oz. of fish. Does anyone know what the deal is on fish oil and APOE 3/4 and our not being able to take it or not???? Your help is greatly appreciated. I just don't want to be taking something that is going to do more harm than good. Thank you, rclifford

[Julie G]

Years ago I took some Berkley heart lab blood test and that's when I first learned I had the APOE 3/4. Berkley recommended not taking fish oil and in fact said it would be bad for me to do that. Someone, who was not with Berkley, later told me I may have been advised against taking daily fish oil supplements because most of the fish oil supplements have massive amounts of Omega 3 oil as if a person is eating massive amounts of oily fish every day.

Yep, this is one of the mainstream messages that our project has uncovered as being potentially NOT in our best interests. We're grassroots activists with a primary mission to learn all we can about the ApoE4 allele and how it impacts health; by doing so we sometimes overturn traditional recommendations. The science 10 years ago concluded the Omega-3s don't seem to help our genotype as much as other APOE genotypes; therefore they were advised against for us. More recent science has shown that we preferentially metabolize Omega-3s and may actually need more to reach the same Omega-3 index levels. Rhonda Patrick's paper takes this a step further and hypotheses that Omega-3s may have a more difficult time getting through our damaged blood brain barrier. Another study used an all ApoE4 dataset and found that those with the highest Omega-3 index levels had the best cognition. Feel free to check out uor wiki article on the topic.

Because of my being APOE 3/4 I don't digest & metabolize fats well etc. Has anyone heard of this? This was the advice I was given around 10 yrs ago by Berkley and would like to hear what you have been told.

This is another piece of mainstream advice that many in our community are challenging through n=1 experimentation. Many of us who ate the recommended low fat diet began to develop insulin resistance as we aged. Lots of our members have experimented with various iterations of a low carb diet to improve our metabolic markers with success. Another advantage this approach can offer is that of addressing our reduced ability to utilize glucose as fuel in our brains that starts as early as our 3rd decade in a dose dependent fashion, i.e. homozygotes are impacted more. A low carb approach, especially when combined with fasting and exercise, can create ketones that effectively make up this neural fuel shortfall.

[Chameleon]

Hi rclifford,

Welcome to the APOE4 community! You are asking some good questions and I am glad that you are continuing to investigate and advocate for yourself. Then I look at Julie G's response and think what a wealth of information that this site brings to people. You are in the right place to research this further.

Also, you may want to check out the Primer and Wiki as they have more information that could be helpful.

I look forward to hearing how you decide to proceed.