Paleolithic: The importance of Omega-3 fatty acids seen from an evolutionary standpoint

There's increasing awareness that many of the modern chronic degenerative Western diseases aren't a product of flaws in the human genome, on the contrary, these diseases stems from our lifestyle choices and human-made changes in the environment. The human genome evolved on a hunter-gatherer diet/lifestyle. Unfortunately, this approach was gradually abandoned starting at the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10.000 years ago. This process accelerated rapidly with the industrial revolution. (note: without the agricultural revolution, we wouldn't have the society, that we have today. It's one of the most important milestones in human history, but it's time to re-evaluate/re-orientate our lifestyle and dietary choices and return to our roots in many aspects of our lives) - the problem with the modern Western diet and many of its environmental changes is, that it is in conflict with the human genome. Genetically, the anatomically modern human remains almost the same as the first Homo-Sapiens approximately 160.000 years ago. The human genome hasn't yet adapted to the modern Western lifestyle and most likely - it shouldn't. The following article will elaborate on Omega-3 fatty acids from an evolutionary standpoint, talk about the ratio between Omega-3 and Omega-6 and finally, the juicy part, discuss how fish oil can be beneficial for fat loss. (Note: I do not provide any specific details on how much fish oil you should take a day. If you're interested in dosages, you can either contact me through this website or my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BiologiqueLAB/) Without further ado:

The influence of water resources on our brain, the development of the human genome and the role of Omega-3 fatty acids seen from an evolutionary standpoint:

About 2.5 million years ago, the first appearence of larger-brained hominins started to emerge. They used tools made from stone and bones, stone weapons and they signaled a cognitive advance. (1) From the first hominins (2.5 mya) to the anatomically modern human/neanderthals, the brain developed quickly in size and the hominid species became more cognitive and technologically advanced (note: Neanderthals had brains the size of the anatomically modern human (AMH) and though they were cognitively sophisticated, they didn't have the same symbolic consciousness as the AMH (2))

Many theories have been postulated as to how the brain and the human genome evolved. In this article, the focus is on Omega-3 fatty acids and the hominids use of freshwater and marine food resources. For many years, there was a dominant theory within the scientific community called "The Savannah Hypothesis". It basically postulated, that the early hominin race developed on the savannas of Africa. The problem with this theory is, that the human brain couldn't develop properly on savanna food, due to the lack of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and other brain-selective-nutrients. Some would argue, that the early hominins got their DHA from eating organs, marrow and brains from the animals they killed on the savanna. They did indeed eat the brains, the marrow and the organs, since these are extremely nutrient dense sources; but they still don't contain enough DHA (and other brain-selective-nutrients) for proper brain development. You'd have to eat a lot of brain to get even close to the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids our ancestors consumed on a daily basis. Scientist Phillip V. Tobias writes "Michael Crawford and colleagues (...) showed that DHA was necessary for the development of the large brain characteristic of hominids. There is a relative lack of DHA in savanna food. Crawford suggests that this would explain the "degenerative evolution" of the brains of truly savanna species and would be another reason why hominids are unlikely to have evolved their large brains on the savannas" he further says "Of necessity and convenience, early hominids would have made use of the aquatic food chain thereby making possible the sepctacular evolution of the brain and brain size"(3)

Based on the material above, our ancestors might've evolved at a coastal rather than a land-based hunting system. Another argument favouring the coastal-marine food theory is the accessibility of food in the oceans. Oysters, mussels, cockles, seaweed, stranded fish, sea turtles, snails, etc. was easily accessible for our ancestors. Even children and pregnant women could easily feast off the seafood with little effort. Besides the accessibility, shore-based foods also provide the richest supply of brain-selective-nutrients in any known ecosystem. (Note: brain-selective-nutriens: iodine, selenium, zinc, iron, copper, DHA, etc)

"(...) Lipid biochemistry therefore puts the evolution of H. Sapiens firmly at the marine, riverine, and lacustrine coastlines with access to preformed DHA from aquatic resources" (4) There's no denying, that our ancestors ate a tremendous amount of land-based animals and foods, but freshwater/marine recourses was the crucial factor, that elevated and developed our brain to the state of the AMH.

Another important aspect is the brain's conservation of DHA, which could imply that DHA was crucial for the development of our DNA. Here's a long but extremely important passage from Michael Crawford: "The brain first evolved using the marine food web some 500-600 million years ago. Since then, DHA has been conserved as the principle lipid-molecular component of visual and neural signalling membranes in the cephalopods, fish, amphibian, reptiles, birds, mammals, and humans. This is an example of extreme conservation. The preservation of DHA in neural signalling systems which occurred despite the genomic chances over 600 million years implies that DHA could actually have been dictating to the DNA rather than the more conventional view of evolution occurring the other way around" (5) This is very important; despite the wide-ranging changes in the human genome, environmental changes and a variety of huge evolutionary changes, DHA has been rigidly conserved in the brain.

It's debatable how much Omega-3 fatty acids our ancestors consumed on a daily basis, but considering their exploitation of seafood, fish and wild meat (which is very high in Omega-3) they might've consumed 40-60g of Omega-3 fatty acids on a daily basis (maybe even higher) This is a tremendously big amount of Omega-3 especially considering how little Omega-3 the average person is consuming on a daily basis today. The modern human's low intake of Omega-3 hosts a variety of diseases and it's estimated that over a billion people today have suboptimal brain function and is in high risk of slower neurological development and adult onset psychiatric illness and congnitive decline, simply due to the low intake of Omega-3 (5)

The ratio between Omega-3 and Omega-6 (vegetable oil) is very important. The typical western diet has too much Omega-6 compared to Omega-3 and the ratio between Omega-6 and Omega-3 is about 10:1 and by some estimates even as high as 16:1, which is a horrible fact. Based on research from Loren Cordain, our hunter and gatherer ancestors ratio was close to 2:1 (6) (some research suggest that the ratio might have been reverse and the Omega-6 and Omega-3 ratio was 1:2 or even higher, which is also a recommended ratio from many leading nutritionists) There's a ton of data that clearly shows, that DHA has a very specific molecular role that cannot be filled by Omega-6. This means that a lot of human communities in inland or mountainous regions are at heavy risk of DHA deficiency which is contributing to a host of diseases and suboptimal brain function.

Vegetable oils cause inflammation when you eat too much of them. The body uses the same enzymes to convert both Omega-6 and Omega-3 into a form your body can proces. So if you eat too much Omega 6, there won't be enough enzymes to convert your Omega-3's. Fish oil supplementation is a good way to establish a healthy ratio, but make sure to eat enough fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, etc. a variety of seafood, eat organs, omega-3 enriched eggs, grass-fed meat, etc.

Fish oil as supplementation is a big topic and in this article i'll focus on a specific area and elaborate other areas in other articles.

1. Fish oil for fat loss:

Fish oil has been proven to be very effective for fat loss. I recommend that you take a look at references (7), (8) and (9) for the science and reasoning behind the fat loss effects. In this section we'll take a look at suggested dosages that might work for you. Note: everyone's different and only you can judge whether it's working for you or not. What works for me, doesn't necessarily work for you. Without further ado:

a) Taking fish oil according to your bodyfat. This is a principle picked up from Poliquin and Ido Portal. You'll have to take 1g of fish oil per % of body fat. As your bodyfat drops, so does your fish oil dosage. This also means, that if your bodyfat is 35% or even 40%, then you'll have to take 35-40g of fish oil. This is a dosage that is also recommended for people with a lot of inflammation in their gut (though they are recommended Cod-liver oil)

b) Take fish oil together with L-Carnitine. Another method introduced by Poliquin. Increasing your levels of Carnitine increases fat burning and it will provide your cells with the energy they need to raise your metabolism.

c) As mentioned above: make sure your ratio between Omega-6 and Omega-3 is either 2:1 or 1:2. This will significantly reduce inflammation and also lead to fat loss. Especially when you're cutting Omega-6's such as specific vegetable oils, processed foods, salad dressings, fast food, etc.

Final note:

Omega-3 fatty acids are vastly underrated in the modern Western diet. The ratio between Omega-6 and Omega-3 is horrendous and it's time for people to realise the importance of Omega-3. We should eat according to our genes and our human genome, not according to our tastebuds or the social norms. I'll post another article regarding Omega-3 soon; here i'll elaborate on the ratio between EPA and DHA and further explore how these fatty acids can be a life-changer for everyone.

Note: Consult with your healthcare professional before applying the methods.

References:

(1): Human Bran Evolution: Foreword: Evolution, Encephalization and Environment. Introduction - Kathlyn M. Stewart and Stephen C. Cunnane

(2) Macroevolutionary Patterns, Exaptation, And Emergence In The Evolution Of The Human Brain And Cognition - Ian Tattersall

(3) Evolution, Encephalization and Environment. Introduction - Phillip V. Tobias

(4) Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids In Human Brain Evolution - Michael A. Crawford

(5) Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids In Human Brain Evolution - Michael A. Crawford

(6) Human Brain Evolution: A Question Of Solving Key Nutritional And Metabolic Constraints On Mammalian Brain Development - Stephen C. Cunnane

(7): The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt page 236-238

(8): http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/964/Five_Reasons_Fish_Oil_Will_Make_You_Stronger,_Leaner_&_Healthier.aspx

(9): https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fish-oil-friend-or-foe-201307126467

8: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2958879/

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