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Eat for Energy

Ep. 9: Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA) and Energy Balance — Key Takeaways

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Ep. 9: Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA) and Energy Balance

Jay Feldman Wellness57mMay 25, 2020

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Replace seed oils, fatty fish, and grain-fed chicken/pork fats with saturated fats (butter, beef tallow, coconut oil) and monounsaturated fats (macadamia oil for cooking, olive oil cold), as polyunsaturated fats incorporate into mitochondrial membranes, cause proton leak, and generate lipid peroxidation products linked to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Key takeaways

Grain-fed chicken and pork fat are high-PUFA and should be avoided like seed oils

Grain-fed chicken and pork fat are high-PUFA and should be avoided like seed oils

  • Unlike ruminants (whose rumen bacteria saturate dietary fats before absorption), pigs and chickens absorb dietary PUFAs directly into their tissues.
  • Pasture-raised or properly fed pigs and chickens have significantly lower PUFA content in their fat.

DHA is 320x more susceptible to lipid peroxidation than oleic acid (monounsaturated fat)

DHA is 320x more susceptible to lipid peroxidation than oleic acid (monounsaturated fat)

  • Arachidonic acid is ~160x more prone to peroxidation than oleic acid; DHA is ~320x more prone.
  • At 98.6°F body temperature, peroxidation of incorporated PUFAs is ongoing — not a theoretical risk.

PUFAs incorporated into mitochondrial membranes cause proton leak, directly collapsing ATP production

PUFAs incorporated into mitochondrial membranes cause proton leak, directly collapsing ATP production

  • Cardiolipin — a mitochondrial membrane fat — becomes more unsaturated as dietary PUFA increases, making it highly susceptible to peroxidation.
  • Peroxidized cardiolipin disrupts cytochrome C oxidase, the terminal enzyme of the electron transport chain.

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In this video

  1. 1mintro
  2. 3mthe structural differences between the saturated and unsaturated fats and the foods they’re found in
  3. 14mthe purpose of different fats in nature
  4. 20mthe unsaturation of our cell structure directly impacts metabolic efficiency
  5. 31mPUFA are extremely susceptible to lipid peroxidation
  6. 39mPUFA metabolites (eicosanoids) amplify inflammation and metabolic disruption
  7. 40mPUFA don’t protect against heart disease
  8. 53mtake-home PUFA messages

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