Here’s what my friend Silvio Najt MD (specializations in cardiology and emergency medicine) had to say in response to your comment:

“Cool. I had to read all to remember and learn new data about Prostaglandins. OK, lets put things into a wider perspective, PG have a very short life in our blood stream, most of them regulate CELLULAR athmospheres, that is to say that their effects are mainly local, they have an extremelly short life, nanoseconds. So very hard to study.
There are still very limited therapeutical applications for them, mainly in Pediatric cardilogy (keep opened ductus arteriosus after delivery in babies with certain cardiopathies) some hepatic, renal and OB/GYN usages, but still uncertain and very limited.
I will not be able to explain with such an accurate emphasis the responsibility of certain combinations, fractions, functions, etc, of these hormones.
I am sure – and I have seen this happen over the years – that most of the statements described in this 1999 paper could have drastically changed in 10 years or may change any minute (the diagram is even dated 1989!), as we are learning more and more about them all the time. Many of the statements written on this paper use the terms, maybe, seems to, speculations, might be, etc.
So all these things should be taken very slowly, let’s not rush into easy and fast conclusions after reading a paper like this. Frankly there are descriptions there that I can hardly understand, I will not jump into therapeutical conclusions or actions just by reading this intricate paper.
I will just say, the oils that Jini recommends have anti-inflamatory effects, in essence we really do not know why.”

I know a few years back, the media started saying “don’t eat omega-6 oils, because we get too much of them in our diet and it throws off the ratio needed for the omega fatty acids”. At that point, I revisited my recommendation to use Udo’s oil in the shakes for the elemental diet. However, no matter what the current ‘research’ says, myself and hundreds of others have had extremely positive results from using 5-8 tbsp. of Udo’s oil per day whilst on The IBD Remission Diet.

So, at the end of the day, experiential evidence has to trump research and scientific inquiry – which, as Dr. Najt pointed out, is continually evolving and pretty much always imperfect.

Follow your own gut for what is best for your unique body.

take care,
Jini

Thank you SO much for staying on top of Healthy Fats. You have really helped me to see how important they are.

In some of my research, I have come across this GREAT article by the Weston A. Price Foundation. I am sure that you have seen this as well.

http://westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/tripping.html

The way that I read this article, it is best to eat the specific fats that are closest to the four little circles in the diagram. Especially for people who may not have enough of the enzymes to properly convert some of the other fats.

For example, taking Flax Oil may not be the best thing for me personally because to get to the series 3 Prostaglandins, my body would need enough of the Delta-6 Desaturase, Elongase enzyme and Delta-5 desaturase. It might be best for me to take it directly as EPA in Cod Liver Oil.

I have read/seen Udo Erasmus speak about this conversion and give estimates about how efficiently a healthy person can convert Flax Oil to EPA. With Ulcerative Colitis, I doubt my body’s ability to do this. Therefore, does it make sense for me to include a product like Udo’s in my supplementation plan, or does it make sense to go “closer” to the fats that I need?

Am I correct in interpretting this article (and diagram) to indicate that it may be best to take DGLA, AA, EPA and DHA to best boost the important building block Prostaglandins?

The “Let’s Get Technical” section of the article states these two things:

“At low concentrations PGE1 blocks the effects of PGI2 and enhances those of TXA2; at higher concentrations it imitates PGI2 and blocks TXA2 .”

“TXA2 synthesis seems to be deficient in cases of ulcerative colitis, leaving to an overproduction of other prostaglandins.”

I take this to mean that people with UC should consider taking enough DGLA to avoid being deficient in PGE1, but not enough to cause an inflammatory reaction. Am I understaning this correctly?

Any insight you could provide would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Ed

Ideally you want it in a glass bottle and as long as it says “unrefined” (of course “certified organic” is also best). 1 tbsp per day is a good starting dose.

If you want a real creme de la creme coconut oil supplement then try the Blue Breeze – Coconut Ghee Pure Virgin Oil Blend from Green Pastures:
http://www.greenpasture.org

It is a blend of coconut oil and grass-fed ghee.

This one from Dr. Ben Kim is also a really good one and there’s LOTS more great info here about coconut oil and the difference between different preparations:

https://www.drbenkim.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=60

take care,
Jini