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Creators & Guests

Host
Mikki Williden

What is Mikkipedia?

Mikkipedia is an exploration in all things health, well being, fitness, food and nutrition. I sit down with scientists, doctors, professors, practitioners and people who have a wealth of experience and have a conversation that takes a deep dive into their area of expertise. I love translating science into a language that people understand, so while some of the conversations will be pretty in-depth, you will come away with some practical tips that can be instigated into your everyday life. I hope you enjoy the show!

00:03
Hey everyone, Mikki here. You're listening to Mikkipedia. And this week on the podcast, I wanna chat to you about nutrients that help reduce inflammation. And this has come about because I was gifted a supplement from Chris Kress's team at Adapt Naturals. Now, I have followed Chris forever. He is like...

00:25
some sort of far away mentor that I've really gained so much information and clarity over nutrition supplements, health conditions over the years. And I'm continued to be educated by him and the information he puts out there. So this supplement is called Bioavail Omega Plus, and it contains not only fish oil as suggested by Omega Plus, but also curcumin and black seed oil.

00:52
I do just want to go through some of the known benefits of each of these nutrients to sort of explain why they are all in this one supplement. I will do this over two episodes. I will address the fish oils first and then go into the details on curcumin and black seed oil too. I think the thing is that as I talk about many people struggle with inflammation and autoimmune conditions.

01:19
So the more that we can get a handle on these things, the better we're able to resolve some of that underlying stress on the body and just help improve overall quality of life. So that's where I'm heading over the next couple of weeks. I imagine that you are likely familiar with Omega-3s because they've been long known to be recommended for particularly inflammatory conditions. And of course, curcumin has got

01:49
It had its time on the supplement shelf, if you will, and it's also really effective for reducing inflammation amongst a whole host of other things. But the black seed oil is a relatively new one. So I do want to go over some of the research around that, which I find pretty interesting. I've been taking this supplement for a week now, and I'm super interested because it has long been on my radar that...

02:14
taking omega-3s is the one thing I don't consistently do. Like I might get some, take it for a while, and then just forget. And in fact, that is really like my history with a lot of supplements. But over the last few months, outside of that time when I was taking a raft of supplements to help with my bone injury, over the last few months, I've been super consistent with my currants, I've been super consistent with using the clover ferment products, and in fact, I find them delightful to take. I love that.

02:43
savory flavor. I'm on the blend Kavas now. And also with, of course, my pendulum supplement, the metabolic daily or acumencia. So I've been sort of mixing up those two. In addition, of course, to magnesium, not, I didn't mean to actually just go through the entire list of my supplements, sorry, but I just thought actually I should probably just also say I've always been consistent with magnesium as well. And in fact, have the Pilla

03:11
product right now. So this is one that Dr. Dan Plews, I believe he's the head of science over there actually, not quite sure if that's the title, but he certainly does have a position there. And so I've been trialing and really enjoying their magnesium supplement. In addition to, of course, they've got a new collagen out. And I'll be remiss not to also mention the Good Green Vitality, which if you follow my Insta stories, you will see that I am on the daily.

03:42
But this is a new one and I'm super pleased to tell you that I've been pretty consistent with taking it. And I do just want to go through some of the reasons why you might consider a supplement particularly for inflammation and or sort of your immune system. As you know, inflammation is basically thought to be at the root of all chronic and autoimmune diseases and this ranges from rheumatoid arthritis to metabolic syndrome and diabetes to neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive decline.

04:11
Along with these increasing rates of these conditions, it's well known that autoimmune conditions are on the rise as is type 2 diabetes and of course, obesity and excess body fat. So too is inflammation. It's thought that around 80 million Americans, and this is the data that we have, unsurprisingly, we don't have great data here in New Zealand, about 80 million Americans suffer from chronic illnesses that at the face of it, they affect quality of life.

04:41
Long term, not only are they going to affect your health span, but likely your lifespan as well. Inflammation, of course, whilst it is a problem in cases of chronic inflammation, it is a natural bodily process designed to help us recover from injury and infection. So when the body recognizes this injury or infection, it releases chemicals that trigger the immune system to either heal the damaged tissue or fight off foreign pathogens.

05:08
And of course, once this has occurred, the wound has been healed, the infection has been resolved, the body signals the immune system to essentially calm down and halt that inflammatory process. However, when the threat to the body is constant or perceived to be constant, that inflammatory process doesn't stop. And the chronic inflammation that we talk about with regards to disease states is often

05:36
inflammation that might not be so high, but it's always going on in the background. And of course, in addition to eating really well, a nutrient dense diet, having a more active but less stressful lifestyle, added support from key nutrients can also help fight inflammation. And this is where there is interest in the supplements that are in this Adapt Naturals Bio-Avail Omega Plus. And that is EPA and DHA, which are long-chained omega-3 fats, it's curcumin,

06:05
and it's that black seed oil. So with EPA and DHA, there are numerous studies that are focused on these anti-inflammatory properties that come from fish oil and seafood. And for those people who do not consume anything of sort of marine nature, then you can also get these from blue algae supplements. They are long chain omega-3 fatty acids. They work to reduce inflammation by

06:33
competing for the same enzymes that pro-inflammatory compounds like arachidonic acid seek out. So when there's sufficient EPA, it will out-compete the arachidonic acid and shift the system toward an anti-inflammatory response. Both EPA and DHA also produce metabolites like resolvins, protectins, and morisins that compete with other metabolites of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.

07:03
In addition to that, those omega-3 fats also reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-17. And whilst we are capable of producing EPA and DHA, the easiest way to get enough of these nutrients is through our diet. So in theory, we can produce these from a precursor of omega-3 fats called alpha-linolenic acid or ALA.

07:31
But in practice, our bodies are not that efficient in the conversion. And in fact, for some people, this conversion is less than 0.5%. And that might be due to an evolutionary difference, depending on where our ancestors come from. And it is thought that people that lived coastal, back in the day, don't you love it how we're talking about like that 10,000 years ago, and I'm like, oh yeah, back in the day, these people are thought to be...

07:57
pretty poor at that conversion because they didn't need to convert it. They were able to access fresh fish and marine life because they lived on the coast. Whereas people who were landlocked and did not live nearby any sort of water, they were much more likely to be better at that conversion of ALA to EPA. But there's more to it than that as well. It really does depend on the overall amount of the ALA that you have in the diet as well.

08:27
it isn't recommended to get your omega-3s from plant-based sources because we're not that great at conversion from the alpha-lenolenic acid, which is present in plant-based sources. It's not that well converted to the EPA and DHA that we need. There are a ton of research studies showing how effective EPA and DHA are as an anti-inflammatory compound in chronic and autoimmune conditions.

08:57
best studied conditions are rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic syndrome, and also depression as well. So, with rheumatoid arthritis, there are review papers demonstrating decades of research on the impact of EPA and DHA on pain and inflammation. For these patients, have found that those fatty acids reduce those markers of inflammation, decrease inflammatory cytokines.

09:25
relieved pain and swelling, and improved mobility. There've been multiple studies looking at the effects of EPA and DHA on lupus, which is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system targets the body's tissues and results in widespread inflammation and organ tissue damage. Some of these studies have shown that the treatment with EPA and DHA improved the quality of life for lupus patients, prolonged their remission, reduced pain and inflammation, and significantly improved their endothelial function.

09:54
which is often compromised. With metabolic disorders, EPA and DHA have also been well established to lower triglycerides, which is one of the markers which are involved with dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and conditions like fatty liver disease. Fish oil reduces fasting triglycerides by decreasing the amount of triglyceride-rich, very low-density

10:23
It's also been shown to potentially lower blood pressure by increasing nitric oxide availability and relaxing that smooth muscle. So there are also multiple studies showing that EPA DHA can improve glucose, A1C, leptin, leptin to adiponectin ratio, and lipid profiles in people who are overweight and or who have pre-diabetes or diabetes. And given the prevalence of this condition worldwide,

10:50
at, you know, this is a potentially pretty important finding. One of the leading causes or theories on depression is the immune cytokine model of depression, which proposes that chemical byproducts of inflammation called cytokines do produce various psychiatric and neurological symptoms in the brain, including depression. And the evidence suggests that EPA and DHA resolves depression is in fact one of the

11:20
evidence by the independent online research company examine.com. Scientists believe that EPA and DHA work against depression in a number of key ways. So firstly, omega-3s can easily permeate the brain cell membrane and interact with mood-related molecules inside the brain, applying their infl properties to these inflamed cells. Additionally, omega-3s make up a portion of the brain cell membrane.

11:48
it's possible that by increasing the level of omega-3s in the brain, it makes it easier for serotonin, which is a chemical messenger specific to brain cells, to pass through these cell membranes. For what it's worth, EPA and DHA have also been shown to improve cognitive health, memory, and focus in older adults and can improve other neurological and cognitive disorders like Parkinson's and dementia. For what it's worth, in 2021, there was a systematic review of

12:17
5,554 studies revealing that omega-3 and fish oils have beneficial effects on reducing the relapse rate, inflammatory markers, and improving quality of life for patients with multiple sclerosis. And another review has found that placebo-controlled trials of fish oil and chronic inflammatory diseases have also found decreased disease activity. So consuming cold water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, anchovies, sardines, and shellfish

12:47
regularly is of course going to be optimal for getting your EPA and DHA into the body, particularly because these foods also contain other vitamins, minerals and bioavailable proteins essential for optimal function. If you eat two servings of these seafoods per week, this will provide you an average of a gram a day of that combined EPA and DHA. However, most people don't get enough from their diet alone. And in that instance, you

13:15
Particularly if you do have a pre-existing autoimmune condition or other chronic inflammatory conditions, you may need more than that recommended one gram a day. So supplementing with a high quality fish oil can make a real difference. But there are a ton of fish oil supplements out there. And purity is something obviously to be mindful of because many species of fish are known to have concentrated amounts of toxic chemicals like heavy metals, PCBs, and dioxins in their tissues.

13:45
Toxins may be an issue when distilling the whole fish into a fish oil. So a good fish oil supplement is one that meets or exceeds standards like the International Fish Oil Standards, IFOS, Five Star, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA, GOED monograph, and EU legislation. So these are like three different ways to sort of test the toxins in your fish oil.

14:13
having between 500 milligrams and two grams of combined EPA and DHA per day in a ratio of about three to two of EPA to DHA. So you'd want 60% EPA to 40% DHA. And then one way to test for the rancidity, so to make sure it's fresh, honestly, it might not be as scientifically rigorous, but smelling or trying the product.

14:42
is often the easiest way to know whether or not your product is rancid. So if the product tastes or smells fishy, it can be a sign that that oil has oxidized. And also, of course, adding antioxidants to fish oil can improve the stability. And there is research to suggest any curcumin or resveratrol might be a good option here. And if you're thinking about sustainability and traceability,

15:08
Look for products certified by organizations like Friends of the Sea or Marine Trust or Marin Trust, so no E there, which are two of the leading organizations for sustainable and responsible fishery management. So that's just a bit of research into EPA, DHA, and those fish oils, which you probably know a lot of that already. But it is, I think, really interesting.

15:35
useful to understand what makes a good fish oil, why plant-based oils might not be as good as those fish-based oils due to the conversion, and just the amounts that are suggested to be taken for people who may already present with an inflammatory condition or an autoimmune condition. So hopefully that's helpful. And next week, I will be chatting about both curcumin and black seed oil, which are the other two constituents of that Adapt Naturals.

16:05
Bioavail Omega Plus supplement. Before you go though, just a reminder that you should give yourself the gift of health this Christmas or someone you love and jump on my 50% off sale for my fixed term plans. So you've got Flow, you've got Flow 2.0, which is a refresh on the Flow program, all new meal plan and recipes. You've got the Man Plan, which is fabulous. All of these come with workbooks to help you just sort of.

16:35
download and hit the ground running, but of course you have access to me to help you personalize it. In addition to that, of course I've got my athlete plan and my Be Awesome plan, which is 12 week access to my meal plans on my system. Again, you have that ability to ask me questions around your nutrition situation and get some more personalized advice. And that access lasts for 12 weeks. So this is running right through to Christmas Eve and I would love to see you on them.

17:05
Alright team, you have a great week.