More Soldiers with Guns!!!

Something I’ve said for Years has come to Pass

No, its not about the election or Covid LOL.

Recently finally someone bit the bullet and looked at the ratio of Omega 3 (EPA/DHA aka fish oil) levels in the blood stream versus telomere length. The ratio, reported as Inflammatory Omega 6/3 ratios is also known as the “Lands Ratio” after my friend Dr Bill Lands now in his late 80’s and a pioneer in this field as well as others.

Now why would what I have known and so have you if you have read my stuff be so important!

  1. Telomeres are linked to life span and health span. The association is strong, robust and proven over and over.
  2. You can do things to reduce the stress on your telomeres.
  3. And to lengthen them.
  4. I do BOTH because in my opinion one is not enough!!!
  5. T immune cell function (helper/suppressor ratios) and Natural Killer Function are related to telomere length in the stem cells that produce them. This is where Telokynase appears to be especially helpful in modulating (boosting) the immune ability of the aging person. If you remember my comment from my first day of Med School- Pneumonia is the old man’s friend- you might want to consider Telokynase in the coming season!
  6. Many associations of longer telomere length with health and wellness in various disease states. Bill Lands published a paper that showed those with better plasma and tissue Omega 3 levels get heart attacks far less often. There are literally a dozen diseases, many associated with aging, that are better with higher Omega 3 levels.
  7. Although DHA is one of the essential fatty acids, the use of DHA only supplementation has never made and never will make any sense to me until there are studies with specific responses to supplement with only DHA. All of the ratio-based studies studies are based on both essential fatty acids especially the telomere related ones.

As I’ve always said using one and not the other does not make any sense!!!

So, I could go on and on but I’ve been writing these kinds of science based emails since 2003 and those of you who “get it” already understand so much I’ll stop here with a reminder.

Fish oil remains one of the most important if not the most important daily supplement you can take. Almost no one I know myself included can reach the proper ratio of Omega 6/3 without supplementation. You can also buy relatively inexpensive tests to document where your levels are. I encourage you to do so EVEN IF you supplement.

The Telomere is intimately linked to your health and longevity as well as the strength on your immune response. Just like the clock is ticking on your/my days on this earth it’s also ticking on your immune system – pneumonia is the old man’s friend. Telomere Length is a huge piece of that puzzle and one of the only ways I know to boost your immune system health at a cellular level. More cells, younger cells – not just your current number of aging cells that may respond to mushrooms and other compounds that increase anti-viral and anti-bacterial compounds, but potentially more cells period, to respond in healthy fashion with or without those other wonderful therapies! To use a military analogy, its not just more guns for your soldiers, its more soldiers with guns!

Only this time the army is IN YOU!

Let’s keep the peace in our bodies and not befriend “the old man’s friend!”

Dr Dave

References:

  1. Effect of plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid levels on leukocyte telomere lengths in the Singaporean Chinese population
  2. Expression and regulation of telomerase in Human T cell differentiation Patrick and Weng sept19 2019 epub Free PMC article is now available
  3. Telomere Dynamics and Telomerase Activity in Immortalized Human cells Bryan and Reddel European Journal of Cancer Vol 11 #5 1997

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top