Originally published April 17 2013
Research: Treat severe flu with omega-3 fatty acids
by PF Louis
(NaturalNews) The more you read the more you discover health benefits from omega-3 fatty acids. Many naturopaths, chiropractors, physicians and NaturalNews readers know its value for supporting cardiovascular health, reducing inflammation, and enhancing cognitive brain function. Now it seems to fight severe influenza.
Omega-3 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) which is not generated from within the body. Therefore it's an essential oil, meaning it needs to be supplied from outside sources. There are two types of sources, plant and animal.
Plant sources include avocados and nuts, but the ones used as supplements are flax seeds or oils, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. The oils need to be refrigerated. Flax seeds need to be ground - a coffee grinder works well - and consumed very soon after.
Chia seeds don't need to be ground or refrigerated. Hemp seeds need to be refrigerated but not ground.
Animal sources can be eggs or even meats. But the best sources are fatty fish and fish and krill oils. Fish oil supplements, usually from cod or krill, are available in health food stores in the refrigerated section, and they must also remain refrigerated at home or they'll go rancid.
Johanna Budwig, scientist and creator of the Budwig Diet that has had high success with cancer, insists on using refrigerated bottled oils instead of capsuled oils. Budwig used flax oil and cottage cheese to promote oxygen delivery into cancer cells that die off from oxygen.
Recent research discovers omega-3 efficacy at ridding flu infection
A Japanese study recorded in the journal Cell entitled "The Lipid Mediator Protectin D1 Inhibits Influenza Virus Replication and Improves Severe Influenza."
The study concluded that protectin D1, the lipid mediator, has both a preventative and curative potential for even H5N1, the rare so called "bird flu" that is actually more lethal than any other influenza.
The researchers heavily infected mice with different strains of influenza viruses. Those fed the protectin D1 from an omega-3 fatty acid source survived as well as those who were given Peramivir, a powerful intravenous drug given emergency approval for specific grave influenza conditions in South Korea and Japan.
Half the mice died with either remedy. But all of the heavily infected mice given both Peramivir and protectin D1 survived. Further petri dish study revealed the mechanics of how omega-3 fatty acid's protectin D1 shuts down viral replication at the cellular level.
Protectin D1 is part of a natural substance, a polyunsaturated fatty acid or PUFA as omega-3 fatty acid. A blog that's part of Nature Medicine called spoonful of medicine enthusiastically reported this study as a birth of natural anti-flu medicines without side the effects that Big Pharma's flu medicines usually confer.
Under the shadow of the medical mafia - Big Pharma, FDA, and AMA, it's more likely a pharmaceutical company will consign willing researchers to reverse engineer the protectin D1 from omega-3 to create a synthetic version of protectin D1 that can be patented.
But for those of us in the alternative health community, the cat's out of the bag. We are now aware that omega-3 fatty acids can effectively prevent and cure any flu.
The plant-based vs. animal-based omega-3 debate
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are considered the optimum movers and shakers for omega-3 health benefits. EPA and DHA are ready to go in animal omega-3 sources.
Plant sources contain ALA, or alpha linoleic acid (not alpha lopeic acid). Plant ALA has to be converted by the person consuming it into EPA and DHA. As one grows older or becomes sickly, the body's ability to make this conversion diminishes.
So some experts recommend using fish oil supplements. But it's not a bad idea to use both, actually. There are certain benefits from plant ALA omega-3 as well.
Sources for this article include
http://blogs.nature.com
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.cell.com/abstract/S0092-8674%2813%2900216-X
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