Ask Dr. Mike: Omega-7's & How Can You Ensure Product Safety?

Additional Info

• Segment Number: 4
• Audio File: healthy_talk/1510ht2d.mp3
• Organization: Life Extension
• Guest Website: Healthy Talk MD
• Transcription: RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 11, 2015
  Host: Michael Smith, MD
  
  RadioMD. It's time for you to be a part of the show. Email or call with questions for Dr. Mike now. Email: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call: 877-711-5211. What are you waiting for? The doctor is in.
  
  So, I just had a conversation with Cheryl Myers about vaginal dryness. We talked about sea buckthorn and the oils that are in sea buckthorn which is an Omega-7, mostly.
  A listener asked the question about, "Do I need to supplement daily with Omega-7s?" and I wanted to talk a little bit more about Omega-7s because they really are a unique type of healthy fat.
  
  We hear about Omega-9. We hear about Omega-6. We hear about, obviously, Omega-3s, but I don't think too many listeners probably have heard of Omega-7. By the way, technically speaking, in theory, you could have all kinds of different types of omega fats. The "omega" just simply means that there's a double bond somewhere and the number is where that double bond happens--the first double bond. Unlike the Omega-9s, the Omega-6s and the Omega-3s, Omega-7 is a monounsaturated fat. So, it doesn't have multiple double bonds in the fat. It just has one at the 7th carbon. That's it; whereas, the other omegas are polyunsaturated.
  
  So, it's a monounsaturated omega fat which makes it unique right there, but we know from some recent research that a better name for Omega-7, is palmitoleic acid (the official fat name). But, a better way to describe Omega-7 is a lipokine. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, "lipo" means "fat" and "kine" usually means some sort of messenger. So, a lipokine is a fat-based messenger in the body and that's at least where it seems the research is going with this. There are studies looking at Omega-7s, obviously, in the urinary and genital/urinary tract. We just talked about vaginal dryness with Cheryl Myers. You know, we're looking at Omega-7s and metabolic syndrome, appetite control and what's interesting is the research is showing that this monounsaturated fat is really more like a messenger in the body, almost like a fat-based hormone, if you will. It helps to regular mucosal lining, hormone production—specifically hormones related to hunger. Cheryl had made the point that this really is maybe the next nutrient that's going to be the big star in the industry. I don't think she's that far off on that. I think we're going to hear more and more about the Omega-7 lipokine.
  
  As a matter of fact, at Life Extension, we did an article on the benefits to metabolism with Omega-7s, specifically what's referred to as metabolic syndrome. That's really a collection of metabolic derangements in your system. Central obesity (belly fat) basically; blood pressure issues; sugar issues; low good cholesterol; high triglycerides (the bad fats floating around in your blood). All of that put together is called "metabolic syndrome" and Omega-7, because of this messenger type role, was able to restore and correct a lot of those metabolic derangements in the metabolic syndrome.
  
  So, I agree with Cheryl. I think this is a nutrient to keep an eye out on specifically in cardiovascular health, metabolic syndrome, weight control and then, based on what Cheryl talked about, vaginal dryness because of its effect on membrane integrity—mucosal membrane integrity. So, really, it's an exciting nutrient and so look out more for Omega-7s.
  
  You know, the question about whether you should supplement daily with it, I mean, you know, Cheryl's a big proponent of sea buckthorn extracts which is where you find the Omega-7s. So, yes, go for it daily. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't think we should replace, at least yet, the Omega-3s with 7s. Don't do that. Omega-3s are still the big ones we want to do every day. I consider the Omega-3s foundational fats, healthy fats. Where Omega-7 is going to play out and where it's going to fall in that overall regimen-building structure, I don't know. But, we're going to keep an eye out on it. Definitely, if you have potential appetite issues, weight issues, metabolic syndrome, yes, you might want to take it daily. But, just for a general supplement, not sure yet. So, we'll see where it plays out. That's Omega-7, palmitoleic acid. A lipokine. A very unique monounsaturated omega fat.
  Okay. Next question. Alright.
  
  "How can I ensure product safety?"
  
  You know, I think I am noticing more and more questions related to quality. "How can I trust what's on the label (the brand)?" "How can I trust the claims?" I had a question recently about structure function claims on a label. "Pomegranate is good for the heart." I mean, how do we trust that? Where does that come from? I explained that it is connected to research.
  
  It is FDA regulated—those kinds of claims. So, I think a lot of these types of questions are coming from what happened in New York recently with the Attorney General there testing herbal supplements at a GNC. I think it was Target, Walmart, and Walgreen's. I can't remember every store he looked at and we've talked about that on this show. How he, obviously, has an agenda. He's very biased. He didn't use the right testing mechanisms or testing procedures to check the quality of those herbal supplements.
  
  So, I think that's where this is all coming from. As a matter of fact, I'm looking down my question list and there's one about, "Can you comment further on the New York Attorney General debate about DNA bar code testing?" So, maybe I'll get to that here in a moment. So, let me go back to this question, though. So, that's where I think these questions are coming from, which is fine. I think this is awesome. I see this as an opportunity to teach about product quality; how to choose a quality product; how to look for a quality product; what do good companies who spend a lot of time focusing on quality—what are they doing to ensure safety, to ensure their claims? The more you look into this, you realize that there are many, many companies in this industry producing high-quality, effective, safe supplements. I mean, here's what it comes down to.
  
  Listen, there are some bad guys out there. Or, bad gals I could say, too, right? I mean there are some companies that don't have your best interest in mind. They have the almighty dollar in mind. But that's in every industry. There are those companies that are producing unsafe products; that are mixing their products with drugs and stuff like that. You see that in some of the body-building products, weight loss products. They should be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Absolutely. But, that's a small, small minority of companies in this industry.
  
  So, how can I ensure product safety? I think there are two things to do. I've talked about this one before and it's the Certificate of Analysis. So, most of your companies have been doing this a long time. If you want a good list of those companies, go check out my book, The Supplement Pyramid. There's in the appendix in the back, a list of all the companies I like that I work with they all produce something called a Certificate of Analysis. What this is, it's a lab that looks at the raw materials. It's a lab that looks at the final product and they produce this document that shows that, "Yes. What the label says should be in there is in there and other things like microbes and metals and contaminants aren't." It's document proof that that is a safe product and the label is correct. You just ask for it.
  
  I mean, I work here at Life Extension. You just ask us, "Where is your Certificate of Analysis for your fish oil?" "Here it is. We'll send it to you. We'll fax it to you." It's easy to get. Certificate of Analysis. So, that's the first thing.
  
  I think from there, too, there's dosing. Right? There's appropriate dosing for supplements. How do you know that? That's where it's good to have a doctor that you're working with. We have Life Extension health advisors that can help you figure out the appropriate dose because everything has an appropriate dose. So, Certificate of Analysis and dosing for product safety.
  
  This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
• Length (mins): 10
• Waiver Received: No
• Internal Notes: NO GUEST
• Host: Mike Smith, MD