Lisa : But where there is obesity , where there are autoimmune conditions , for example , sometimes we don ' t actually convert the omega-3s to the SPMs . [ Specialised pro-resolving mediators ( SPMs ), also known as resolvins , protectins , and maresins , are enzymatically synthesized from the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFA ) eicosapentaenoic acid ( EPA ) and docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ).( 1 )]
Tim : That ' s right .
Lisa : Yes . I ' m really interested in Hashimoto ’ s disease , and I found this study showing that there were lower levels of these specialised proresolving mediators in individuals with Hashimoto ’ s disease , and their antibodies went up as the SPMs went down , which I thought was really interesting . As yet there are no studies specifying SPMs , but those that I ’ ve read propose that chronic unresolved inflammation is probably a driver for those autoantibodies going up .
Tim : It ' s a perfect way of explaining it : that fish oil may help reduce inflammation , but to really resolve it , you need the further metabolism of the EPA , DHA , and so on . And if there are things happening internally to cause blocks , that could be an issue . Hence , the idea in the future of taking the actual SPMs , which are the downstream metabolites of EPA , DHA , and arachidonic acid to help resolve the inflammation , rather than just dampening it down .
Lisa : So , we ' ve talked about the underlying drivers and some of the conditions associated with inflammation . I ' d love to talk to you about lifestyle . What are your favourite lifestyle strategies for treating clients with this chronic unresolving inflammation ?
Tim : Okay . There are a lot , but I ’ ll talk about two that are really important . First , it ' s going to be diet , focusing on prebiotic fibre . There are so many different types of prebiotic fibre we ' re actually learning more and more about - there ' s a wide range of different chemicals and plants that can influence that gut microbiome . Even polyphenols , we now know , can be metabolised by the gut microbiome . In fact , they play an important part this process .
So , a simple thing I ' d say to so many people is that when it comes to diet , don ' t try and heroise one particular food as the anti-inflammatory food . It ' s a diversity of foods that provides benefit , and colour is a fantastic guide to a diversity of prebiotic fibre in all plant foods . Certainly , turmeric , for example , or fish oil , all the well-known prebiotic foods , are important . But colour is the best guide .
REFERENCE
1 . Serhan CN , Levy BD . Resolvins in inflammation : emergence of the proresolving superfamily of mediators . J . Clin . Invest . 2019 ; 128 , 2657-2669 .
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