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Polyunsaturated-Fatty-Acids As Hibernation Signaling Hormones.

polyunsaturated fat torpor hibernation diet nuts pufa metabolic-syndrome inflammation thyroid binding-protein

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#1 misterE

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Posted 08 February 2014 - 05:15 AM


Mother Nature is very intricate. And nowhere is this more relevant in regards to mammalian and plant membrane-saturation during seasonal hibernation. In cold climates of earth, plants produce lots of polyunsaturated-fats, whereas in warm climates, like the tropics, plants produce very little polyunsaturated-fats. Bearing in mind that polyunsaturated-fats are very heat and light sensitive, why do you think this would be?

The reason: in cold regions of the earth, plants need polyunsaturated-fats to survive the frozen winter months, if the seed was saturated, then the fats in the seed would be frozen solid, and the plant wouldn’t be able to germinate and eventually sprout, polyunsaturated-fats stay liquid even in freezing temperatures. But in tropical regions, there is no winter so there is no need for plants to make any polyunsaturated-fats, coconut is a good example with the world’s highest saturate to polyunsaturate ratio.

Now interestingly enough as the seasons change and the plants start producing their seeds (which are full of polyunsaturated-fat which will help them survive the winter), animals feast on these seeds and build up a nice stockpile of polyunsaturated-fats in their cellular-membranes and adipose-tissue. These polyunsaturated-fats that the animal ate now ensure the animal will survive the winter as well.

The reason why that is, is once again; when these animals go into hibernation, if they didn’t have much polyunsaturation of their cells, all of their cells would literally freeze to death, or became frozen shut, none of the vital hormones or nutrients could enter or exit the cells, and the animal would die. But since the animal has now increased its polyunsaturation, the cells stay liquid (or more fluid) in freezing temperatures, allowing the proper cellular signals and nutrients to continue to function, which prevents death of the frozen hibernating animal.

This is a lifesaving intricate way Mother Nature would ensure that life (both plant and animal) would continue to flourish after the winter and into the spring. The bad news is that during hibernation (when insulin stimulation decreases and lipolysis increases) these polyunsaturated-fats that are being released as free-fatty-acids will actually interfere with the binding of steroid, thyroid, and corticosteroids to their transport-proteins (thus nullifying their potency), they also inhibit a bunch of other enzymes and functions that are central to basal-metabolic-rate, body-temperature, immunity and inflammation. The reason why they do this; it helps conserve and redirect energy, which becomes advantageous in long periods of time without calories.

Humans, seemingly unaware of this intricacy, began to store nuts and seeds all year long (not just eating them seasonally) and we began to squeeze all the oils out of grains (corn) and beans (soy) and feed these foods to livestock. The result of which is that modern humans are taking in vast quantities of these fats, which are sending hormonal signals to the body to shut down metabolism and energy expenditure, rev up the immune-system and inflammation and to prepare for hibernation!

There is no doubt in my mind that the high levels and daily consumption of polyunsaturated-fats are throwing people’s circadian-rhythm and hormonal-balance out of sync, in favor of metabolic-syndrome. Without doubt, one of the largest dietary changes modern humans are going thru currently, is a huge daily intake of polyunsaturated-fats, the other is a severe lack of fiber and starch in the daily diet. I think the combination of the two is a metabolic disaster and the primary reason behind most chronic degenerative diseases.



The foods that contain the highest levels of polyunsaturated-fats are:
Vegetable-oils
Animal-fats
Nuts/seeds/avocadoes/olives

The foods lowest in polyunsaturated-fats are:
Fruits
Vegetables
Grains (especially refined)
Beans (except soybean).

Edited by misterE, 08 February 2014 - 05:38 AM.

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#2 misterE

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Posted 30 March 2014 - 08:00 PM

Am J Physiol. 1987 May;252(5 Pt 2):R897-901.
Polyunsaturated lipid diet lengthens torpor and reduces body temperature in a hibernator.
Geiser F, Kenagy GJ.

Abstract
Membrane lipids of vertebrate animals that tolerate cold are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Because the lipid composition of cellular membranes in mammals can be experimentally altered by diet, we investigated whether a diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids would lengthen bouts of torpor and reduce the minimum body temperature in hibernating chipmunks (Eutamias amoenus) compared with a diet rich in saturated fatty acids. Animals on the highly unsaturated diet showed significantly longer bouts of torpor, lower minimum body temperatures, and lower metabolic rates than those on a saturated diet. Animals on a control diet were intermediate. These dietary adjustments apparently influence the control of body temperature by the central nervous system, which results in a modification of the pattern of torpor. The observations also suggest a role of nutritional ecology in hibernation.
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Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: polyunsaturated fat, torpor, hibernation, diet, nuts, pufa, metabolic-syndrome, inflammation, thyroid, binding-protein

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