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A Well-Oiled Brain
These days we are beginning to hear about the importance of fish oils as brain oils, and many of us have heard of Omega oils. But without much understanding of what this means, we are open to all kinds of profiteering, and misconceptions abound on this subject, even within the field of nutrition, let alone marketing. The Omegas are a very delicate set of highly structured oils that the body has found many vital uses for. Most importantly derivatives from it (called DHA and EPA) are the basic structural component that makes up the grey matter in the brain, as well as being a major player in the myelin sheaths on the nerves and the trigger mechanism in the inflammatory system. Important to note is that the body can only make DHA & EPA from the Omega Oils found in our diet - that is why they are called 'essentials' fatty acids. When there is a lack of them, the body will use other things as a second best in order to survive the deficiency – but in the long term, it leads to devastating results. Inflammatory SystemIn a well-funded, well-nourished inflammatory system, a stimulated area will become inflated, bringing more blood to deal with the offending matter, plus additional nutrients and oxygen, to take away dead and damaged cells, and then the area will deflate again. With a lack of EPA, prostaglandins (the trigger mechanism for an inflammatory system) will get built from cholesterol-like materials, so they can function at all. Because this material is not the right shape for the job, this quick fix leads to problems - somewhat like using strong-tape instead of a nut and bolt. Under these conditions, the inflammatory response may be over-zealous, meaning that the slightest stimulation produces excessive inflammation which may not disengage once the stimulus is removed. The sudden inclusion of dietary Omega 3 has dramatic affect on about 30% of inflammatory cases, because the reason for the inflammation is a sticky trigger, rather than infection or damage. However, in the other 70% of cases, Omega inclusion will not change arthritis, because the inflammatory response is appropriate to the cause - IE: Calcified spurs sticking into the cartilage, or the grinding of damaged bone. Nerve EndingsAnother Omega-reliant compound is DHA, found in relatively huge amounts in the nerve endings. And again, studies looking at Omega inclusion show radical regeneration in Myelin sheaths in some systems in the body - accounting for the fact that some nerve damage is irreversible, the findings are promising. And of course, the largest collection of nerve endings is in your head. Brain Oils
The collection of nerve-like fibres in your brain are so tightly packed, that around 80% of that fatty tissue is made from DHA - only available from Omega Oils in the diet. This degree of dependency upon these oils shows up in endless ways if they become deficient. But the rate at which the system wants to rebuild these vital functions is equally inspiring. There is strong evidence that ADHD, chronic depression, Aspergers Syndrome, and other neurological conditions are all improved by the introduction of Omega oils into the diet. This is because building a brain with substandard fats (putting the nerves on a hair-trigger) makes problems inevitable. As long as these disorders are based on the neurological structure (lack of Omegas), rather than traumatic events, then great improvements can be seen through Omega inclusion - again, around 30%. Sacred Cranium
The brain is the single biggest, complex, organised system ever seen in the whole of creation. It is a wonder of cellular engineering, hormonal sequencing, dynamic nerve building, and Oxygen management. Creatures with our size brains have only been seen in two places in the whole of evolution - in the sea (whales & dolphins) and in the forest (higher-apes). So incredibly rare is this monumental, structural achievement, that its originals have to be considered in that context - IE: We grew it in the forest. The brain-size of our lineage of creatures is a testament to the successful acquisition of sufficient Omega 3 in its plant form. Long before we left the forest, we had already done this work - proven by our closest relatives that are still there, who share our massive cranium. The old idea that we grew this brain in order to hunt is dead in the water, demonstrated must startkly by the biological reality that a brain this size has never been seen in predators of any kind, throughout the whole of creation. So, once again, dropping the human being back into the context of the animal kingdom, we are forced to look elsewhere for our expanations of how we can to be. And the most obvious thing we find, is that we are irrevocably connected to our genetic lineage - that also share a massively disproportionate body to brain ratio - no hunting involved - just lazing about eating a constant supply of sugar-rich, antioxidant-loaded fruit - a perfect cocktail for building, fueling and protecting the most monumental achievement in bio-architecture. Fish Oils Don't Contain Omega 3
Because fish use Omega oils in the same structures that we do, they have already converted it into DHA & EPA. This could make our assimilation of it more efficient if we were looking for those components. However, we are looking for the original Omegas, not their derivatives, so much is lost to us. If DAH & EPA needed to be consumed, predators not primates would have the greatest capacity for brain growth, but the fact that that has NEVER happened tells us something profound. Moreover, Omega 3, DHA, and EPA are very fragile oils, and are always found surrounded with huge quantities of anti-oxidants in nature. They lose viability very quickly outside of these conditions which cannot be reclaimed. Because fish oils are typically heated to pasteurise them (as all animal products are), before they are encapsulated and bottled, thus lose much of their usefulness. Vegetable Omegas are much more stable and are easier to produce (and leaves dwindling fish stocks to regenerate). Linseed (flaxseed) oil contains the highest amount of Omega 3, followed pumpkinseed and hemp oils – in that order. Hemp oil contains a similar balance of Omegas 3, 6 & 9 to the body, but because the body’s Omega receptors tend to be stuffed full of the more common Omega 6 (which antagonizes many of the issues above), the smaller amounts of Omegas 3 or 9 are often lost. So, the best routine is actually to use oils high in Omega 3 & 9 one at a time to offset this. Using one oil at a time (per meal or per day) the body has the chance to process all the things it can get from there before starting to work on the next. This is what our digestive system is designed to do. Our forest ancestry has defined that for us. It was not designed to process many different elements at the same time. Cholesterol & Omegas
So, what does a body do when the most vital of its structures are losing integrity because of a fundamental lack of essential compounds? It finds something else that will make up the shortfall. And it will destroy other aspects of its health that are less life-threatening, in order to do so. Cholesterol is a great example of this. We think of cholesterol almost solely in its modern role as an artery clogger and nation killer these days, but biologically, it is the major healing initiator in the blood and nerve network, as well as being the precursor to many growth and gender hormones, and it is found lodged into the wall of every cell performing endless tasks. So why the confusion ? The standard nutritional advice on Cholesterol shows just how two-dimensional that field of study is. With no basis in biological history, or the fundamental role of Cholesterol in the body, a tenuous link has been found between cholesterol in the blood and cholesterol in the diet. Very tenuous. This is based upon the statistical incidence between high blood Cholesterol and heavy meat diets. The fact that many people's Cholesterol remains high once changed to a low-Cholesterol diet shows this. As does the fact that many remain on a high-meat diet, and massive Cholesterol shifts are seen. One missing element is Omega content. Because Omegas are not very stable oils, if the major source of fat in one’s diet is from cooked animal matter, then very little Omega 3 will survive the heat processed involved. If it is absent, we are forced produce something that will fill the structural gap. One possible substitute is cholesterol, which the body can overproduce upon demand. There is a direct relationship between animal fat as the dominant oil source and high cholesterol, but it is not that the blood cholesterol is coming from dietary Cholesterol (though this may be a factor); the cholesterol production is being cranked up by the body itself in response to a lack of dietary Omega 3. So, what does a body do when the most vital of its structures are losing integrity because of a fundamental lack of essential compounds? It finds something else that will make up the shortfall. And it will destroy other aspects of its heath that are less life-threatening, in order to do so. Cholesterol is a great example of this. Cholesterol & Vitamin C
It is notable that our lineage is the only animal that does not produce its own vitamin C. Every dog, rabbit and bird has the ability to use sugars to create vitamin C. And even with a brain the size of a birds, this major antioxidant plays a crucial role in protecting all systems from the ravages of Oxygen. We think of Oxygen as a vital component for life, which it is, because we have long-ago learned to harness its ferocious capacity to steal electrons - a mechanism every cell now requires in order to survive. However, unchecked, this powerful attribute is a highly destructive force. Thus the role of antioxidants - Oxygen managing compounds. The venous network that carries blood, and therefore the oxygen is under constant attack from this effect, and in every other creature a constant supply of Vitamin C makes sure everything remains healthy. In us, and our relative (the higher apes), this is no longer possible. We lost the need to split sugar into Vitamin C when we were eating endless amounts of it in the fruit diet we evolved on for around 120million years - as did our primate cousins. And, like them, we lost the ability to produce the enzyme that does that. Unlike them, however, we left the forest around 100,000 year ago, and our Vitamin C content fell to nothing. Notably, we have never regained the ability to produce this enzyme - evidencing the timeframes it takes to make changes to our genetic coding. So, the walls of our arteries are under constant attack from oxygen, leading them towards hardening, thinning, and weakening. And of course, the role of cholesterol is to deliver such things to ailing tissues, and it attempts to do so. But because there is no Vitamin C available, the cellular call for it from the arterial wall is ceaseless, and an endless stream of cholesterol is supplied to the blood… Two Problems for the Price of OneNow we have a whole nation with both high cholesterol and arterial plaque because the oils they are eating do not fulfil the body’s Omega 3 requirement and which also do not assimilate very well because they have been cooked. This explains two health problems in one simple explanation. My experience after many years of taking people through detox retreats has revealed many individuals driven to detox because their doctor is threatening them with medication to lower their cholesterol. Initially, regular fasting does little for long-term Cholesterol levels because no Omegas are found whilst fasting, but when they get home and start taking oils rich in Omega 3, their cholesterol levels drop to tolerable levels. Another change many of them make is to start eating more foods that actually contain many of the vitamins and minerals that the body is craving, thus healing the arterial walls, and lowering the call for cholesterol as a healing compound there too. And a resolution is found. As usual, it is a question of simply satisfying the body’s call for nutrients by giving it what it is looking for in their natural form. That done, we no longer need to even understand it, let alone manage it ! And besides all that – traditional Eskimos eat a much higher proportion of meat than the UK (and even the USA), so – let's go count their cholesterol ! And of course, it is interesting to note that since the Eskimo population switched from its raw seal meat and whale blubber diet, to hamburgers and prawns, their coronary record is aligned with the UK & USA ! The Work of Linus PaulingThe only person the win the Nobel Price TWICE in the same field was a genius called Linus Pauling. He is generally regard doing for Chemistry what Einstein did for Physics. If you ever studied Chemistry, you will have come across his work without knowing it. The entire model of how elements cling together to make compounds is his doing. His 'valence bonds' explanation is the basis of all Chemistry understanding, and he was hailed as the 'father of molecular chemistry' for a while, but nowadays few people know his name - Why…? 
Once he started to use his ultra keen mind in the world of biochemistry, we quickly started to make as many enemies as friends. And when he announced that his work with high doses of Vitamin C was curing, he was curtly ignored. When he started to use his position and notoriety to publish his work within the medical and public health fields, he barred from the medical profession. He continued his work under the weight of medical derision, and released books, ran sanitariums, etc., helping and healing endless people of very serious conditions, and yet the only use of Vitamin C that the public is aware of is with the common cold. He regularly petitioned for a major revamp of the RDA (recommended Daily Allowance) of most vitamins, but Vitamin C was always his priority because of the profound effects he has seen it have time and time again. Currently, the RDA is set to levels understood during the 50s, when tests were done to find out the bare minimum that was tolerated without deficiency symptoms. This ludicrous method of establishing optimal amounts of a given nurtrient is as disconnected from the animal kingdom as we have come to expect when studying the subject of health, nutrition, and the academic medical dominance therein. It is not my want or agenda to slate or slander the established medical profession, as they they are the highest authority on many subjects - especially trauma management, but I am very happy to expose progress-stifling tragedies like this wherever I find it. Whereas we are still publicly advised 60mg, his observation and experiments lead to recommend in the order of 10-20 grams a day ! What to do?While Vitamin C remains an obvious component of our ancestral (primate) diet that is missing today, I am wary of taking supplementation of any kind. I prefer to advise people to get their nutrition from food - in its natural context and state. The obvious answer to this Vitamin C conundrum then is fruit. You have to remember here that modern 'supermarket' fruit is often hybridised, unripe and undernourished in itself, so the balances of components can be way off what the body is expecting. And besides that, Vitamin C is only one of a class of antioxidants that we would have been loaded up with in our fruit-dominated primate diet. Flavonoids generally are what is missing, and as such, we can head for foods that contain these delicate compounds, and cure many things at once - again proving that the problem is not so much what is IN our current diets, but what is NOT in them. Berries come out op on all fronts in this regard. Because of their high skin to flesh volume, they contain masses of pigments, and the pigments are the flavonoids (notably, the most likely part of the fruit to come into contact with Oxygen !), and they tend to be fairly low sugar content compared to most commercially available fruit. Again, more than one problem solved in one strategy. 
So, the object is not so much to eat more of anything, but to increase the appropriate, raw nature of that which we do eat. This will of course, change what is eaten - raw potatoes and wheat are at best unattractive, if not inedible (what does that say about their status as a natural human food !)
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