You are what you eat eats.

Richard P Bazinet, PhD

Associate Professor and

Canada Research Chair in Brain Lipid Metabolism
Department of Nutritional Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
 Overview

Flavor

Fats and health

Getting brain healthy fats in our flavorful

food
 Taste vs flavor

Nutrients

www.drsharma.ca
 Taste vs flavor

Nutrients Metabolites

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 Taste vs flavor

Nutrients Metabolites Flavor

www.drsharma.ca
 Taste vs flavor

Nutrients Metabolites Flavor

ans
Jelly Be

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 Taste vs flavor

Taste

Nutrients Metabolites Flavor

ans
Jelly Be

www.drsharma.ca
 Taste vs flavor

Taste

Nutrients Metabolites Flavor

ans
Jelly Be

www.drsharma.ca
 Taste vs flavor

Taste

Nutrients Metabolites Flavor

ans
Jelly Be

www.drsharma.ca
Structure and naming of common fatty acids

Stearic acid 18:0

Oleic acid 18:1n-9

Linoleic acid 18:2n-6

Alpha-Linolenic acid 18:3n-3

Structure and naming of common fatty acids

Stearic acid 18:0

Oleic acid 18:1n-9

Linoleic acid 18:2n-6

Alpha-Linolenic acid 18:3n-3

 We should eat 5 omega-6 to 1 omega:3

Stearic acid 18:0

Oleic acid 18:1n-9

Linoleic acid 18:2n-6

5
Alpha-Linolenic acid 18:3n-3

1
This brain is 50% fat and over 10% omega-3
 Risk of sudden cardiac death in a study
of over 70,000 women

Christine M. Albert et al. Circulation. 2005;112:3232-3238

Copyright American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Higher intakes of omega-6 were associated with
increased risk of developing major depression

Michel Lucas et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93:1337-1343

2011 by American Society for Nutrition

I can measure fatty acids in foods
 Linoleic acid
Omega-6

Alpha-linolenic acid
Omega-3
 Linoleic acid
Omega-6

Alpha-linolenic acid
Omega-3
If the trend continues global fisheries are predicted to collapse by 2048

Worm et al, Science 2006; Jenkins et al., CMAJ 2007

Mark Schatzker connected flavor to grass-fed beef
Mark Schatzker connected me to grass-fed beef
I connected grass-fed beef to my gas chromatographs
Fats from a grain-fed steak
Fats from a grain-fed steak

g a -6
e
Om

3
ega-
Om
Fats from a grass-fed steak
Fats from a grass-fed steak

ga -6
e
Om

g a -3
e
Om
 A comparison

ga -6 ga -6
e e
Om Om

3
e ga-
Om

ga -3
e
Om
Grass has a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of about 0.3
Commodity vs Alberta beef samples

40

30

3
2.5
Commodity vs Alberta beef samples

40

30

3
2.5
Commodity vs Alberta pork and cow milk

Pork Milk
Chicken of the sea or fish of the land?
Chicken of the sea or fish of the land?
Chicken of the sea or fish of the land?
Commodity vs Alberta chicken and eggs

Chicken Eggs
So what?
 Theoretically good for you

Christine M. Albert et al. Circulation. 2005;112:3232-3238

Copyright American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved.

I can catch cheaters
 I can catch cheaters
(Dont worry, the samples were purchased in Ontario)
This brain is 50% fat and over 10% omega-3
This chicken almost has as much omega-3 as your brain
 Summary and Conclusions

Omega-3 fats are good for your brain and omega-6s might
not be

Grass-fed/pasture raised animals have a dramatically

different fatty acid profile as compared to conventional
feeding. Higher omega-3, lower omega-6.

This has implications for nutrition, standards and labels.

Mmmmmmm tuna and junk food
Residual confounding
Cooked perfectly, at that