NAFLD & your diet: Why sugar & carbs might not explain rising cases of NAFLD, and how a newly discovered essential fatty acid might reverse NAFLD
C15:0, an odd-chain saturated fatty acid (aka pentadecanoic acid), is suspected to be an essential fatty acid for humans. This odd-chain fatty acid was discovered while evaluating a pod of dolphins off the coast of San Diego. These Navy dolphins were living longer (& healthier) lives than their wild counterparts.
Navy veterinarians began investigating what was leading to the longer lifespan in these dolphins, and using metabolomics (fancy way of saying investigating how molecules are metabolized in the body), this team uncovered some very promising health benefits of the odd-chain saturated fatty acid, C15:0(pentadecanoic acid).
Dolphins as it turns out are also vulnerable to developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) despite not eating carbs or sugar. And, dolphins with a diet higher in C15:0 had correspondingly healthier livers (i.e. an inverse relationship between dietary intake of C15:0 in relation to fatty areas within the liver was found), and this has led to some breakthrough research in the use of C15:0 in reversing/preventing the development of NAFLD in people.
C15:0 is now available as a vegan supplement from fatty15, and the co-founders of fatty15 join me in this episode to talk about their discovery of C15:0 and how they brought it to market as fatty15. This is a captivating episode where we dig into the science of how this fatty acid might help improve a variety of health conditions... and how it disappeared from the human diet.
Be sure to check out these resources on pentadecanoic acid and scroll down for Eric and Stephanie's bio.
Resources
Here's a little more about Dr. Stephanie and Dr. Eric Venn-Watson.
Stephanie's bio: Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson is co-founder and CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics, a health and wellness company that applies advanced metabolomic technologies to help people (and our fellow animals) age healthier. Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur, veterinary epidemiologist and public health scientist with over 50 patents and 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications. She previously served as an epidemiologist for the U.S. Navy, CDC, and WHO. Her novel approach to discovering new therapeutics that can improve both human and animal health has been featured on NPR’s Science Friday, CBS, BBC, and National Geographic. For her entrepreneurial work in the health sector, Stephanie was awarded the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Innovations in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Stephanie received her B.S. in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from UC San Diego, D.V.M. from Tufts University, M.P.H. from Emory University, and was a National Research Council Associate with the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center. She is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life.
Eric's bio: Dr. Eric Venn-Watson is co-founder and COO of Seraphina Therapeutics. Eric is a practicing physician and entrepreneur. He has served over 25 years as a Navy and Marine Corps physician, working with the special forces community to improve their health and fitness. Additionally, Eric co-founded multiple companies in the drug discovery, healthcare analytics and medical device industries. Eric is passionate about developing medical technologies that improve the practice and delivery of healthcare on a global scale. For his entrepreneurial work in the health sector, Eric was awarded the San Diego Business Journal’s Award for Best Military Veteran Entrepreneur.
About the Author
Brandy's a formulation scientist and self-proclaimed health geek who loves hiking, gardening, bird-watching, and body boarding.
Her struggle with acne during her teens and 20s led to a holistic and healthy approach to skincare, embracing skin as an organ to be loved and cared for rather than a canvas to wage war on.
Since 2008, she's been developing all-in-one products for a simple routine at home, & Rain Organica started when her backpacking friends asked for a portable skincare routine to keep their skin healthy & happy on and off the trails.
You can try Rain Organica for yourself with The Essentials Kit, a complete skincare routine in just 3 steps.
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