Autism and Infant Formula

Page 1DHASCO and ARASCO are structurally different than natural DHA and ARA found in breast milk..For a more detailed description of these differences visit the FDA homepage and search for DHASCO and ARASCO GRAS status.I also suggest viewing the Cornucopia Institutes' website.These saturated fatty acids normally found esterified in the sn1 and sn2 position in breast milk have critical roles in protein signaling.Activation of proteins is initiated by palmitoylation.This is a remarkable and reversible property of palmitoylation.This process of palmitoylation regulates proper protein to protein interactions and signaling.DHASCO and ARASCO may cause a disruption of palmitoylation.The effects of this disruption may have devastating consequences during critical stages of brain development.Page 2DHASCO and ARASCO are long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids.These lcpufas are unique because they contain multiple double bonds.These double bonds make them very vulnerable to oxidation.Exposure to light and air will initiate this oxidation process.Manufacturers add antioxidants to limit this reaction and improve shelf life.The manufacturer of these oils used in infant formula has a specific step in their processing that removes trace metals.Trace amounts of iron and copper as well as other metals will react with these oils and cause them to oxidize.Antioxidants added are believed to limit this reaction.Infant formula today contains approximately 12 times the amount of iron found in human breast milk.Why bother removing trace amounts when ultimately these oils will be added to an iron fortified infant formula?The DHASCO and ARASCO manufacturer is not responsible for the infant formula safety.So far,neither the FDA nor the oil manufacturer are responsible for the safety of infant formula.What harm will oxidized DHASCO and ARASCO cause in a developing infant?Page 3Oxidative stress is a condition where the body's ability to control oxidation becomes overwhelmed.Oxidation occurs within the body naturally and is kept under control by antioxidant lines of defense.The first line of defense is by glutathione,superoxide dismutase and catalase.The second involves members of the vitamin and mineral families.Controlled oxidation of DHA and ARA create very powerful hormone-like substances.These substances are known as prostaglandins,leukotrienes and thromboxanes.The group formed from ARA are known to be associated with inflamatory responses.The group formed from DHA are recognized as anti-inflamatory as well as neuroprotective.The distinction between DHA and ARA as long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids is made by the placement of the first double bond between the links of carbon.DHA has its first of six double bonds inserted between the third and fourth carbons from the methyl end of the fatty acid chain.This makes DHA a n-3 fatty acid,otherwise known as an omega three fatty acid.ARA is a n-6 fatty acid.Its first double bond is between the sixth and seventh carbons.ARA is classified as an omega six fatty acid.Because these two PUFAs have opposing effects,their ratio of dietary intake must be balanced.Just as excessive saturated fat may lead to heart disease ,excessive omega six fatty acids will lead to diseases associated with an overactive inflamatory response.The typical western diet today is believed to be unbalanced.The ratio of omega six to three is approximately 20:1 respectively.The reason for this is because of the introduction of margarines and seed oils developed to be heart protective.This new heart smart diet has caused an explosion in the increase of inflamatory related diseases with little benefit of reduction in heart disease.In fact, omega -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been proven to be causative of heart disease as well as countless other diseases including cancer.Page 4But fear not because there is a new sherriff in town.Omega three fatty acids are the new super-oil heros.That's right ,the same industry that promised all the benefits of omega 6 is going to rid the world of saturated fat and its associated diseases.If there is too much omega 6 in today's diet,then just add more omega 3 to counter its effects.There are multiple problems introduced by this rationale of thinking.Saturated fat is essential for proper cellular signaling and homeostasis.Incorporation of PUFAs into phospholipids drives saturated fatty acids out of cellular membranes and causes a disruption of protein palmitoylation.Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as DHA and ARA have multiple double bonds making them very vulnerable to oxidation.Increasing the intake of these PUFAs will increase the need for antioxidant defense.Without proper supply of antioxidant protection uncontrolled oxidation will be initiated and may result in oxidative stress.Oxidative stress is quickly being recognized as a contributing factor to the onset of countless diseases.The list of these diseases is too lengthy but it includes AUTISM.All aboard the DHA train.Page 5DHASCO/ARASCO supplementation will have an impact on virtually every cell in the human body.Whether this impact is positive or negative remains to be understood.What is so troublesome is what relatively little is understood by scientists.Natural DHA/ARA are made from precursor fatty acids found in diet.Through elongation and desaturation enzymes this process creates small yet sufffficient amounts of DHA/ARA.Increasing the amount of DHA/ARA through supplementation will have an impact on cellular signaling.Cellular signaling relies on lipid bilayers containing saturated fatty acids.Polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids are incompatible because of their physical structures.Saturated fatty acids pack more tightly in cellular membranes making them more rigid.Polyunsaturated fatty acids have kinks in their double bonds and do not pack tightly making them more fluid.I will not get too involved with lipid raft microdomains and them being highly ordered or disordered due to unsaturation index.I will say this.The more polyunsaturated fatty acid provided the greater the unsaturation content.This will result in a cellular membrane that has its saturated fatty acids driven out along with proteins needed for proper signaling.Never before have we had the need to supplement infants with DHASCO/ARASCO.With so little known about how natural DHA/ARA supplementation could affect the human body,should we really be adding synthetic DHASCO/ARASCO to infants during critical stages of development?