[Lotus]

Lotus, tell us about Evening Primrose. Thanks, POM

Hey POM, much can be debated about GLA's, Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, dietary supplements should be taken only under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare provider.. I had it in the beginning of my program, honestly I can't remember why I stopped, I would reconsider upon reviewing further.


Evening Primrose Oil- massage, Fibrocystic breast pain, treats hot flashes, relieves PMS symptoms, relieves Eczema, hormone balance, fights breast tumors and diabetes. Reports have GLA-Gamma-Linolenic Acid as helping with RA and arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, ADHD and CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). And UPDATED to include it being an inhibitor of 5 alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT, (DHT is bad for BOOB GROWTH).


Omega-6 supplements, including GLA and EPO, should not be used if you have a seizure disorder because there have been reports of these supplements inducing seizures.

Doses of GLA greater than 3,000 mg per day should be avoided because, at that point, production of AA-Arachidonic Acid(rather than DGLA) may increase.

__________________________________

What the Science Says

There is not enough evidence to support the use of evening primrose oil for any health condition.
According to a comprehensive 2013 evaluation of the evidence, evening primrose oil, taken orally (by mouth), is not helpful for relieving symptoms of eczema.
Evening primrose oil has been studied for rheumatoid arthritis and breast pain. However, study results are mixed, and most studies have been small and not well designed.
Evening primrose oil does not appear to affect menopausal symptoms.
The best-designed clinical trials of evening primrose oil for PMS found no effect.
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/eveningprimrose


gamma-Linolenic acid

Gamma-linolenic acid or GLA (γ-Linolenic acid), (INN and USANgamolenic acid) is a fatty acid found primarily in vegetable oils. It is sold as a dietary supplement for a variety of human health problems, although there is little or no evidence of its effectiveness.[1][2][3] However when acting on GLA, 5-lipoxygenase produces no leukotrienes and the conversion by the enzyme of arachidonic acid to leukotrienes is inhibited.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Linolenic_acid


Fatty acid metabolism in health and disease: the role of delta-6-desaturase.

Abstract
Linoleic acid is the main dietary essential fatty acid (EFA). To be fully utilized by the body, it must be metabolized to a range of other substances. The first step in this pathway is delta-6-desaturation to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). This step is slow and rate-limiting, particularly in humans. If delta-6-desaturation is impaired for any reason, the supply of further metabolites may be inadequate for normal function. If the consumption of further metabolites is excessive, then a normal rate of delta-6-desaturation may be inadequate. In these circumstances the direct supply of GLA or further metabolites may be of value. This concept is illustrated by atopic eczema and diabetes, which may represent inherited and acquired examples of inadequate delta-6-desaturation.
PMID: 8386433 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Free full text
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8386433
_____________________________________




   



Essential fatty acid interactions

The actions of the ω-3 (omega-3) and ω-6 (omega-6) essential fatty acids (EFAs) are best characterized by their interactions; they cannot be understood separately.

Arachidonic acid (AA) is a 20-carbon ω-6 conditionally essential fatty acid.[1] It sits at the head of the "arachidonic acid cascade" – more than 20 different signalling paths that control a wide array of bodily functions, but especially those functions involving inflammation, cell growth and the central nervous system.[2] Most AA in the human body derives from dietary linoleic acid (another essential fatty acid, 18:2 ω-6), which is derived from nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and animal fats.

In the inflammatory response, two other groups of dietary essential fatty acids form cascades that parallel and compete with the arachidonic acid cascade. EPA (20:5 ω-3) provides the most important competing cascade. It is ingested from oily fish or derived from dietary alpha-linolenic acid found in, for instance, walnuts, hemp oil and flax oil. DGLA (20:3 ω-6) provides a third, less prominent cascade. It derives from dietary GLA (18:3 ω-6) found in, e.g. borage oil. These two parallel cascades soften the inflammatory promoting effects of certain eicosanoids made from AA. Low dietary intake of these less inflammatory promoting essential fatty acids, especially the ω-3s, is correlated with a variety of inflammation-related diseases.

Today, the usual diet in industrial countries contains much less ω-3 fatty acids than the diet of a century ago and a much greater amount of pollution that evokes the inflammatory response.[when?] The diet from a century ago had much less ω-3 than the diet of early hunter-gatherers and much less pollution.[3] We can also look at the ratio of ω-3 to ω-6 in comparisons of their diets. These changes have been accompanied by increased rates of many diseases – the so-called diseases of civilization – that involve inflammatory processes. There is now very strong evidence[4] that several of these diseases are ameliorated by increasing dietary ω-3, and good evidence for many others. There is also more preliminary evidence showing that dietary ω-3 can ease symptoms in several psychiatric disorders.[5]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential...ietary_GLA