‘Vitamins for heart health’, ‘vitamins for brain health’, ‘vitamins for joint health’; these are some of the most common health related keystroke queries on the world’s most popular search engines, and it makes perfect sense. Cardiovascular, cognitive and musculoskeletal conditions have demonstrated a steady uptick in the last decade and it’s clear that a great many people are looking for natural solutions in supporting their health in these areas.
But could it be that what we’re searching for isn’t a ‘vitamin’ at all, but a very different kind of supplement that can help support all of these systems (and more) via one important biological mechanism?
The inflammation connection
If there’s one health factor that should concern all of us, it’s inflammation. Inflammation is a natural and healthy bodily response to injury, infection, irritation or toxin that happens in two phases: initiation and resolution.1
In the initiation phase, the immune system quickly coordinates its response to a trigger by producing specific substances, like pro-inflammatory mediators, chemokines and cytokines2 to initiate pain, redness, swelling, loss of function, and heat. These uncomfortable and even painful symptoms do serve a worthy purpose – to protect and heal tissues and to fight off or neutralise the cause.
In the resolution phase, the body goes to work to wind down the inflammatory response and clear away the resulting cells and by-products. Inflammation ultimately becomes a chronic problem when the resolution phase is inadequate or incomplete leading to an ongoing loop of inappropriate inflammatory response. Resolving the inflammatory processes is especially important for brain, heart and joint health.3-8
Are fish oils the answer?
It’s now household knowledge that its function as an anti-inflammatory is one of many fish oil benefits, but what’s not so well known is how it works.
Fish oils anti-inflammatory actions are useful in the initiation phase of inflammation, where the body uses their omega 3 essential fatty acids to stop the body from producing too many pro-inflammatory substances in its response to the trigger.2 EPA and DHA, two important components of fish oils, are also used in the resolution phase on inflammation, where they are used to synthesise lipid (fat) based anti-inflammatory substances known as ‘specialised pro-resolving mediators’, or SPMs. SPMs are critical components in dampening inflammatory processes and restoring stability to the body.3-8
The SPM problem: and solution!
Even if the body is supplied with plenty of EPA, DHA and omega 3 fatty acids to assist in resolving inflammation, the synthesis of SPMs is a complicated set of processes involving many enzymes. The production of pro-resolving lipid mediators, or PRMs, is the most complex part of the process. PRMs are precursors to SPMs, meaning that SPMs are synthesised very easily once PRMs have been produced.9 There are many reasons why our bodies may be unable to optimally complete the steps required for producing PRMs – nutritional deficiencies, lipid metabolism issues and immunological problems are just a few factors that might get in the way.10
The good news is that PRMs can be taken as a supplement, either alone or combined with other natural anti-inflammatory substances, so that they can be directly used in the resolution phase of inflammation and assist the body to bring inflammation down.
Combining is key
In acting as precursors to SPMs, PRMs play a very specific role at a very specific point in the inflammatory cycle. This means that supplementing with PRMs is often best paired with a more broad-spectrum natural anti-inflammatory, like curcumin. Curcumin, derived from turmeric, has a well-established array of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions.11,12 When choosing a supplemental form of curcumin, bioavailability is key. Look for a highly absorbable form such as Theracurmin®. Inflammation is frequently the cause of many health conditions relating to the brain, heart and joints and science is just beginning to scratch the surface of its impacts. In the meantime, it’s great to understand the role of SPMs in resolving inflammation, and to leverage on the potential of supplemental PRMs in our daily lives.
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