Medical research has poured billions of dollars into understanding protein and carbohydrates based metabolic processes. Even when lipids have been studied, they often related to how either proteins metabolize them or how carbohydrates relate to them. The long article from which this post is based argues forcibly for a deeper study of lipids in their role in cell membranes. Proteins and carbohydrates are not ignored by the authors, but they highlight the bidirectional effects of lipids as they reside within our cell membranes with other cellular functions.
Our cell membranes are composed of a double layer of phospholipids. Phospholipids are a molecule of 2 chains of fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone with a phosphate head bridging to another molecule. The fatty acid chains line up in the middle of the flat membrane with the hydrophilic (water loving) phosphate heads pointing outward. In forming this membrane structure, it can separate compartments inside and outside of a cell or inside and outside of an organelle within a cell.
This double layer of phospholipids also allows proteins to “float” within it, with portions of the protein projecting inward, portions outward, and a section traversing the length of the intervening fatty acid tails. These floating proteins include receptors, cell identifiers, and more. The floating proteins allow the cells to work with one another, sending and receiving signals, binding into tissues and organs. A change in the thickness of the fatty double layer or in the fatty acids affecting its flexibility and fluidity can change the ability of a cell to function properly. Changing membranes affect the floating proteins by either preventing their function or proper movement on the cell surface.
Changing which fatty acids, say saturated fatty acids versus omega 6’s or omega 3’s, also changes how the cells can respond to inflammatory triggers. Without enough omega 6’s like arachidonic acid, our cells cannot respond adequately to inflammatory needs and fight off infections. With too much omega 6’s in relation to omega 3’s, we can be prone to over-inflammatory responses. If either omega 3’s or omega 6’s become over oxidized by inflammatory stress, cell membranes “age” and do not function properly.
The article provides far more information than a few hundred words here can do. Even if you don’t read the entire article, you can know that there are reasons why this functional MD is adding lipid replacement therapy to his toolbox of therapies to help patients return to healthier more abundant lives. While lipid replacement therapy is not a cure-all, for those whose membranes are imbalanced, finding lasting health requires repair and care of their lipids. In other words, sometimes patients need an oil change for their cells.
Original Article:
Nicolson, G. L. and M. E. Ash (2014). “Lipid Replacement Therapy: A natural medicine approach to replacing damaged lipids in cellular membranes and organelles and restoring function.” Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Biomembranes 1838(6): 1657-1679.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
