FADS1

Retinol is just another way of saying vitamin A.

And the FADS genes, so FADS1 and 2, which determine whether you convert plant-based omega-3s, the ALA and flaxseed, walnuts, chia, into EPA and DHA that your brain and your cell membranes can actually run on.

If you're a poor converter, flaxseed will never do what oily fish does for you.

So no matter how much of it you eat, you won't get the result.

FADS, you can look that up.

FADS1 and FADS2 are relevant there.

Those are exactly the enzymes that can do the conversion from alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and subsequently also DHA.

So those are desaturases, delta-5 and delta-6 desaturase, in case anyone wants to know exactly.

I'm a normal metabolizer, uh, or normal converter.

There's low and high, and then there's another level in between.

And, um, I have a rather positive genotype for FADS1, but then a normal one for FADS2.

Uh, and then in the end, it just comes out as normal, you know.

Now, again, we, we could spend a whole webinar on talking about this, but this is how your cardiolipin gets made, the final step being here.

But you also need some of your essential fatty acids, and they're controlled by FADS2 and FADS1.

One of the things we are finding is that people who are really struggling have genetic SNPs in FADS2 and FADS1.

Mm-hmm.

Therefore, they're not getting the polyunsaturated fatty acids over here.

Mm-hmm.

And you can see it's not real bad, but you have some snips here on FADS2.

Your FADS1 is looking fine.