Udo Erasmus, pioneer of essential fatty acids, EFA's, omega-3, omega fats, Udo's Choice, Udo's Oil, cold-pressed flax-seed oil, trans-fats, Trans Fatty acids

Intro.
Effects
Parameters
CV Factors
Graphical Data
Case Studies
Graphical Data
Summary

Procedure

Cardiovascular risk factors were measured for forty-one (41) out of the total 6l participants in the trial.

Forty-one (41) physically and athletically active persons (9 females and 32 males, ranging in age from 16 to 62; average age: 31) ranging from diabetics to triathletes, ingested high dosages of Udo's Oil Blend for approximately 8 weeks (48 to 113 days; average: 59 days). No concurrent changes were made to their diet, to the use of other supplements or to their exercise schedule. The initial dosage was set at 0.3 grams of oil per kg of body weight daily, for the first 7 days; 0.45 grams per kg of body weight from day 8 to day 14; and 0.6 grams per kg of body weight onward.

Measured in terms of energy, participants received an extra 5.l kCal per kg of body weight daily in the form of Udo's Oil Blend.


To assess the effects of Udo's oil Blend the on risk of cardiovascular disease, the cardiovascular risk factors listed below were measured through blood samples taken before and after 8 weeks of supplementation with the oil blend.

  • fasting glucose,
  • hemoglobin A1c (HbAc1),
  • lipoprotein a - Lp (a),
  • fibrinogen,
  • triglycerides,
  • total cholesterol,
  • HDL-cholesterol,
  • and LDL-cholesterol


These same cardiovascular risk factors listed above were measured again for a small sub-group of 7 participants (6 cyclists and 1 triathlete) at the end of 49 days, following the initial 8 week period, to determine if supplementation over a period longer than 8 weeks had a different effect.


The parameters listed below were measured in another sub-group of 9 participants (5 females and 4 males) through blood samples taken before and after 8 weeks of supplementation.

  • free testosterone,
  • TSH,
  • TT4,
  • free TT3,
  • and TT3 capacity.


 

Results: Tabular Data

Average individual change after 59 days in the main group of 41

parameter

change

n

significance

fasting glucose

+5.59%

41

not significant

hemoglobin A1c

+1.31%

41

not significant

Lp(a)

+2.72%

39

not significant

fibrinogen

-0.53%

40

not significant

triglycerides

-2.87%

41

not significant

total cholesterol

+0.47%

41

not significant

HDL-cholesterol

+8.79%

41

p = 0.011

LDL-cholesterol

-1.08%

40

not significant

HDL:LDL ratio

+16.95%

40

p = 0.053

testosterone (males)

-14.20%

4

not significant

testosterone (females)

+57.23%

5

not significant

TSH

+7.69%

9

not significant

TT4

-5.50%

9

p = 0.005

TT3

-8.10%

9

not significant

TT3-capacity

+2.28%

9

not significant

 

Average readings over a period of 59 days in the main group of 41

parameter

entry-level

after supplementation

change

n

significance

fasting glucose (mmol/L)

4.29

4.45

3.75%

41

not significant

hemoglobin A1c

0.0509

0.0515

1.20%

41

not significant

Lp(a) (mg/dl)

21.71

22.13

1.94%

39

not significant

fibrinogen (µmol/L)

8.33

8.03

-3.63%

40

not significant

triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.23

1.12

-9.11%

41

not significant

total cholesterol (mmol/L)

4.36

4.37

0.11%

41

not significant

HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

1.36

1.46

7.33%

41

p = 0.011

LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

2.39

2.34

-2.04

40

not significant

HDL:LDL ratio

0.62

0.72

14.86%

40

p = 0.053

testosterone (males) mmol/L

19.25

16.62

-13.64

4

not significant

testosterone (females) mmol/L

1.26

1.74

38%

5

not significant

TSH (mU/L)

2.90

2.55

-8.88%

9

not significant

TT4

116.44

108.80

-5.73%

9

p = 0.005

TT3

2.3

2.13

-10.14%

9

not significant

TT3-capacity

0.91

0.93

1.58%

9

not significant

 

Average individual change in the sub-group of 7 after 49 days

parameter

49 days

significance

106 days

significance

fasting glucose

-2.43%

not significant

-6.64%

p = 0.025

hemoglobin A1c

-3.29%

not significant

1.05%

not significant

Lp(a)

12.45%

not significant

1.44%

not significant

fibrinogen

1.31%

not significant

-6.93%

not significant

triglycerides

12.53%

not significant

-20.73%

p = 0.0545

total cholesterol

3.43%

not significant

-6.70%

p =0.025

HDL-cholesterol

14.65%

p = 0.0391

16.22%

p =0.0897

LDL-cholesterol

-3.53%

not significant

-15.04%

p =0.010

HDL:LDL ratio

20.55%

p = 0.0514

39.78%

p =0.025

 

Average readings in the sub-group of 7 over a period of 49 days

parameter

entry-level

after supplementation

change

significance

fasting glucose (mmol/L)

4.47

4.34

-2.88%

not significant

hemoglobin A1c

0.0521

0.0503

-3.56%

not significant

Lp(a) (mg/dl)

17.03

19.56

14.85%

not significant

fibrinogen (µmol/L)

7.94

7.93

-0.18%

not significant

triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.03

1.11

8.33%

not significant

total cholesterol (mmol/L)

4.33

4.47

3.30%

not significant

HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

1.28

1.46

13.33%

p = 0.0391

LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

2.58

2.50

-3.31%

not significant

HDL:LDL ratio

0.51

0.61

19.57%

p = 0.0514

 

Average readings in the sub-group of 7 over 106 days

parameter

entry-level

after supplementation

change

significance

fasting glucose (mmol/L)

4.47

4.16

-7.03%

p=0.025

hemoglobin A1c

0.0521

0.0526

0.82%

not significant

Lp(a) (mg/dl)

17.03

16.73

-1.76%

not significant

fibrinogen (µmol/L)

7.94

7.27

-8.45%

not significant

triglycerides (mmol/L)

1.03

0.76

-26.39%

p = 0.0545

total cholesterol (mmol/L)

4.33

4.03

-6.39%

p = 0.025

HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

1.28

1.46

13.33%

p = 0.0897

LDL-cholesterol (mmol/L)

2.58

2.21

-14.36%

p = 0.010

HDL:LDL ratio

0.51

0.70

37.83%

p = 0.025

 

 

Discussion of the results

The observed changes in the measured cardiovascular risk factors suggest that high dosage supplementation with Udo's Oil Blend can significantly lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases of today's civilization.

It is very interesting to note that these positive changes occurred within a relatively short period of time (49 to l06 days) without the use of any intervention - be it conventional or functional - other than supplementation with the oil blend. There were no concurrent changes in the overall diet, such as caloric restriction, or lowering the percentage of energy from fat. It is quite possible that more than 30% of the calories in some of the participants' daily diet came from fat. No other supplement or medication (i.e. vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, trace elements, fibers, amino acids, or prescription drugs) known to impact the measured cardiovascular risk factors were used. Notwithstanding the above, positive effects were observed on several of the measured cardiovascular risk factors (fasting glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and the HDL:LDL ratio).

These results suggest that different fats exert different actions on human health. More specifically, these results suggest that the assumption that a high fat intake has a negative effect on several cardiovascular risk factors, does not apply to Udo's Oil Blend, nor possibly to some of the single constituent oils in the blend.

It is true that some of the measured cardiovascular risk factors (fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, Lp(a) and total cholesterol) showed an initial change for the worse (i.e.: an increase). However these increases were minor and statistically insignificant. Moreover, a decrease in these same parameters was seen in the third set of blood samples drawn from the sub-group of 7 after a total of 106 days. Statistically significant improvements were noted for several of the other measured cardiovascular risk factors (HDL-cholesterol and the HDL:LDL ratio).

After the initial 8 weeks of supplementation some of these cardiovascular risk factors approached entry values (HbA1c) and the other parameters were actually lower than the initial entry values (fasting glucose, Lp(a), and total cholesterol). The drop in total cholesterol compared to the entry-level value did in fact become statistically significant after l06 days of supplementation with Udo's Oil Blend. For the other parameters (fibrinogen, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol) , the small but statistically insignificant decreases observed after the first 8 weeks, became statistically significant after l06 days of supplementation with the oil blend.

Abnormal measurements

Several of the participants had entry values of the parameters used to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease, which were outside the normal range:

  • Six (6) of the participants initially had too low fasting glucose levels ( less than 3.7 mmol/L). In the six (6) cases the fasting blood glucose rose to be within the normal range after supplementation with the oil blend.
  • Three (3) of the participants initially had too high fasting glucose levels (more than 5.23 mmol/L). The fasting glucose level decreased and almost fell to the upper maximum for two (2) out of the three, but actually increased for the third participant. This third (3rd) participant was a type II diabetic who admitted to not following the diet prescribed by his doctor. This participant also initially had too high levels of HbA1c (0.066) that increased to 0.072 after supplementation.
  • Finally one (1) of the participants had a normal fasting glucose level at the beginning of the trial (between 3.7 and 5.2 mmol/L) which increased slightly to 6.3 mmol/L after supplementation with the oil blend.
  • One participant began with a normal level of fibrinogen (7.5 µmol/L) which rose to 12.8 µmol/L after the initial 49 days of supplementation (the upper limit being 12.0 µmol/L). However his fibrinogen levels had decreased again to 8.5 µmol/L after a total of l06 days of supplementation. It should be noted that this participant normally eats according to his blood type (D'adamo's theory), but in the week leading up to the fibrinogen reading of 12.8 µmol/L, he spent time with his family and did not eat according to his blood type. It is possible that the initial increase in fibrinogen could be due to agglutination caused by ABO incompatible lectins, rather than to the oil. According to D'adamo, eating foods not suited to one's blood type causes agglutination and aggregation of blood platelets, which leads to blood clotting. High levels of fibrinogen are necessary for blood clotting.
  • Two (2) of the participants initially had too high levels of triglycerides. In both cases, the triglyceride levels decreased after supplementation with the oil blend. One participant went from 2.7 mmol/L to 0.7 mmol/L (the upper limit being 2.5 mmol/L). The triglyceride level for the other participant (the type II diabetic mentioned above) did not decrease sufficiently to reach a level lower than 2.5 mmol/L after supplementation.
  • Two (2) of the participants initially had too high total cholesterol levels. One of these participants initially had a too high LDL-cholesterol: 5.2 mmol/L (the upper limit being 4.5 mmol/L) which dropped to 4.7 mmol/L after supplementation. His HDL cholesterol increased from l.5 to l.6 mmol/L. His total cholesterol level dropped from 7.2 mmol/L to 6.3 mmol/L. In the other participant the total cholesterol level rose slightly from 6.2 mmol/L to 6.3 mmol/L (the upper limit for total cholesterol is 5.0 mmol/L.)
  • The above-mentioned type II diabetic initially had too low HDL-cholesterol. This did not change after supplementation with the oil blend.

In all but a few cases where the initial readings were outside of the normal range, supplementation with the oil blend had a positive impact. The negative changes observed in the two cases - the type II diabetic and the triathlete - could be due to factors other than the ingestion of the oil blend: a wrong diet for the diabetic and not eating according to his blood type for the triathlete.

The results of this short trial suggest that a relatively large dosage of essential fatty acids in the form of Udo's Oil Blend, is safe regardless of the increased caloric intake from fats.

The results also suggest that Udo's Oil Blend has a decidedly positive impact on several known and acknowledged cardiovascular risk factors.


Index To Graphical Data

The following colored bar graphs further illustrate changes measured in the Cardiovascular Risk Factors ("CVRF") discussed above. Below is a link and brief description for each graph.

  GRAPH #1 Comparison of significant changes in Cardiovascular Risk Factors
  GRAPH #2 Changes in CV Risk Factors after 106 Days in same sub-group of 7
  GRAPH #3 Significant Changes in CVRF after 106 Days in same sub-group of 7
  GRAPH #4 Changes in CVRF after 57 days of supplementation in sub-group of 7
  GRAPH #5 Significant Changes in CVRF after 57 days in sub-group of 7
  GRAPH #6 Changes in Other Parameters after 59 days in 9 participants
  GRAPH #7 Changes in CVRF after 59 days of supplementation in main group of 41
  GRAPH #8 Significant Changes in Measured Parameters after 59 days in 41 participants

Please note that tabular data is viewable above
each corresponding graph.

Intro.
Effects
Parameters
CV Factors
Graphical Data
Case Studies
Graphical Data
Summary
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