In April 1997 NOHA Honorary Member Michael A. Crawford, PhD, CBiol, FIBiol, FRCPath, came from England to be NOHA's keynote speaker at our Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration. He is an international authority on nutrition and diseases around the world.
. . . rich nutrients needed for the unique and amazing development of the human brain occur at the waters' edge . . .
Professor Crawford explained to us that the rich nutrients needed for the unique and amazing development of the human brain occur at the waters' edge, including all the trace minerals that get washed down over the millennia and become depleted in land-locked areas. Absolutely essential for the brain are the long-chain essential fatty acids—omega-3, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and omega-6, arachidonic acid (AA). Especially needed in the brain for wonderful fast action and signal transmission is the DHA. The brains of all mammals contain a one-to-one ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. DHA is abundant in fish ("brain food") and practically non-existent inland, for example, on the savannah in Africa. The large mammals that developed there, all the way from the hippopotamus to the great apes increased in size from good protein and other nutrients but they lost out drastically in brain size compared to our human ancestors.
In The Driving Force: Food, Evolution and the Future, Professor Crawford and his coauthor, David Marsh, explain that human beings with their wonderful brains essentially had to develop where there was "brain food." In other words, there is evidence that our evolution took place on coastal and lake-shore regions where the necessary long-chain fatty acids—omega 3 and omega 6—were available in excellent ratios plus many other nutrients in abundance. Thus, we developed our amazing brains. However, other mammals that developed inland on unbalanced essential fatty acids—high in omega 6 but woefully low on omega 3, especially DHA—grew large but failed miserably in brain development compared to our ancestors. The land mammals evolved bigger and bigger bodies but as they did so their brain capacity shrank without exception. The chimpanzee, for example, has a brain capacity of about 0.45% of its body but the bigger gorilla has less than 0.3% and its brain is physically smaller. The brain of the chimpanzee is about 400 grams, the dolphin 1,800 grams.
"The elite system sidelined preventive medicine, nutrition and health. It has failed in a catastrophic manner. It is time a new order was put in place that understood the threats and needs of future human nutrition, and health."
Professor Crawford warns us that the present poor nutrition can reverse this brain and concomitant vascular development. Actually, the evidence is mounting!
Uniquely among all mammals, for the growth of its brain, the developing human fetus requires 70 percent of all its energy, in terms of calories and oxygen; therefore, it requires an excellent maternal circulatory system, which also depends upon the essential fatty acids. When mothers eat the usual diet replete with sugar and saturated fat, the child inevitably suffers, often born prematurely and with low birth weight. Professor Crawford explained to us that these factors can result in metal retardation, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, autism, and some forms of epilepsy.
Dr. Crawford reminded us of a major difference between the brain and the heart plus its circulatory system. A great deal of the brain size and complexity is developed within the womb and then shortly after and the brain is somewhat protected by the skull and the blood-brain barrier. Also, when the fetus is developing, any available maternal DHA is supplied to the fetus through the placenta and afterward DHA is found in mother's milk (not in cow's milk-cows don't have much in the way of brains). On the other hand, the circulatory system goes on developing, certainly through adolescence. Professor Crawford had predicted long ago that the problems from inadequate nutrition would appear first in the human heart and circulatory system and somewhat later in the human brain. This is what is happening: heart disease is the most frequent cause of death and we have increasing neurological problems in children.
. . . the developing human fetus requires 70 percent of all its energy, in terms of calories and oxygen; therefore, it requires an excellent maternal circulatory system, which also depends upon the essential fatty acids. When mothers eat the usual diet replete with sugar and saturated fat, the child inevitably suffers, often born prematurely and with low birth weight.
Like us in NOHA Professor Crawford continually works on educating the public about the vital importance of nutrition and the detrimental actions from failed health policy. Two recent examples:
In 1985, Professor Crawford hosted an International Conference in London in honor of the discovery of the substances made by the COX system from AA (arachidonic acid—the essential long-chain omega-6 fatty acid, which we mentioned above). One of these substances produces inflammation, pain, and blood clots. COX 2 inhibitors were developed to deal with inflammatory disorders such as arthritis and asthma. However, arachidonic acid also produces something else—a prostacyclin—which has the opposite effects. It was found to improve blood flow and prevent blood clots. In his article, Professor Crawford stated: "In the discussion that followed I therefore pointed out that inhibitors of COX enzymes would affect the synthesis of prostacyclin and similar products beneficial to normal blood flow, risking heart attacks. . . . As this risk was known from the start of research on these substances, it seems that a more open interaction between the industry and basic science would be of benefit in the future."
On behalf of seven other signatories Dr. Crawford wrote a letter, "The Lancet and the Royal Society are both right and wrong," to The Lancet (August 27, 2005) "The exchange between The Lancet and the Royal Society is important because it brings to focus the failure of health policy to prevent the escalation of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and western cancers. A primary reason has been the skew in perceived scientific priorities, which sidelined nutritional science in relation to health. This skew deprived the UK government of comprehensive advice, with consequences that have escalated globally."
Vioxx is a COX 2 Inhibitor. . . . In 1985, Professor Crawford hosted an International Conference in London in honor of the discovery of the substances made by the COX system. . . . COX 2 inhibitors were developed to deal with inflammatory disorders such as arthritis and asthma. . . . [At that conference Professor Crawford] "pointed out that inhibitors of COX enzymes would affect the synthesis of . . . products beneficial to normal blood flow, risking heart attacks."
He mentions three examples:
First: failing to do anything about prevention of low birth weight infants with "the attached high risk of neurodevelopmental impairment and chronic ill health."
Second: paying no attention to the known nutrition requirements of cattle with the resulting BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or Mad Cow disease).
Third: ignoring the "changes in dietary lipid [fatty acid] profiles across the population, [which] have been linked to increased vascular diseases. Because vascular development in the embryo and placenta is a prerequisite for fetal brain growth, of which lipid nutrition is also a dominant feature, the prevalence of mental ill health was predicted in 1972 to increase in a similar way."
. . . other mammals that developed inland on unbalanced essential fatty acids—high in omega 6 but woefully low on omega 3, especially DHA—grew large but failed miserably in brain development compared to our ancestors.
In an e-mail (September 25, 2005), Professor Crawford concluded: "The rise of mental ill health and brain disorders is the most sinister threat totally ignored. It was predicted by me in 1972 and has now happened. (Disorders of the brain have now overtaken heart disease in the EU accounting for a cost of 386 billion euros at 2004 prices.)
"The elite system sidelined
preventive medicine, nutrition, and health. It has failed in a catastrophic
manner. It is time a new order was put in place that understood the threats
and needs of future human nutrition and health."
Article from NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, Winter 2006, pages 1-2