How do marine mammals (97F-100 F body temperatures) stay so healthy when they live on Omega-3 and pufas?

AdR

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It seems like blue whales, dolphins, orcas, etc. are some of healthiest, most intelligent creatures, but they live on extremely high pufa foods (krill, plankton, fish). Does it seem likely to you that pufa's that come through the whole food are also balanced by what is needed to maintain proper or even excellent metabolism? Is it possible that a diet of truly fresh fish and other seafood could be very healthy?

Or do you think it's possible that all the minerals in ocean water could be helping them maintain proper metabolism?
 

tankasnowgod

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It seems like blue whales, dolphins, orcas, etc. are some of healthiest, most intelligent creatures, but they live on extremely high pufa foods (krill, plankton, fish). Does it seem likely to you that pufa's that come through the whole food are also balanced by what is needed to maintain proper or even excellent metabolism? Is it possible that a diet of truly fresh fish and other seafood could be very healthy?

Or do you think it's possible that all the minerals in ocean water could be helping them maintain proper metabolism?
Why do you necessarily think they live on high pufa foods?

The PUFA content of tissues of fish varies on the temperature of the water they live in. Indeed, if a salmon stored fat mostly as stearic acid and swam in water about 40 degrees F, he would be stiff as a board. If those animals are living in warmer waters, they will likely be eating animals with less pufa in them.
 

Quelsatron

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Why do you necessarily think they live on high pufa foods?

The PUFA content of tissues of fish varies on the temperature of the water they live in. Indeed, if a salmon stored fat mostly as stearic acid and swam in water about 40 degrees F, he would be stiff as a board. If those animals are living in warmer waters, they will likely be eating animals with less pufa in them.
i'm fairly sure whales are pretty chilly down in the ocean, eating all the krill and their krill oils
 
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AdR

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@tankasnowgod Yeah I thought of that, but I know that they live in a variety of climate zones, from arctic to tropical. Many pods of orcas that live mainly in arctic waters for example.
 
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AdR

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Why do you necessarily think they live on high pufa foods?

The PUFA content of tissues of fish varies on the temperature of the water they live in. Indeed, if a salmon stored fat mostly as stearic acid and swam in water about 40 degrees F, he would be stiff as a board. If those animals are living in warmer waters, they will likely be eating animals with less pufa in them.

i'm fairly sure whales are pretty chilly down in the ocean, eating all the krill and their krill oils
Yeah whales are eating tons of krill, plankton, etc. Dolphins I guess eat more tropical fish, but orcas don't necessarily fit that description at all
 
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AdR

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Whales are migratory due to avoiding cold water
Supposedly many of them have feeding grounds in the polar regions and breeding grounds in the warmer regions, not sure if it's true for all species, but I doubt they are living the low pufa life. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I have always admired these animals and I wonder what causes them to thrive
 
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tankasnowgod

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@tankasnowgod Yeah I thought of that, but I know that they live in a variety of climate zones, from arctic to tropical. Many pods of orcas that live mainly in arctic waters for example.
So, then you're going to have to dig deeper.

What's the health of, say, Orcas living in the Arctic compared to Orcas living in Tropical areas?
 
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AdR

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So, then you're going to have to dig deeper.

What's the health of, say, Orcas living in the Arctic compared to Orcas living in Tropical areas?
I'm not sure. But the two most notably old ones were from British columbia and the antarctic region. They are overwhelmingly concentrated in cold water, and of those the majority live in the antarctic, though it appears to be estimated that 16% (ish) of all orcas live in tropical waters.
 

Herbie

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Supposedly many of them have feeding grounds in the polar regions and breeding grounds in the warmer regions, not sure if it's true for all species, but I doubt they are living the low pufa life. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I have always admired these animals and I wonder what causes them to thrive
I was thinking they have an apparatus that deals with the pufa. I admire them as well, they are much more intelligent than we are, same as dolphins. I don’t think anyone should kill anything with a bigger brain than human. Off topic but I really like Donkeys, I think they are intelligent and have a good sense of humour.
 

Herbie

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I’m from the east coast of Australia where in autumn one can watch the humpback whales moving North from the shore. This article is about them and their fatty acid profile. They head down to Antarctica in the summer to feed on Krill and directly store the epa and dha to be used as energy because they fast on the migration North again. They desaturate sfa and mufa.

 
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tca300

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Eating whole fish ( skin, bone, and thyroid gland ) as well as long breath holding ( creating high Co2 ) are likely major factors.
 
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AdR

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I’m from the east coast of Australia where in autumn one can watch the humpback whales moving North from the shore. This article is about them and their fatty acid profile. They head down to Antarctica in the summer to feed on Krill and directly store the epa and dha to be used as energy because they fast on the migration North again. They desaturate sfa and mufa.

Wow man pretty cool find. It says their fat is composed predominantly of mufa. I wonder if this would be true of people eating the same diet.
"There appeared to be no obvious pattern among years or between migrations, and neither factor showed a significant effect."
 

Herbie

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Wow man pretty cool find. It says their fat is composed predominantly of mufa. I wonder if this would be true of people eating the same diet.
"There appeared to be no obvious pattern among years or between migrations, and neither factor showed a significant effect."
They have 3-4 stomachs like a cow as well.
 

Dr. B

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They have 3-4 stomachs like a cow as well.
does your post confirm the epa/dha lower the metabolic rate? since they store them and use them during fasting. it seems they need the epa/dha in order to intentionally lower the metabolic rate, in order to better tolerate fasting? since the lower your metabolic rate the longer/easier you can go without food?
 
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