The Peanut Connection

In the fall of 2005, my sons and I were at a mall and I had gotten myself something to eat from Chik-fil-a. My kids wouldn't eat there. I was probably crabbing at my kids for "being too picky". My oldest son probably took the position that if he didn't like it, it probably wasn't good for him and then remarked that I always seemed so tired after I ate at Chik-fil-a. I said I really didn't like Chik-fil-a all that much and had mostly eaten there because his dad liked it. I was going through a divorce at the time, so I didn't really have any reason to keep eating there. The mall in question just didn't have much real food. Most of the eateries there served stuff like ice cream and that was why I had eaten there on this particular occasion.

It just so happened that at this Chik-fil-a, there were several large signs proudly announcing that they used only 100% peanut oil. We concluded that the peanut oil was probably bad for us and we decided to give up both peanuts and peanut oil temporarily and see if we felt any better without them. It was so successful that we have avoided both peanuts and peanut oil ever since. I figured we must have some weird little allergy, "weird" because it didn't give us hives or make us itch or do any of the things allergic reactions usually cause. Yet, we clearly benefitted from avoiding them.

Then in the spring or summer of 2008, there was a little exchange on an email list which caught my eye. Someone asked how to avoid arachidonic acid (AA) and a PHD chemist said that one should avoid peanuts and peanut oil. This intrigued me and seemed like a possible explanation for why avoiding peanuts and peanut oil had been so helpful for us. I did a little searching for info on arachidonic acid (AA). I learned that it's inflammatory and that people with CF tend to be too high in it. I learned that meat and eggs are the usual sources for it and peanuts are a bit unusual in the plant world for being high in it. I learned that high levels of it are linked to depression and that the body can synthesize AA from corn oil.

These little bits and pieces were making sense of a lot of things for me. For example, although I eat a lot of corn because it helps keep my body from being too acid, I tend to not like things cooked in corn oil. Also, I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat a lot less meat than the typical American, especially less beef. When I was doing some of this research and commenting on it to my kids, my son with CF remarked that peanut butter sandwiches had always made him feel bad in a way similar to how beef made him feel.

So I have come to strongly suspect that arachidonic acid is something that people with CF generally need to be careful about. In addition to trying to reduce the intake of AA, increasing the intake of Omega 3 can help couter-act AA. The usual source for supplementing Omega 3 is fish oil. But I can't take fish oil capsules. I react allergically to them. So here is a list of things I have suggested to someone who also can't take fish oil and is looking to reduce Arachidonic Acid in their system:

• Cut back on meat and eggs.
  • These are the usual source of AA. Going vegetarian for some meals might help. I have also heard that organic meats are not so high in AA. I haven't had a chance to actually look into that but I do better with organic meats. This may be part of why.
• Cut out peanuts and more importantly peanut oil.
  • Tip: Don't eat at Jack-in-the-Box or Chik-fil-a. And read labels.
• Don't cook with corn oil either.
  • It doesn't have AA but is high in linoleic acid, which the body can use to make AA.
• Switch to olive oil for cooking.
  • I cook with organic coconut oil, organic butter and organic olive oil. Coconut oil is not good for high heat applications, like deep frying -- which I just don't do.
• Flaxseed oil might be an acceptable substitute for fish oil as a supplement.
• Walnuts are high in Omega 3. Start adding those to your diet.