A short somewhat technical blurb on what i think is going on and why we need the omega3 fatty acids from fish oil especially in he winter..Vitamin D receptors when activated by calcitriol or high test vitamin D can effect how genes act and in this way have an impact on our immune response.. With supplemental D3 we increase our circulating vitamin D blood levels which a variety of cells can convert to high test D (calcitriol) with benefits of dampened immune response and reduced inflammation etc.....With this increase in D blood levels there can be an increase in a natural wound healing peptide LL37 which some may already have in large amounts(why we seldom get skin infections when compared to the general population) and which can promote inflammation, blood vessel formation and microbial destruction as a normal part of wound healing.........unfortunately for us with P, this enhanced level of LL37 is implicated in our inflammation and angiogenesis..
An interesting exchange takes place when we produce vitamin D from sunlight or uvb...while vitamin D in both circulating form and high test can increase the amount of this inflammatory wound healing peptide , The calcitriol or high test D produced in the skin from sunlight can also mitigate some of its effects and thus reduce the associated angiogenesis and inflammation.
We see the redness..or inflammation, and with time blood vessel formation...once it gets to this stage it becomes entrenched...... .... Normally UVB induced calcitriol (high test D)in the skin and or the movement of melanocytes or tanning cells can mitigate these peptide effects reducing the blood vessel formation and inflammation,,...but in the winter and with no solar production of either we lose that control. Normally this is not a problem because vitamin D levels drop and one could assume for argument so would the levels of LL37...but with supplemental D and the creation of elevated healthy vitamin D blood levels and considering from research that that vitamin D promotes higher levels of this inflammatory peptide without the calcitriol from uvb to keep it in check..... This is why in an attempt to duplicate this control over LL37, we substitute higher doses of fish oil or omega 3 fatty acids which can control some of the associated inflammatory and angiogenic factors like VEGF,TNFa and ANGPT2. especially necessary when uvb or uva isn't available and we are taking only supplemental vitamin D.
The higher doses of omega 3's from the fish oil makes a specific type of prostaglandin E3 which interferes with the growth factors and modulates genes involved with this blood vessel formation or angiogenesis.....and in this way controls that part of the puzzle for guttate and plaque during winter...conversely, too much omega 6 in the diet develops a prostaglandin E2 which promotes processes increasing blood vessel formation and inflammation. So we haven't diminished the peptide...but have mediated some aspects of it...reducing a part of the inflammation and angiogeneisis. This is a simple explanation..complex doesn't begin to describe it
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This ratio of omega 3/omega 6 is important because the benefits of fish oil are diminished if one continues to eat a large amount of omega6
so a rule of thumb during winter is if i see see flaking, i increase the vitamin D within reason (and this takes weeks)....if i see redness, i decrease the D (if i'm taking a substantial amount) and increase the fish oil (omega 3) and eat less omega 6 (arachidonic acid meat, veg oil,fat eggs etc)
its a multi faceted thing but it works when you get all the ducks in order..
