Science Deep Dive: Fatty15 & Liver Health

Have you heard of NAFLD?

Ten years ago, most people would have answered, “Nope.” Fast forward to today, where 1 in 3 people, including 1 in 10 children, have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also called NAFLD. 

Recently, as part of an in-depth series on how chronic illnesses are shortening our lifespan, The Washington Post shed light on the alarming rise in NAFLD cases, including among kids. The good news? As covered in the Washington Post article, mounting science (including a surprising discovery while helping dolphins) supports that fixing nutritional C15:0 deficiencies may be key to keeping our kids - and us - healthy.

Read on for a deeper dive into the science and story behind NAFLD, dolphins, and pure C15:0.

So, what is NAFLD?

NAFLD is a metabolic liver disease that can progress to liver cirrhosis and cancer, and it has become a leading cause of liver transplants globally. Since this disease is increasing at an alarming rate, and there is currently no cure, liver health is on the top of many of our minds.

So, let’s talk liver health and how the science supporting C15:0’s health benefits can support your liver, too.

I am all in for a healthy liver, but what exactly is C15:0?

C15:0 (also called pentadecanoic acid) is a healthy, odd-chain saturated fatty acid naturally present in whole fat cow’s milk. Dozens and dozens of studies from around the world have linked higher C15:0 in our bodies to healthy metabolism, balanced immunity, healthy hearts - and yes, healthy livers too.

Beyond associations, we now know how C15:0 (pronounced see-fifteen) actively repairs, restores and revitalizes our long-term health at the cellular level, including by:

• Strengthening our cells (and us) against age-related breakdown
• Repairing mitochondrial function, which keeps our body’s energy-producers going
• Naturally activating receptors (including PPARs and AMPK) that regulate our metabolism, immunity, mood, sleep and appetite.

These many benefits go a long way to help to explain how C15:0 helps to support our whole body health and wellness.

Got it - C15:0 is a healthy fat. So, what is fatty15?

Glad you asked! Fatty15 is an award-winning and science-backed C15:0 supplement, containing a > 99.5% pure, vegan-friendly C15:0 powder called FA15. As the world’s first (and only) C15:0 supplement, fatty15 supports your long-term health and wellness at the cellular level.

Wait, aren’t we supposed to be talking about C15:0 and liver health?

Right, back to your liver. Numerous studies have shown that people with higher C15:0 levels have better liver health. Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, a gastroenterologist at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, and the world’s leader in the understanding and management of pediatric NAFLD, completed an independent and extensive study including 237 children, which showed that kids with higher C15:0 blood levels had less fat in their liver. Along with Dr. Schwimmer, two studies from research teams at the MD Anderson Cancer Center have shown that higher C15:0 is linked to healthier livers in adults.

A surprising discovery from dolphins

That’s right. The discovery of C15:0 as an essential nutrient to protect our long-term liver health came from an unlikely population - dolphins. 

While working to support the long-term health of Navy dolphins for over a decade, veterinary epidemiologist Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, along with her fellow veterinarians, noticed that there were increasing cases of dolphins with elevated liver enzymes, detected during their routine health exams. When they looked at archived liver tissue samples under the microscope, they surprisingly found that more than 1 out of 3 dolphins had NAFLD. Just like in humans.

After publishing these findings in 2013, Dr. Venn-Watson, now co-founder and CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics, was contacted by Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer. For the past 10 years, Drs. Venn-Watson and Schwimmer have been working in parallel to understand the mechanisms of NAFLD in dolphins and humans, with the hope of finding a cure.

In her work, Dr. Venn-Watson discovered that the healthiest dolphins had higher levels of C15:0 compared those who had chronic metabolic conditions, including fatty liver disease, suggesting that C15:0 may be a key nutrient needed to protect dolphins' liver health. In addition to the recent Washington Post article, Dr. Venn-Watson’s surprising discovery of C15:0’s importance was recently highlighted in a New York Times Science feature article and is a TEDx talk.

Okay, but can fatty15 directly support liver health?

Yes, it can. Fatty15 has been shown to have direct liver-protecting activities, including:*

• Demonstrated ability to protect the liver against damage in relevant models
• 36+ dose-dependent benefits in human cell systems, including calming immune responses and decreasing tissue fibrosis relevant to liver health
• Protecting cell membranes, including liver cells, against oxidative damage
• As a PPAR-ɑ/δ agonist, regulating metabolism and calming liver immune responses

These studies show that C15:0 is not only associated with better liver health, but that fatty15 actively works at the cellular level to protect our liver.*

Here are just a few real customer testimonials on how fatty15 is helping to support their liver health:

"My ALT, AST & ALP liver tests always showed my values at the high end of the normal range. The first labs I had done since starting fatty15 showed astounding results, especially my ALT, which dropped to 17. I never was even remotely close to this number and have to attribute it to fatty15 since I didn’t do anything different, always get my blood work at the same time of day, and always fast before. Thank you for this product, I am extremely pleased."  - Gary M.

"My blood work just keeps getting better. I will take this forever." - Betsey

"Just had blood work done and my liver enzymes are normal! I just wanted to share this because wow. Just wow!" - A.A.

A global and urgent crisis - nutritional C15:0 deficiencies

While humans’ primary dietary source of C15:0 is whole fat cow’s milk, intake of cow's milk has declined precipitously over the past 40 years as consumers have opted for plant-based milks, which contain no C15:0. As a result, population wide C15:0 levels have been declining.

To add to this issue, the amount of C15:0 in whole fat cow’s milk is dependent on what cows are fed, and even types of grasses fed to cows can meaningfully impact whether their milk has adequate C15:0 levels. The risk of nutritional C15:0 deficiencies has increased further among aging populations, since C15:0 levels naturally decline with age, in both humans and dolphins. 

The timing of population-wide C15:0 nutritional declines, coupled with the alarming rise in poor liver health, are no longer thought to be a coincidence. The good news is that these nutritional C15:0 deficiencies can be fixed to help get global liver health back on track.

Fatty15 to the rescue

In their landmark peer-reviewed publication, Dr. Venn-Watson and Dr. Edward Dennis, a leader in fatty acids and bioactive lipids, laid out evidence supporting C15:0 as an essential fatty acid, making C15:0 the first essential fatty acid to be discovered since omega-3, which was over 90 years ago.

Dr. Venn-Watson and her Navy physician husband, Eric, developed fatty15 to provide the world with a pure, science-backed C15:0 supplement that could improve global health - one amazing person (and dolphin) at a time.

Join our global movement and get your fatty15 healthy liver routine started today!

References

Prevalence of NAFLD: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468125322001650

Dr. Schwimmer’s studies on C15:0 and liver fat:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8842839/pdf/nihms-1773095.pdf

MD Anderson Cancer Center studies on C15:0 and liver health:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0189965

https://aacrjournals.org/cebp/article/30/9/1643/671283/Circulating-Fatty-Acids-Associated-with-Advanced

Fatty15 liver-protecting functions: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64960-y

Read all the latest peer-reviewed science on C15:0, including its role in supporting liver health, at www.discoverC15.com.