Dr. Mark Hyman & Steph Highlight: Nutritional C15:0 Deficiencies

Healthy Aging

Nutritional C15:0 Deficiencies & Dairy Fat

Last week, Dr. Mark Hyman and our co-founder, Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, had a deep-dive discussion on the science behind C15:0. Among the many topics was nutritional C15:0 deficiencies. As Dr. Hyman pointed out, he is seeing a surprising number of patients with low C15:0 levels.

So, let’s talk about why nutritional C15:0 deficiencies are ever-present, dairy fat as our traditional source of C15:0, and the science behind the health benefits of pure C15:0.

Why do many of us have low C15:0 levels?

There are two answers to that question. First, most of our dietary C15:0 comes from whole dairy fat. As shown in Zheng et al., as we have decreased our intake of whole fat dairy products, our C15:0 levels have gone down. Second, as shared by Tsoukalas et al., our C15:0 levels naturally decline as we get older.

Wait, do my C15:0 levels really matter?

Heck, yes. As summarized in our recent Nutrients paper, here’s why maintaining healthy C15:0 levels matter:

• Dozens and dozens of studies link higher C15:0 levels to better metabolic, heart, and liver health.
• Pure C15:0 strengthens our cells, repairs our mitochondria, and activates AMPK + PPARs, which keeps our metabolism and immunity balanced.
• Pure C15:0 supplementation raises circulating C15:0 levels and directly supports metabolic, heart, and liver health.*

This science all showcases C15:0’s role as an essential fatty acid – the first to be discovered in over 90 years.

How do I know if I have low C15:0?

Multiple studies have shown that having C15:0 levels less than 5 µg/ml (or approximately 0.2% of total fatty acids) is considered low. When above this level, mitochondria function better, proinflammatory cytokines are lower, and cells are more resilient. This is consistent with a meta-analysis by Trieu et al., which showed that people with C15:0 levels greater than 0.2% had better heart health.

There are readily available blood tests that your doctor can request, such as the Genova Diagnostics Fatty Acids Nutritional Test, to measure your C15:0 levels.

Here’s how much daily C15:0 you need to maintain healthy levels.

You need about 100 to 200 mg of C15:0 per day to maintain that healthy 5 µg/ml level. This is based on extensive human studies by Stallings et al., using pure, free fatty acid C15:0.

Can’t I just raise my C15:0 levels by drinking whole fat milk?

You can, but it comes with a couple of important caveats.

• First, whole dairy fat isn’t what it used to be. Van Gastelen et al. showed that the C15:0 content in dairy fat is dependent on what cows eat. If a cow eats corn versus grass, it has less C15:0 in its milk. Even the type of grass can dictate how much C15:0 is in milk.
• Second, dairy fat contains only 1% of healthy C15:0. In contrast, as demonstrated by Mansson, dairy fat has much higher amounts (like, more than 40%) of proinflammatory even-chain saturated fats. Especially C16:0 and C18:0.

As such, it’s harder to get the C15:0 you need from dairy fat without paying the higher cost of competing proinflammatory fats.