Hormones like insulin and glucagon travel throughout the bloodstream after being made by a large
gland. Eicosanoids are hormones that do not travel in the blood and only effect cells close to the one
that produced them. Eicosanoids are "on site" hormones that regulate every function in the body. This eicosanoid system allows groups of cells to maintain a comfortable balance between productive and counterproductive hormones.

Productive hormones Opens air passages to the lungs Increases the immune system Causes blood vessels to relax Makes your blood more sticky Decreases inflammation Decreases insulin release Promotes pain Decrease cell division Increases cyclic AMP

Counterproductive hormones Tightens air passages to the lungs Decreases the immune system Causes blood vessels to stiffen Makes your blood more liquid Increases inflammation Increases insulin release Decreases pain Promote cell division Inhibits cyclic AMP

Eicosanoids functions

BLOOD FLOW
The blood vessels in your body can be compared to a garden hose, but instead the garden hoses in your
body are made of living cells that need a constant supply of nutrients. To maintain proper blood pressure, your blood vessels use eicosanoids to either dilate or contract, which increases or decreases blood flow [55].
Heart disease results from decreased blood flow.

BLOOD VISCOSITY
The viscosity of your blood is also regulated this way. To maintain a balance, we have eicosanoids that
thicken blood and some that make it more liquid. An imbalance either way can cause a problem. Thick
blood will clot and watery blood causes excess bleeding. A "stroke" occurs when there are too many
clot forming eicosaids and not enough anti-clot eicosanoids.

AIR FLOW
Your lung passageways are made of living cells. They can contract enough to cause an asthmatic to suck for wind, or they can be relaxed and make breathing easy. The mechanisms by which these systems interact is initiated and controlled by eicosanoids[6]. Asthma is "airway inflammation" caused by an imbalance in the eicosanoids of the immune system. [54]

IMMUNE SYSTEM REGULATION OF INFLAMMATION
Immune system activities are increased or decreased by eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are what creates a "pro" or "anti" inflammatory response, depending on how they are balanced. Leukotrienes are a type of eicosanoid that have strong pro-inflammatory action on cells. Inflammatory conditions are the basis for most all the health disorders that plague America; Cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, bone loss, [51], Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis and psoriasis.

SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTROL
Smooth muscles that we have no conscious control over are controlled by eicosanoids. Leukotrienes are the eicosanoids that work to contract your respiratory, vascular and intestinal smooth muscle. [53]

KIDNEY FUNCTION
Blood flow through kidneys is controlled by eicosanoids [6]. Vasodilatation of the kidneys is important
in preventing kidney stones.

MIND CONTROL
Eicosanoids controls nerve transmission in the brain & nervous system [6].

BONE STRUCTURE
Eicosanoids can also affect bone remodeling including both bone formation and reabsorbtion. [54]

ERECTILE FUNCTION
Vasodilatation of the penile blood vessels causes increases blood flow. An eicosanoid called “PGEI”
causes this vasodilatation.[55]

Drugs and Eicosanoids
Almost every pharmaceutical drug, aspirin and illegal drugs like marijuana work by manipulating
eicosanoids one way or another. [6]

Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio
Eicosanoids are strongly influenced by diet, especially by the kind of fats you eat. The crucial factor
is your dietary ratio of omega 6 fats to Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fat sources like fish oils produce
productive hormones and omega 6 fat sources like most vegetable oils increase counter-productive hormones. Omega 6 fats turn into eicosanoids that are then inhibited by omega 3 fats. This creates balance.
For example, the omega-3 fatty acids you get from fish oils can delay cancer development and omega-6
fats promote tumor activity [3].

Diet and Eicosanoids
There is now clear evidence that the fatty acid profile of the diet can significantly change the fatty acid composition of the fat within the membrane of your muscle cells [34]. Your cells are constantly transforming, using the fat in its cell membrane to make eicosanoids and replacing them with new fat gathered from your diet. The turnover is fairly rapid. You can give your body a fat makeover simply by eating the better types of fats and taking a fish oil supplement. Changing of the fats in your cell membranes can occur within days and total remodeling occurs in 3-4 weeks. [34]

References
3. Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, 5th edition. Whitney/Cataldo/Rolfes 5th edition. West Wadsworth Publishing.
5. Advanced Nutrition and Metabolism, 3rd edition Hunt/Groff. West Publishing
6. Anatomy & Physiology “The Unity of Form & Function” by Kenneth Saladin.
34. Biochemistry of Exercise X, Mark Hargreaves, Martin Thompson
53. Eicosanoids and Related Compounds in Plants and Animals. A.F. Rowley, H. Kuhn, T. Schewe
51."The Eicosanoids" Editor Peter Curtis-Prior Wiley Publishing
54. Eicosanoids; From Biotechnology to therapeutic Applications. Gian Carlo Folco, Bengt Samuelsson, Jacques
Maclouf and FG.P. Velo Plenum
55. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Other Eicosanoids. From Biogenesis to Clinical Application. F. Marks, G.
Furstenberger (Eds.)