Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH

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On today’s episode, I am going to be introducing you to Greenlip mussel, or Greenshell mussel. We will also be delving into a really cool herb, known as Perilla, and what happens when you combine Greenlip mussel with this herb for your respiratory health. So we are talking lung function today! Let’s get started.

What is Greenlip mussel? 

We’ve all hear of fish oil, krill oil, the plant-based omega-3 fatty acid (like flax seed and chia) but Greenlip mussel is very important. It is a shellfish that is native to New Zealand and it is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids. In particular, they are a really rare source of a type of an omega-3 that many people have not heard of. Fish and Krill oil contains EPA and DHA, and flax which contains ALA. Well, the Greenlip mussel contains something known as ETA.

ETA is a very powerful omega-3 fatty acid that is super important when it comes to the way our genes are working, relative to the production of what is known as cyclooxygenase. So when you are thinking about the inflammatory pathways in the body, we know that ETA has been shown to reduce the formation of arakidonic acid. Too much of this acid can cause more inflammation in the body. The Greenlip mussel is an excellent source of this really rare form of this omega-3 fatty acid.

Benefits of Greenlip mussel and Perilla

When you combine this with the powerful herb Perilla, you end up with a formulation that Invite offers called InflamMune. This is a really nice formula to have on hand during this time to help support a healthy immune system response. When you combine ETA along with the Perilla extract, you are really doing so much benefit at that cellular level when it comes to the inflammatory response and to the immune system.

Initially, a lot of focus in clinical studies performed on Greenlip mussel was focused on osteoarthritis and for those who had significant joint degeneration and joint pain. Researchers were looking into whether or not something such as the Greenlip mussel would be beneficial when it came to targeting that process that occurs in arthritis. They found that Greenlip mussel was indeed a very powerful way to go around the conventional treatment, and as adjunct treatment.

But then researchers started to focus on this shellfish and its benefit for respiratory health and inflammation. Published in the European Respiratory Journal back in 2002 looked at the treatment of asthma with Greenlip mussel from New Zealand. This was a randomized, clinical trial. Researchers wanted to see if Greenlip mussel would be effective in inhibiting 5-lipoxygenase in the cyclooxygenase pathways. They recognized that the lipid extract coming from that New Zealand Greenlip mussel, may have some beneficial effect in patients who have asthma. They studied the way that the body was actually utilizing that Greenlip mussel and it was regulating a lot of those main inflammatory factors that were being released and driving up that restriction in the airways.

So, right now when we are thinking about supporting our respiratory health, the Greenlip mussel in combination with the Perilla extract might be a great option.

Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.

Questions about inflammation in your airways? Leave Amanda Williams a comment below!