Why Emu Oil Works. Is it the $64,000 question, or do we have some clues? The simple answer, and one which is closest to being correct, is that emu oil is one of the basic food groups which our culture has chosen to deny. Avoiding fats in our diets creates the many conditions which respond to emu oil. Why it works when applied topically when other sources of these fatty acids do not is still unknown. But this too could simply be due to the similarity of emu oil with the fats in our skin thus enabling it to readily penetrate and absorb with these fats. How does it work? This is a subject which is made complex by the large number of steps within our body's chemistry which involve fatty acids. To begin with, no drug offers the wide scope of activity observed with emu oil, which further supports the idea that emu oil activity originates from a food group rather than a single compound. Our body's need for fats can be broadly grouped into structural and functional needs. Structural Needs - All our cell walls are made of fat which separates the watery contents of each unique cell from the adjacent cells. These cell walls are complex constructions which contain pores, channels, and receptors, which enable the cell to receive and send signals and to respond to various chemicals as well as to release various chemicals. When fats are missing from our diets, our body makes fat from the protein and carbohydrates which we eat. Unfortunately, it cannot make some types of fats which are required by the cell wall. Therefore, all cell wall structures are defective when some of the necessary and essential fats, such as found in emu oil, are missing from our diets. We can think of skin as the largest cell wall we have. A dry, itchy skin (i.e., a defective skin) is a sign of missing essential fatty acids. When the essential fats are missing from our cells, the more rigid saturated and monounsaturated fats must be used in their place. This rigidity impairs all our cells, which must be flexible to work best. Hardened arteries can be thought of as containing rigid, saturated fats rather than the soft, polyunsaturated fats. Functional Needs - Fats play many very different roles in our bodies, other than the simple concentrated energy source and cushion which we usually think of fats providing. All cells produce hormones directly from the fatty acids which we must receive from our diet, or from the topical application of these fatty acids. These hormones influence all aspects of local cell activity. They are involved in such activities as inflammation, healing, cell growth and dying. When we don't have enough of the correct fats, these processes of every day life do not operate at peak efficiency. Emu oil can provide the necessary fats which are required for normal cellular function.
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