Omega-3 Fatty Acids can Help Prevent Heart Disease

Recent analysis reveals that fish consumption and omega-fatty acid supplements still help prevent heart disease.

"After decades of studying omega-3 fatty acids, it's clear that they have value in primary prevention of heart disease," said Donald Jump, author of the analysis, a principal investigator in the Linus Pauling Institute, and professor in the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences.

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Researchers worldwide have discovered that eating fish regularly is good for health. Regular consumption of fish may reduce the risk of diseases such as asthma, prostate cancer and eyesight.

"It's less clear how much impact fish oils have in preventing further cardiovascular events in people who already have heart disease," Jump said.

"The studies done several decades ago showed value even for that patient population, but the more recent studies are less conclusive. We believe that one explanation is the effectiveness of current state-of-the-art treatments now being offered," he noted.

Some of the earliest work that raised interest in omega-3 fatty acids was done in the 1970s with Greenland Inuits, who ate large amounts of fish and were found to have unusually low levels of cardiovascular disease. But, Jump said, millions of people now at risk for cardiovascular disease take medications such as statin drugs for high cholesterol; fibrates for high triglycerides; anti-thrombotics to thin their blood; and other drugs with anti-inflammatory or anti-arrhythmia effects.

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Fish oils can have positive effects on virtually all of these same cardiovascular risk factors, Jump said, but so can the drugs.

"Some of the early studies done on fish oil were prior to so many effective medications being widely available and heavily used. And people often forget that nutrients, like fish oils, are less potent than prescription drugs, and often have their best value when used for extended periods," Jump said.

Quiz on Omega Fatty Acids
Body can't make omega fatty acids but these are essential for good health. So you have to get them from food sources and supplements. Take this quiz and find out why omega fatty acids are important and what foods are good sources of omega fatty acids.

"When so many people in these studies are taking a regimen of medications to address the same issues that fish oil might also affect, it's easy to understand why any added benefit from the fish oils is more difficult to detect," he said.

The point, Jump said, is not that omega-3 fatty acids have no value - they do. But for studies of their value in cardiovascular disease, which are often done when patients are taking other medications, that value is less clear.

An Active Heart
The heart pumps blood constantly providing the power to sustain life.

A wide body of other research, he noted, makes it clear that omega-3 fatty acids also have health benefits that go beyond cardiovascular disease. They have been shown to improve visual acuity; improve cognitive function and reduce dementia; reduce inflammation and perhaps some types of cancer, such as colon cancer; and reduce total mortality.

An important type of omega-3 fatty acid for human health is DHA, which is the predominant omega-3 fatty acid that accumulates in tissues.

"We still believe the evidence is strong that the EPA and DHA content in heart tissues and blood is important to health and to the prevention of cardiovascular disease," Jump said.

"To meet the current recommendations for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, individuals are advised to consume 200-300 milligrams of combined EPA and DHA per day," he added.

This research was published in the Journal of Lipid Research.

Source-ANI