There is much more to Omega-3 fats than this series of blogs lets on. I tend to focus on heart disease and the associations between foods and the risk of heart disease—basically because that’s my shtick. Omega-3 fats are proven effective in treating Hypertriglyceridemia and appear to be effective in preventing Sudden Cardiac Death. Its use in the primary prevention of heart disease is more controversial and hasn’t been shown to be definitively effective outside of other lifestyle factors and exposures.
I’ll briefly run through some of the suspected benefits of consuming Omega’s:
1. Alleviation of Psychiatric Illnesses: Bipolar disorder, Depression, ADHD, schizophrenia
2. Prevention of Macular Degeneration
3. Relapse rate of Chron’s Disease
4. Relapse rate of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
5. Lowered catecholamine levels
6. Treatment of Cancer anorexia
7. Alleviation of symptoms in Acute Pancreatitis
There are many more suspected benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids all of which seem to have a common thread. Omega-3 fatty acids produce inflammatory cytokines with a lower biologic/pharmacologic activity than cytokines produced from say Omega-6 fatty acids. Although this may not seem important, it represents one of the important reasons to consume Omega-3 fatty acids. Also, Omega-3 fatty acids become incorporated in phospholipids making up cell membranes and lipoproteins. That storage depot of fatty acids may be important in alleviating some of the disease entities listed above.
Sources of Omega-3 Fatty acids:
α-Linolenic Acid: Oils: Flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil. Foods: Cauliflower, walnuts, spinach, pinto beans, tofu, and more.
EPA and DHA: Oils: Menhaden oil, cod liver oil, salmon oil. Foods: Salmon, oysters, mackerel, tuna, sea bass, shark, trout and many more sea food and fresh water fish species.
Amount to Take:
This is where things get a little sticky. Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia is fairly straightforward and dose dependent; that is, consuming 4 grams a day is more effective at lowering the triglyceride count than consuming 2 grams a day.
If levels of DHA and EPA are your goal, to enable a reduction in inflammation from any of the above conditions in which Omega-3 fatty acids are suspected to help, the consumption of α-Linolenic Acid may or may not help. The problem is the conversion of α-Linolenic Acid to DHA and EPA is not reliable. In particular, it’s not reliable in men. In women, the conversion appears to depend upon global energy needs. In cases of severe caloric restriction, much of the α-Linolenic Acid may be metabolized for global energy needs. In a eucaloric state (a state where calories meet energy needs), the Linolenic Acid is effectively converted in DHA and EPA in women.
Dose to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death:
Sudden Cardiac Death is defined as death following a cardiac event, usually a myocardial infarction or heart attack. A number of observational studies have found that in those people either eating fatty fish or taking a supplement, the rate of death following a heart attack is much lower.
The optimal dose of daily fish or fish oil supplement to prevent sudden cardiac death after a heart attack, however, is a bit sketchy. There is some guidance based upon a dozen or so epidemiologic studies. But in reality, the precise information depends upon which study you bet the farm on. One salmon (or other fatty fish) dinner per week will supply about 1.5 grams of DHA and EPA which appears to be about the minimum intake to see a favorable outcome after a heart attack. The American Heart Association recommends healthy adults eat two fatty fish meals per week and include oils rich in α-linolenic acid like flaxseed oil, walnuts and canola oil.
Most supplements have a combined amount of DHA and EPA in the range of 500mg to 1 gram per gel capsule. Based upon the baseline benefit of one fatty fish meal per week, one capsule a day (1 gram combined of DHA and EPA) or even one capsule every other day would more than offset the minimum of one fish meal per week in preventing sudden death following a heart attack. The alternative is to eat the fatty fish once a week, which if cooked right, can be a far more rewarding experience than popping a fish oil capsule and burping up chicken-of-the-sea all morning.
Final Note on Omega-3 fats
I’ve noticed over the years when a food appears to offer some benefit, for example, eating fatty fish once a week, the elements of that beneficial food end up in supplements, soaps, skin creams, shampoo, and any of a number of other consumer products. Rubbing Omega-3’s on your skin might sound like a good thing, but there’s no evidence it impacts skin integrity, elasticity or longevity. Let there be no mystery regarding how I feel about food and product marketing. Marketing new products (especially new skin products) is tantamount to a criminal act until proven otherwise.
I’ll briefly run through some of the suspected benefits of consuming Omega’s:
1. Alleviation of Psychiatric Illnesses: Bipolar disorder, Depression, ADHD, schizophrenia
2. Prevention of Macular Degeneration
3. Relapse rate of Chron’s Disease
4. Relapse rate of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
5. Lowered catecholamine levels
6. Treatment of Cancer anorexia
7. Alleviation of symptoms in Acute Pancreatitis
There are many more suspected benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids all of which seem to have a common thread. Omega-3 fatty acids produce inflammatory cytokines with a lower biologic/pharmacologic activity than cytokines produced from say Omega-6 fatty acids. Although this may not seem important, it represents one of the important reasons to consume Omega-3 fatty acids. Also, Omega-3 fatty acids become incorporated in phospholipids making up cell membranes and lipoproteins. That storage depot of fatty acids may be important in alleviating some of the disease entities listed above.
Sources of Omega-3 Fatty acids:
α-Linolenic Acid: Oils: Flaxseed oil, walnut oil, canola oil. Foods: Cauliflower, walnuts, spinach, pinto beans, tofu, and more.
EPA and DHA: Oils: Menhaden oil, cod liver oil, salmon oil. Foods: Salmon, oysters, mackerel, tuna, sea bass, shark, trout and many more sea food and fresh water fish species.
Amount to Take:
This is where things get a little sticky. Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia is fairly straightforward and dose dependent; that is, consuming 4 grams a day is more effective at lowering the triglyceride count than consuming 2 grams a day.
If levels of DHA and EPA are your goal, to enable a reduction in inflammation from any of the above conditions in which Omega-3 fatty acids are suspected to help, the consumption of α-Linolenic Acid may or may not help. The problem is the conversion of α-Linolenic Acid to DHA and EPA is not reliable. In particular, it’s not reliable in men. In women, the conversion appears to depend upon global energy needs. In cases of severe caloric restriction, much of the α-Linolenic Acid may be metabolized for global energy needs. In a eucaloric state (a state where calories meet energy needs), the Linolenic Acid is effectively converted in DHA and EPA in women.
Dose to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death:
Sudden Cardiac Death is defined as death following a cardiac event, usually a myocardial infarction or heart attack. A number of observational studies have found that in those people either eating fatty fish or taking a supplement, the rate of death following a heart attack is much lower.
The optimal dose of daily fish or fish oil supplement to prevent sudden cardiac death after a heart attack, however, is a bit sketchy. There is some guidance based upon a dozen or so epidemiologic studies. But in reality, the precise information depends upon which study you bet the farm on. One salmon (or other fatty fish) dinner per week will supply about 1.5 grams of DHA and EPA which appears to be about the minimum intake to see a favorable outcome after a heart attack. The American Heart Association recommends healthy adults eat two fatty fish meals per week and include oils rich in α-linolenic acid like flaxseed oil, walnuts and canola oil.
Most supplements have a combined amount of DHA and EPA in the range of 500mg to 1 gram per gel capsule. Based upon the baseline benefit of one fatty fish meal per week, one capsule a day (1 gram combined of DHA and EPA) or even one capsule every other day would more than offset the minimum of one fish meal per week in preventing sudden death following a heart attack. The alternative is to eat the fatty fish once a week, which if cooked right, can be a far more rewarding experience than popping a fish oil capsule and burping up chicken-of-the-sea all morning.
Final Note on Omega-3 fats
I’ve noticed over the years when a food appears to offer some benefit, for example, eating fatty fish once a week, the elements of that beneficial food end up in supplements, soaps, skin creams, shampoo, and any of a number of other consumer products. Rubbing Omega-3’s on your skin might sound like a good thing, but there’s no evidence it impacts skin integrity, elasticity or longevity. Let there be no mystery regarding how I feel about food and product marketing. Marketing new products (especially new skin products) is tantamount to a criminal act until proven otherwise.
2 comments:
Great conclusion. In my experience, even women with science PhDs are prone to falling for the pseudo-science clap-trap, which forms the basis of the marketing of supplements and cosmetics. These messages of course are aimed mainly at women and their insecurities which are fostered mainly through the process of socialisation and are not really as hard-wired as people would like to believe (else I would be a totally different person!)
Thanks for writing.
WG, your posts are always educational. Your exercise of a skeptic's pose can open up discourse on interesting topics.
At some point, maybe you would share your thoughts on each of the following:
*endocrine disruptors and the decline in age of puberty onset.
*healthful protein intake for children and adults.
*healthful sugar intake (touching on hypoglycemia, diabetes, and precursors to both).
*use (and abuse) of plastic surgery.
*the health effects of nicotine consumption (as opposed to smoking).
*alcohol consumption and the french paradox.
*eating disorders, their etiology, prevalence and treatment.
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