Fish Omega-3s May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease and Improve Certain Brain Disorders

DENVER, April 3 /PRNewswire/ — New peer-reviewed studies show that long- chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) may significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and ease the symptoms of treating Parkinson’s disease, as reported in the March 2006 PUFA Newsletter. Improvements linked to n-3 LC-PUFAs in conditions associated with older age, mental disorders and asthma were also cited. These fatty acids, largely found in fatty fish and fish oil, may also help ensure the developmental health of newborns.

A Japanese study reported that people in Japan who eat fish as often as eight times a week have almost no heart disease. This observational study monitored more than 41,000 people for 10 years. In the highest fish consumption group, risk of non-fatal coronary events was nearly 60% lower and risk of ischemic heart disease 50% less than in those consuming fish only once a week. Risk of sudden death could not be calculated because there were too few deaths!

Another study found that supplements of DHA, an n-3 LC-PUFA, reduced the negative effects of L-dopa treatment — jerky, involuntary movements known as dyskinesia — for Parkinson’s disease. Monkeys with chemically induced Parkinson’s disease on L-dopa treatment that were given DHA had reduced dyskinesia by about 30%. If they were given DHA before L-dopa treatment, the onset of dyskinesia was delayed.

“DHA deserves evaluation in patients with Parkinson’s disease whose quality of life could be meaningfully enhanced,” noted PUFA Newsletter Editor Joyce Nettleton, DSc, RD.

Other research reported that in the laboratory, DHA had dramatic protective effects in brain cells that secreted proteins characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Another study showed that dietary deficiency of n-3 LC-PUFAs during pregnancy leads to significant deficits in DHA in infants, which is necessary for their healthy growth and development.

“The latter research underscores that dietary n-3 LC-PUFAs are necessary during pregnancy to assure that the infant is born without tissue deficits of these fatty acids, particularly DHA,” Nettleton said.

Other articles in the March 2006 PUFA Newsletter report benefits from fish oil supplementation in exercise-induced asthma, improvement of bipolar disorder with EPA supplementation, and new American Heart Association dietary recommendations for children calling for those above age two to eat more fish.

Sponsored by DSM Nutritional Products, the quarterly PUFA Newsletter brings the latest research findings about PUFAs to health professionals. It is available online along with a new consumer version called Fats of Life at http://www.fatsoflife.com/.

PUFA Newsletter

CONTACT: Angela Dansby, +1-773-472-2911, angela@fatsoflife.com

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