Omega-Man: The Heart’s Hero
A high consumption of omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of chest pain, study shows.
Omega-3 fatty acids are the object of the heart’s affection. They’re the heart’s knight in shining armor, for they are at the ready to reduce and prevent long-term complications, like heart disease and heart attack, while easing the sting of short-term frustrations, like chest pain.
Every year, millions of people head to their local hospital complaining of chest pains. Whether its tightness, burning sensations, rapid heart rate or painful swallowing, the symptoms of chest pain vary, and so too do the diagnoses (heartburn, heart attack, angina, pericarditus).
Thanks to omega-3 fatty acids, though, we can minimize the occurrence and risk of chest pains, even those that might be more serious nature.
According to a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, people that consume high amounts of omega-3s slash their risk for chest pains by nearly 30 percent compared to people who eat small amounts of omega-3s.
These findings come from a group of Danish researchers who followed the health status of approximately 53,000 men and women. Everyone involved in the study were considered healthy at the start.
That couldn’t be said at the end, though, as 1,150 people developed acute coronary syndrome in the intervening eight years.
But in yet another act of omega-3s riding to the heart’s rescue, people with the highest omega-3 levels were 30 percent less likely to be among those with acute coronary syndrome. Acute coronary syndrome is an umbrella term for more specific heart-related problems, like angina or complications resulting from a heart attack.
Interestingly—to continue with my personification of omega-3s as a heroic figure a little longer— omega-3s did not ride to the rescue of women’s heart health. The benefit only applied to men, as there was no association between reduced risk of ACS and the level of omega-3s in women’s blood.
But this doesn’t mean that omega-3s only have eyes for men. In fact, when taking into consideration the totality of benefits omega-3s has for women compared to men, they may be partial to women.
For instance, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, high omega-3 levels enhances female fertility, decreasing a woman’s risk for premature birth, and may help prevent post-partum depression (a condition that’s more common in women than men).
Further, this being Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all, high omega-3 levels reduces a woman’s risk for breast cancer.
There’s no denying that omega-3 consumption is vitally important to your long-term and—as the aforementioned study shows—your short-term health. Be on the lookout for them. They prefer to hide in food sources (e.g. flax, salmon, herring, snapper), but they’ve also been spotted in supplements. A favorite hangout? Carlson’s Liquid Fish Oil.
With omega-3s constantly saving the day, nutrition is all too important to fritter away.
Sources:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
nutraingredients.com
mayoclinic.com
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- Lower Risk of Eye Disease with Omega-3
- Omega-6: Not Bad After All?
 
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Posted: October 19th, 2009 under Fatty Acids.
Tags: acute coronary syndrome, chest pains, fish oil omega-3 benefits, omega-3 fatty acids
