Omega-3 Fish Oils Greatly Reduce the Risk of Three Major Diseases, Study Finds
According to 3 unrelated studies recently conducted, omega-3 fish oils can be a great defense against 3 different diseases: Alzheimer’s, heart failure, and cancer.
The first study involved the levels of omega-3s and the risk of dementia – including Alzheimer’s disease – being measured by Ernst J. Schaefer, MD, of the USDA’s nutrition research center at Tufts University, Boston. The study involved 899 elderly men and women who’s blood levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, one of the principal omega-3s in fish) were measured. In an effort to assess intake of DHA and fish, over 50 percent of the participants involved completed dietary questionnaires.
Over a nine year period, dementia developed in 99 of the participants. According to Schaefer, when compared to those consumed little DHA, the odds of developing dementia were about 50 percent less likely in those with the highest blood levels of DHA. Moreover, those with the highest blood levels of DHA were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease by 39 percent.
Attaining high DHA levels was achieved by the participants through the consumption of fish 3 times per week. This fatty fish consumption resulted in the equivalent of 180 mg of DHA daily.
Alberto U. Ferrari, MD, of the University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, conducted a separate study involving 25 patients that suffered from heart failure with beta-blocker and ACE-inhibitor drugs. Every participant had suffered a previous heart attack which resulted in each person having their ability to pump blood weakened.
Over a four month period, fifteen of the patients were given 2 grams of omega-3 fish oils – which contained about three-fifths DHA and two-fifths eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, another omega-3 fat) – daily, while 10 received a placebo.
In the groups that was given the omega-3s, an improvement in the patients’ “baroflex sensitivity,” which leads to a more stable heart rate, less variability in heart rate, and lower resting heart rate was evident. Ferrari also noted (and I love this) that the benefits achieved by the group given the omega-3′s far surpassed any improvements achieved through the use of medications.
And last but not least comes a study conducted by Alicja Wolk, DMSc, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Alicja and her team studied the effects that omega-3 rich fish would have on the risk of developing kidney cancer in women. During the course of the study, data from an ongoing study of more than 61,000 middle-age and elderly women whose health was tracked for an average of 15 years was analyzed.
The study’s results concluded that the likelihood of developing kidney cancer was 44 percent less likely in women that consumed one or more servings of fatty fish per week compared with women who did not eat fish. In addition, the likelihood of developing kidney cancer was 74 percent less likely in women who consumed one or more servings of fatty fish per week for at least 10 years.
Frank Mangano’s commentary:
The power of omega-3 fish oils should never be underestimated or overlooked. Study after study has consistently shown this miracle oil to just that….perform miracles. If you can’t get omega-3′s from fish, try it in supplement form. Carlson’s fish oil is second to none and my personal favorite.
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- Higher Intake of Omega 3 Fatty Acids Linked to Positive Mood and Outlook, Study Concludes
- Intake of Prenatal Vitamins Drastically Reduces Children’s Cancer Risk, Study Finds
 
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Posted: July 22nd, 2007 under Fatty Acids.
