Omega-3 Fatty Acid Found Beneficial for Heart Health, Researchers Conclude
A new Japanese study published in The Lancet suggests supplementing with an omega-3 fatty acid called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may lower the risk of non-fatal coronary events by 20 percent. Over a four period, researchers followed 18,645 Japanese high-cholesterol patients that were already taking statin medications when the study began to lower their cholesterol.
Over the course of the study, fifty percent of the patients were given an EPA supplement each day in addition to their medication. The other fifty percent received just medication. In the group that received the EPA supplement, the occurrence of a type of chest pain known as angina pectoris was lowered by 24 percent. Additionally, the occurrence of non-fatal coronary events was lowered by 19 percent. No effect on mortality risk was reported by the researchers.
“Overall, this study shows that EPA, at a dose of 1,800 milligrams per day, is a very promising regimen for prevention of major coronary events,” the researchers wrote. They did mention however, that the results yielded in this study might not generalize to other ethnic groups.
Frank Mangano’s Commentary
EFAs must be consumed through the diet. You can find natural amounts of EPAs in fish oils, as well as spirulina and microalgae. There are countless studies out there which exhibit the benefits that omega-3′s have on the heart as well as reducing cancer risk. While experts are still undecided, however, on the health benefits of EPAs in particular, my guess is it’s only a matter of time before the benefits associated with this type of omega-3 shine brightly for the world to see.
I recently read about another study that was published in the British Medical Journal, which examined a variety of prior studies on the subject of EPA’s and heart health, where no evidence of EPA improving heart health was found. But realize this, that study only examined prior studies. No actual experiments or tests were conducted during that study. The results were based solely on the results of prior studies. In other words, the validity of the results were 100 percent dependent on how thoroughly and efficiently the prior studies were conducted.
The study that was published in the Lancet however, consisted of actual, current experiments. The results speak for themselves.
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Posted: September 10th, 2007 under Fatty Acids.
