Healthy Eating´s New Superstar: The Almighty Omega-3!

By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
Special for eDiets
November 8, 2005

Omega-3s are superstars. They are to the world of fatty acids what Tiger Woods is to golf, Lance Armstrong is to cycling, or Placido Domingo is to opera. Most of you have heard about the importance of omega-3s. While the full scope of their powers are still the subject of fierce debate among researchers, nobody challenges their importance.

It’s been well established that omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat found primarily in seafood, can improve your chances of living longer if you have heart disease. But its healing powers don’t stop there. Other organs may benefit. They have a positive impact from the womb to old age.

Omega-3’s reach is vast and the health benefits are intriguing the scientific community. While not an answer to every ailment, omega-3s are essential nutrients in the human body. Studies show that they may have significant physiological and psychological benefits.

In fact, omega-3s are so important to human health, the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board recently set a minimum daily requirement for the first time. For years we thought there was only one essential fatty acid, omega-6 fatty acid (found in vegetable and soybean oils). But now scientists have added omega-3 to the list of essential nutrients humans must get in their diet.

I first became interested in the power of omega-3 when psychiatrists I work with began prescribing it for their depressed patients, finding it made positive improvements. Then I started hearing about its potential benefits for arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Could it be possible that one nutrient could provide so many benefits?

The connection between omega-3s and health was first observed in the 1970´s. Scientists observed that Greenland Eskimos had a reduced rate of heart disease, even though they ate a high fat and cholesterol diet. They hypothesized that the type of fat -- marine derived -- might play a role. Since then, study after study has confirmed that omega-3s in fish have a potent effect on reduction of heart disease.

Omega-3s work several ways in the heart. They prevent irregular heart beat, reduce fatty plaques inside artery walls, decrease blood clotting, decrease triglycerides (blood fat), increase HDL (good cholesterol), decrease inflammation, and decrease blood pressure.

"Omega-3 favorably affects a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and at the top of the list is reducing the risk of sudden death from heart attack," says Penny Kris Etherton, distinguished professor of nutrition, Pennsylvania State University. But that may be just the tip of the iceberg!

The two most potent omega-3 fatty acids are known as DHA and EPA. They’re usually found in a 50:50 or 60:40 ratio in fish. These fatty acids end up in every single cell membrane in the human body. They act as a cell lubricant, improve flexibility and communication between cells, and are important for cell metabolism and gene expression.

But as we’ve discovered in nutrition, balance is everything. The two essential fatty acids, omega-6 and omega-3, must be in harmony with each other for proper functioning. If one or the other is too high or low, negative consequences result.

"If you eat too much omega-6, as is the case with today´s American diet, this promotes inflammation, blood clotting and constricts blood vessels," says Artemis Simopoulos, president of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health and the author of The Omega Diet (Harper Collins, 1999) "When your cells contain equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3, as was the case with early humans, this promotes less inflammation, less constrictive blood vessels and prevents clot formation, all important functions in preventing many diseases."

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is the hottest debate among omega-3 researchers. Some say a ratio of 1:1 or even 2:1 is acceptable. Still others believe a specific ratio doesn´t matter. But they all agree on the need to get more omega-3s.

In the brain and nervous system, omega-3 fatty acid concentrations are higher than anywhere else in the body. They are necessary for optimal functioning of the neurons, protect cells, decrease cell death and improve nerve transmission. Emerging research indicates omega-3s may boost levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine, decreasing depression and violence.

"In five out of six of the clinical trials where people were given either a placebo or omega-3 fatty acids, on average, the symptoms of depression have been reduced by about 50 percent," says Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist at the National Institutes for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. "This is true even when the subjects were already on anti-depressants and failing to respond to them."

Hibbeln’s studies found an increase in depression, violence and homicides in countries who eat less fish as compared to countries who eat more fish. It may even improve conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Bone density may be enhanced by omega-3 intake. "Osteoporosis is lower in populations who eat more fish, such as Asians, when compared to Europeans who eat more calcium-containing foods" says Bruce A. Watkins, Ph.D., nutrition professor at Purdue University. The mechanisms aren’t completely understood, but omega-3s may help support bone formation.

Omega-3 may also benefit the skin. The Greenland Eskimo studies found they don’t suffer much from psoriasis, a skin disease causing painful inflammation, redness and scales in its sufferers.

Laboratory studies have found that omega-3s suppress the hyperproliferation of the skin cells, which causes the disease to spread. When tested in humans, after 10 weeks, 60 percent of the subjects experienced a decrease in the area of psoriasis and a decrease in proliferation and inflammation.

"The dose is very essential," says the researcher, Vincent Ziboh, Ph.D., professor, depsrtment of dermatology, University of California at Davis. "The work is promising, but more research is needed to understand the mechanism and doses, and why it works for some but not others."

Just as omega-3s inhibit proliferation of skin cells which causes psoriasis, new research is finding it inhibits proliferation of cancer cells in the breast, prostate and colon. This is a new area of research which hasn’t been tested widely. But, a new study found breast cancer patients responded better to chemotherapy and the cancer was less likely to spread when patients were given omega-3 fatty acids. There is epidemiological evidence that men who eat more fish have lower risk for prostate cancer.

There is evidence that omega-3s may improve diabetes by reducing insulin resistance.

The FDA recently approved omega-3s for infant formulas because of the overwhelming evidence that it improves cognition and visual functioning in children (mother’s breast milk provides it naturally, especially when she regularly eats fish). Inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and asthma may improve with omega-3 supplementation.

The studies are just beginning. More research needs to be done to understand who will benefit most from higher levels of omega-3 in their diets. Your genetics and environment play large roles in responsiveness to omega-3s. And while studies are very promising for a wide range of illnesses, the optimal amount of omega-3 and the ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 are still hotly debated in the scientific community.

But what isn’t debated is that adult women need at least 1.1 grams and adult men need 1.6 grams daily, according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unfortunately, Americans don’t come even close to getting their omega-3 requirement. But we used to. Apparently, in our earlier evolutional stages, we ate plenty of wild greens, lean animals which grazed on high omega-3 grasses, and fish high in omega-3s, and our bodies evolved a need for it.

But today, omega-3s have largely been replaced with omega-6s, vegetables oils, especially soybean oil, which is used in large doses in processed foods and fast foods. And no longer do our animals graze on high omega-3 grasses, but on grains instead. This changes the fatty acid composition of the meat, to our detriment.

Most of the studies found a positive benefit with 500 to 1,000mg of omega-3s per day. The American Heart Association recommends all adults eat a variety of fish, particularly oily fish, at least twice weekly, which would provide an average of 500mg daily. For patients with coronary artery disease, they recommend 1,000mg daily, or double the seafood requirement (but never above 3,000mg). Supplements are effective and may be used instead of eating the fish. Due to environmental pollutants found in fish, women of child-bearing age are recommended to keep their fish intake to no more than 12 ounces per week.

There are possible dangers to taking too much omega-3 supplement. The inflammatory response is your immune system working, or overworking. This means that omega-3s are actually reducing your immune response when they reduce inflammation. So, large doses should be taken only with a doctor´s advice by people with compromised immune systems. There is also a slight increase in risk for hemorrhagic stroke or excessive bleeding.

As usual, I have to underscore balance. It may be safer to stick with food sources so you don’t go overboard and are more likely to stay in balance.

There is a vegetable source of omega-3, known as ALA. It´s found in flaxseed oil, walnuts and canola oil. The experts at the National Academy of Sciences´ Food and Nutrition Board say there are not enough studies to prove they are as beneficial as the more potent omega-3s found in fish. The omega-3 fatty acid, ALA, is one which has to be converted to DHA and EPA, which means vegetable sources are less potent than fish oil. But it’s still a great idea to include them in your diet.

Listed below are some values of omega-3s in three and a half ounces of fish:

Katherine Tallmadge is an in-demand weight loss and nutrition speaker and consultant with a 20-year private practice in Washington D.C. She’s also spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and the President of Personalized Nutrition. Tallmadge is author of Diet Simple: 154 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations. Check out her web site at www.dietsimple.info.

by eDiets.com, www.ediets.com, 2005