Omega 3 Health Benefits
WLR dietitian Juliette Kellow reports on a new study
highlighting the health benefits of omega 3 fats.
 |
Fish for Compliments
By WLR Dietitian
|
Its well established that eating more oily fish helps to
keep our hearts healthy thanks to it containing omega-3 fats.
But what effect does it actually have on risk factors for heart
disease and other conditions when used in conjunction with a
weight loss program?
To find out, scientists from Cambridge took 116 overweight,
insulin resistant women and allocated them to one of three
groups. The 116 women were aged between 21 and 69 and had an
average weight of 92.7kg, an average
BMI of 35 and an average waist circumference of 99.4cm. The
first group of 39 followed a
weight loss program with the addition of
omega-3 fats
in the form of 1g capsules five times a day. The second group of
38 women followed the same weight loss program with the addition
of a placebo oil an oil that has no effect. The third group of
39 simply received the placebo oil.
Unsurprisingly, both groups of women who followed the weight
loss program lost significantly more weight than the group who
simply took the placebo oil, losing on average across the two
groups 10.7kg. This weight loss helped to improve insulin
sensitivity and reduce blood triglycerides and inflammation
all risk factors for
heart disease.
Although they lost around the same amount of weight, the
weight loss group who took the omega-3 fats lowered their
triglycerides and improved levels of the hormone adiponectin,
far more than those who followed the weight loss program with
the placebo oil. Low amounts of adiponectin have been linked to
type 2 diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosis.
The study took 24 weeks in total, and the weight loss program
was broken down into a 12-week weight loss phase and a 12-week
maintenance phase. The weight loss program was designed to
achieve 10% weight loss in the first phase. The women
participating were asked to attend fortnightly sessions where
they received diet advice and were told to follow an
energy-restricted diet of around 800 900
calories per day. In
the second phase they were advised to stick to
maintenance
calories. The group taking the placebo oil only was not given
any dietary advice.
The authors conclude that more attention should be given to
omega-3 fats in the diet to help treat obesity and the risk
factors for other diseases that can go hand in hand with
obesity. Although they do state that these effects were obtained
with a dose higher than can be realistically achieved through
diet alone.
WLR says:
This is a small study and more research is needed
to assess dose levels and if similar effects can be seen with a
food based program. Nevertheless, as omega-3 fats have many
health benefits including keeping our
hearts healthy and
helping the reduce inflammation its certainly not going to do
any harm to include more of them in our diets.
Just last month, a large review of all the research revealed
that eating one to two servings of fish a week, especially oily
fish, helps to reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack by a
massive 36 percent. This is supported by the
Food Standards
Agency, who recommend we eat two servings of fish a week, one of
which should be oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines,
pilchards, trout or fresh tuna.
Useful Information
Losing Weight
for a Healthy Heart
Alternative
Sources of Omega 3
British Heart
Foundation
|
