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Omega-3 Goes Conventional | Back to Basics Weight Management

From eNewsletter 10/2/2019

DID YOU KNOW that the CDC publishes data on the flu vaccine's efficacy? Effectiveness for 2018-2019:

-Average for all ages - 29%

-6 months - 8 years - 49%

-9-17 years - 6%

-18-49 years - 25%

-50-64 years - 12%

-65 & over - 12%


OMEGA-3 GOES CONVENTIONAL

Steve and Bonnie: As if you needed more of a reason to eat fatty fish and/or take supplemental fish oil, the following studies should, at minimum, lead you to either test your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, or screen for potential mutations of your FADS gene, which shows the ability to break down dietary oil into omega-3.


As you can see, conventional medicine is finally starting to accept fish and fish oil as an important therapeutical strategy.

  • A clinical practice guideline from the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research recommends omega-3 fatty acids as adjunctive therapy for major depressive disorder. According to the authors publishing in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, the value of omega-3 in depression is "overlooked," even though accumulating evidence supports it. The guideline recommends starting from at least 1 gram/day up to 2 grams/day for at least 8 weeks as adjunctive treatment. Importantly, the authors note that the quality of omega-3's may affect therapeutic activity.

  • According to a study in last month's World Psychiatry, omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil are the most effective dietary supplement for improving mental health in the world's largest review of research in people with mental disorders.

  • Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduces triglyceride levels by 20-30% among the majority of people who require treatment for high triglyceride levels, according to a science advisory from the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

  • An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study confirmed that high intakes of fish and fish oil are associated with an attenuation of the genetic association with long-term weight gain.

  • Results from a recent study in Stroke show that higher dietary intakes of fish oils, and higher adipose tissue levels of the omega-3 EPA in particular, are related to a reduction in ischemic stroke.

  • The Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial is the largest and most recent to test whether vitamin D or fish oil can effectively prevent cancer or cardiovascular disease. According to results presented at last week's North American Menopause Society Annual Meeting, fish oil showed a small reduction in the primary cardiovascular endpoint of major CVD events, and were associated with significant reductions in heart attacks. Vitamin D supplementation was associated with a statistically significant reduction in total cancer mortality.