Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Women with gestational diabetes, who supplemented with 1000 mg of omega 3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil and 400 IU of Vitamin E for 6 weeks, improved their fasting blood sugars by 11 % and HOMAR IR (a measure of insulin resistance) by 69.4% compared to the control group.
Gestational diabetes is defined as “any degree of glucose intolerance during pregnancy” (1) and affects approximately 7% of all U.S. pregnancies, resulting in more than 200,000 cases each year (2). In addition to costing our healthcare system more than $636 million in 2010 (3), poor blood sugar control during pregnancy is a predictor of type 2 diabetes later in life (4). The condition also causes health problems to the newborn in the form of macrosomia, or “fat baby” which is an indicator of possible blood sugar problems (5, 6).
Now a new study (7) suggests that supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E may help with blood sugar control during pregnancy. The study involved 60 patients aged 25 to 33 with gestational diabetes. They were given either 1,000 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil (containing 400 milligrams of alpha-linolenic acid) plus 400 IU of vitamin E (30 subjects) or placebo (30 subjects) for 6 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken before and after the study to measure for blood sugar control.
The use of flaxseed oil in this study instead of fish oil is because little research exists on whether flaxseed can benefit women during pregnancy while omega-3 fatty acids intake from fish oil has been shown to be a benefit (8). Unfortunately, the researchers did not specify the type of vitamin E used in the study (tocopherols versus tocotrienols). However, they cited previous research showing “the significant inverse relationship between omega-3 fatty acids or alpha-tocopherol levels and pregnancy complications” (9, 10).
After 6 weeks, the following changes were seen between the 2 groups:
| Omega-3/Vitamin E | Placebo | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fasting blood sugar (mg/dL) | 12.6% decrease (94 to 82.2) | 1.6% increase (91 to 92.5) | < 0.001 |
| HOMA-IR | 24.3% decrease (3.3 to 2.5) | 45.1% increase (3.1 to 4.5) | 0.01 |
For the researchers, “we demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation in women with gestational diabetes had beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis parameters” and that “Future studies with longer duration of the intervention, higher dose of omega-3 fatty acids supplements and bigger sample size are needed to confirm the validity of our findings.”
Source: Taghizadeh M. A randomized-controlled clinical trial investigating the effect of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation on markers of insulin metabolism and lipid profiles in gestational diabetes. J Clin Lipidol. 2016 Mar-Apr;10(2):386-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jacl.2015.12.017. Epub 2015 Dec 29
© 2016 National Lipid Association
Posted July 7, 2016.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- Metzger BE, Coustan DR (Eds.): Proceedings of the Fourth International Work-shop-Conference on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care 21 (Suppl. 2):B1–B167, 1998
- Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care 2003; 26: 103S-105S
- Dall TM. The Economic Burden Of Diabetes. Health Affairs,Supplement2010; 29(2): 297-303
- Greenberg J. The relationship between maternal glycemia and perinatal outcome. Obstet Gynecol. 2011;117:1230; author reply 1230-1
- Metzger BE, Lowe LP, Dyer AR, et al. Hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:1991–2002
- Tsai PJ, Roberson E, Dye T. Gestational diabetes and macrosomia by race/ethnicity in Hawaii. BMC Res Notes. 2013;6:395
- Taghizadeh M. A randomized-controlled clinical trial investigating the effect of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E co-supplementation on markers of insulin metabolism and lipid profiles in gestational diabetes. J Clin Lipidol. 2016 Mar-Apr;10(2):386-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jacl.2015.12.017. Epub 2015 Dec 29
- Samimi M, Jamilian M, Asemi Z, Esmaillzadeh A. Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on insulin metabolism and lipid profiles in gestational diabetes: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2015;34:388–393
- Shamim AA, Schulze K, Merrill RD, et al. First-trimester plasma tocopherols are associated with risk of miscarriage in rural Bangladesh. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;101:294–301
- Roy S, Dhobale M, Dangat K, et al. Differential levels of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in women with preeclampsia delivering male and female babies. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2014;91:227–232.
