Fish and Nut Consumption May Help with Inflammation in Older Women

by | May 3, 2011 | 2011, Fish Oil Supplements, Nuts and Seeds, Women's Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Data from 2514 patients showed that those with higher omega-3 levels had a 44% reduced risk of death from inflammatory diseases and 40% reduced risk for those with the highest nut consumption.

Inflammation is part of a healthy response by the body to fight against infection and recover from injury by releasing proteins that include cytokines, eicosanoids] and clotting molecules (1). But too much inflammation (due to stress and diet) can be a significant contributor to many diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, rheumatoid]arthritis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease (2).

Now a new study (3) has suggested several foods that may help maintain healthy levels of inflammation. Researchers examined data obtained from 2,514 patients < 49 years of age, participating in the Blue Mountain Eye Study (4) where they completed a 9-category food frequency questionnaire (5)

Over the course of 15-years of follow-up, 8.5% of the patients (214/2514) experienced significant health problems “attributed to inflammatory diseases.” Compared to women with the lowest third of omega-3 fat intake (up to 740 mg per day), women with the highest third of omega-3 fat intake (1.1 – 4.7 grams per day) had a 44% reduced risk of mortality from inflammatory diseases.  Even the middle third of omega-3 intake (750 – 1000 mg per day) showed a 39% decreased risk (P = 0.03).

In men, although an 18% reduced risk was seen for the middle third of intake (no risk reduction for the highest third), these results were not significant, due to the high rate of statistical error (P = 0.71).

Regarding nut consumption, both men and women showed reduced risks of inflammatory disease, with a 40% reduction risk for the highest third of nut intake (4.9 – 100 grams per day) and a 54% reduced risk for the middle third of nut intake (1.4 – 4.55 grams per day). The researchers did not speculate as to why the higher nut intake yielded a smaller reduction in risk.

The researchers went on to conclude that “in women, increased dietary intake of total omega-3 fatty acids could contribute to an appreciable reduction in the risk of non-cardiovascular, non-cancer inflammatory disease mortality” while “Modest consumption of nuts conferred a protective effect against inflammatory disease mortality”.  Since this was an uncontrolled study and some issues unresolved, other factors may be involved and further research is needed.

Source: Gopinath, Bamini, et al. “Consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish, and nuts and risk of inflammatory disease mortality.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 93.5 (2011): 1073-1079.

© 2011 American Society for Nutrition

Posted May 3, 2011.

References:

  1. Calder PC. n23 Polyunsaturated fatty acids, inflammation, and inflammatory diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83(suppl):1505S–19S.
  2. Sijben JW, Calder PC. Differential immunomodulation with long-chain n23 PUFA in health and chronic disease. Proc Nutr Soc 2007;66: 237–59.
  3. Gopinath B.  Consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, fish, and nuts and risk of inflammatory disease mortality. AJCN. First published ahead of print March 16, 2011 as doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.009977.
  4. Center for Vision Research: Blue Mountain Eye Study
  5. Willett WC, Sampson L, Browne ML, et al. The use of a selfadministered questionnaire to assess diet four years in the past. Am J Epidemiol 1988;127:188–99.