Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Eight weeks of fish oil supplementation significantly decreased systolic blood pressure in those subjects with blood pressure readings of 145.8/81.1. This reflects a 20% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Regarded as a worldwide epidemic (1), high blood pressure cost our healthcare system $73 billion in 2009 (2). According to the National Institutes of Health, a “healthy” blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg or lower, “prehypertension” is a blood pressure between 120/80 and 140/90, and “hypertension” is greater than 140/90 mmHg (3).

While current dietary guidelines (4, 5) recommend 500 milligrams of EPA/DHA in healthy individuals (4,5) and 1,000 milligrams in those with cardiovascular disease (6, 7), research has suggested at least 3,000 milligrams per day to be beneficial (8, 9, 10). Now a new study (11) suggests that getting between 500 and 1,000 milligrams per day can be beneficial.

The study involved 312 healthy subjects (149 men, 163 women) between the ages of 31 and 55 participating in the FINGEN study (12). They were given either a fish oil supplement providing 700 milligrams of EPA+DHA, a fish oil supplement providing 1,800 milligrams of EPA+ DHA or a placebo for 8 weeks. Before and after the study, blood pressure was taken first thing in the morning (called “fasting blood pressure”) and then laser Doppler iontophoresis* (13) was used to measure the physical health of each subjects’ blood vessels.

After 8 weeks, the researchers noted a benefit of the fish oil supplementation but only in those with systolic (the top number) hypertension (31 of the 312 subjects). These subjects had an average blood pressure of 145.8/81.1 and experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure of 3.6% (145.8 to 140.6 mmHg) in the 700 mg fish oil group and a 3.7% drop (145.8 to 140.5 mmHg) in the 1,800 mg group (p < 0.05). While the 3.6% and 3.7% decreases may not seem significant, the researchers state these results to be significant not only because the 700 mg of EPA/DHA can be obtained by consuming 2-3 portions of oily fish per week or taking 2 fish oil capsules per day, but that this decrease is associated with a 20% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (14).

For the researchers, “These findings indicate that in adults with isolated systolic hypertension, daily doses of EPA+DHA as low as 700 mg/day show clinically meaningful blood pressure reductions, which, at a population level, could be associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk”. They added that “Confirmation of these findings in an randomized, controlled trial in which participants are prospectively recruited on the basis of BP status is required to draw definite conclusions.”

*Iontophoresis: A technique of introducing ionic medicinal compounds into the body through the skin by applying a local electric current.

Source:  Minihane, Anne M., et al. “Consumption of fish oil providing amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid that can be obtained from the diet reduces blood pressure in adults with systolic hypertension: a retrospective analysis.” The Journal of nutrition 146.3 (2016): 516-523.

© 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

Posted April 4, 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.

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