Study Suggests Push for Recommended Intake for Omega-3 Fats

by | Jul 10, 2009 | 2009, Brain Health, Cancer, Cardiovascular Health, Fish Oil Supplements

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be so beneficial to overall health that The American Heart Association now recommends eating fatty fish two times per week and consuming up to 4 grams of fish oil per day (1). The AHA released a position statement in 2002 (2) stating their support for O3FA and “the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cardiovascular disease (CVD)” which affects nearly 81 million Americans (3) and was estimated to cost our healthcare system $448.5 billion in 2008 (4).

The Institute of Medicine also released a report in 2002 (5) but stated there wasn’t enough evidence available to suggest a Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for omega-3 fatty acids. But now a new study (6) presents research since the Institute of Medicine’s 2002 report and suggests that a stronger push should be made to recommend an RDI for omega-3 fatty acids.

In the study, the researchers pointed to three aspects of health: heart health, brain health, and cancer. Regarding heart health, the researchers cite studies from 2003 (7) through 2006 (8) showing a benefit of omega-3 fatty acid intake on heart health “of at least 250 mg/day of EPA+DHA to…reduce risk for coronary heart disease.” Regarding death from cardiac events, they cite research (9) showing 250-500 mg to reduce risk of cardiac death by 35% which is “an effect at least as great…as that of statin therapy.”

For brain health, the researchers looked at both brain development and cognitive decline. They cite a 2007 study (10) recommending 200 mg of EPA+DHA per day for pregnant women for proper fetal brain development. For cognitive decline, the researchers focused on Alzheimer Disease (AD) which currently costs our healthcare system $100 million per year (11). They could not make a recommendation for EPA/DHA intake because the research continues to be “limited” but did cite a 2003 study (12) showing 60-100 mg/day of EPA/DHA to reduce Alzheimer Disease risk by 60-80%.

For cancer, which costs our healthcare system $219 billion per year (13), the evidence remains “weak”.  They cite a 2005 review (13) of 10 randomized controlled trials and 7 cohort studies which found “little evidence for an effect of dietary (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) intake on cancer incidence.”

For the researchers, “challenges in implementing a nutrient recommendation [for EPA/DHA] should not deter federal agencies from setting a RDI if the scientific support and the potential health benefits are substantial.”

Source: Harris, William S., et al. “Towards establishing dietary reference intakes for eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids.” The Journal of nutrition 139.4 (2009): 804S-819S.

© 2009 American Society for Nutrition.

Posted July 10, 2009.

Reference:

  1. “Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids” posted on The American Heart Association website
  2. “Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Cardiovascular Disease” available at The American Heart Association website.
  3. “Cardiovascular Disease Cost” posted on The American Heart Association website.
  4. Chien-Hsun H.  Nattokinase decreases plasma levels of fibrinogen, factor VII, and factor VIII in human subjects. Nutr Res 2009; 29(3):190-196.
  5. Institute of Medicine. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2002/2005.
  6. Harri WS.  Towards Establishing Dietary Reference Intakes for Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids.  Jou Nutr 2009; 139(4): 804S-819S.
  7. Mozaffarian D, Lemaitre RN, Kuller LH, Burke GL, Tracy RP, Siscovick DS. Cardiac benefits of fish consumption may depend on the type of fish meal consumed: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Circulation. 2003;107:1372–7.
  8. Iso H, Kobayashi M, Ishihara J, Sasaki S, Okada K, Kita Y, Kokubo Y, Tsugane S. Intake of fish and n3 fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese: the Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC). Study Cohort I. Circulation. 2006;113:195–202.
  9. Thavendiranathan P, Bagai A, Brookhart MA, Choudhry NK. Primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases with statin therapy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:2307–13.
  10. Koletzko B.  Perinatal Lipid Intake Working Group, Child Health Foundation; Diabetic Pregnancy Study Group; European Association of Perinatal Medicine; European Association of Perinatal Medicine; European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism; European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Committee on Nutrition; International Federation of Placenta Associations; International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids. Dietary fat intakes for pregnant and lactating women. Br J Nutr. 2007;98:873–7.
  11. Ernst, RL; Hay, JW. “The U.S. Economic and Social Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease Revisited.” American Journal of Public Health 1994; 84(8): 1261 – 1264.
  12. Morris MC, Evans DA, Bienias JL, Tangney CC, Bennett DA, Wilson RS, Aggawal N, Schneider J. Consumption of fish and n-3 fatty acids and risk of incident Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol. 2003;60:940–6.
  13. MacLean CH, Newberry SJ, Mojica WA, Issa A, Khanna P, Lim YW, Morton SC, Suttorp M, Tu W, et al. Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cancer. Evidence report/technology assessment No. 113. Prepared by the Southern California Evidence-based Practice Center, under Contract No. 290–02–0003. AHRQ Publication No. 05–E010–2. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; February 2005.