Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A combination of B12 and fish oil, taken for 8 weeks, significantly decreased homocysteine, C-reactive protein, and ferritin levels compared to B12 and fish oil taken alone.
Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, accounts for 1 in 3 of all U.S. deaths and cost our healthcare system $473 billion in 2009 (1). Two hallmarks of cardiovascular disease are elevated levels of homocysteine (2) and C-reactive protein (3). While research has found benefits of B-vitamin supplementation (4) and omega-3 fat supplementation (5) in helping maintain healthy levels of inflammation, combining them may also be effective.
A 2015 study (6) involved 30 subjects (17 men, 13 women) aged 23 to 25. They received either 1,000 micrograms of vitamin B12 (10 subjects), 2 grams of fish oil providing 490 mg DHA and 98 mg of EPA (10 subjects), or both vitamin B12 and fish oil (10 subjects) for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken before and after the study. They measured for homocysteine and c-reactive protein and also ferritin, a key protein in iron metabolism which has been associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (7).
After 8 weeks, the researchers observed the following results for vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids taken separately and together:
| B12 | Omega-3 | B12 + Omega-3 | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homocysteine (micromole/Liter) | 22.2% decrease (12.3 to 9.57) | 19.4% decrease (12.9 to 10.4) | 29.2% decrease (11.8 to 7.18) | < 0.05 |
| C-Reactive Protein (mg/L) | 16.4% decrease (0.55 to 0.46) | 20% decrease (0.65 to 0.52) | 32.2% decrease (0.56 to 0.38) | < 0.05 |
| Ferritin (picomole/Liter) | 8.4% increase (80.7 to 87.5) | 30.4% decrease (73.5 to 51.2) | 35.5% decrease (82 to 52.9) | < 0.05 |
While there were significant decreases across all groups, the researchers did not discuss the 8.4% increase in ferritin in the B12 group. Nevertheless, they went on to conclude that ”supplementation of fish oil alone or in combination with vitamin B-12 decreased plasma concentrations of homocysteine, ferritin and c-reactive protein” but that “oral supplementation with vitamin B-12 in combination with fish oil had a synergistic effect on lowering plasma concentrations of homocysteine.”
Source: Huang, Tao, et al. “Effect of vitamin B-12 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma homocysteine, ferritin, C-reactive protein, and other cardiovascular risk factors: a randomized controlled trial.” Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition 24.3 (2015): 403-411.
Posted March 10, 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:
- “Cardiovascular Disease at a Glance” posted on the CDC website
- Huang T, Yuan G, Zhang Z, Zou Z, Li D. Cardiovascular pathogenesis in hyperhomocysteinemia. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17:8-16
- Reinders I, Virtanen JK, Brouwer IA, Tuomainen TP. Association of serum n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids with C-reactive protein in men. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012;66:736-41
- Homocysteine Lowering Trialists’ Collaboration. Dose-dependent effects of folic acid on blood concentrations of homocysteine: a meta-analysis of the randomized trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:806-12
- Rasic-Milutinovic Z, Perunicic G, Pljesa S, Gluvic Z, Sobajic S, Djuric I et al. Effects of n-3 PUFAs supplementation on insulin resistance and inflammatory biomarkers in hemodialysis patients. Ren fail. 2007;29:321-9.
- Huang T. Effect of vitamin B-12 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma homocysteine, ferritin, C-reaction protein, and other cardiovascular risk factors: a randomized controlled trial. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2015;24(3):403-11. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.2015.24.3.19
- Sun L, Franco OH, Hu FB, Cai L, Yu Z, Li H et al. Ferritin concentrations, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and elderly chinese. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008;93:4690-6
