Omega-3 Fats Found to Help with Free Radicals

by | Jul 9, 2010 | 2010, Cardiovascular Health, DHA, Fish Oil Supplements

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart disease and stroke, are the first and third leading causes of death for both men and women in the United States. They account for 1 in 3 of all U.S. deaths and are expected to cost our healthcare system $473 billion in 2009. If all major types of cardiovascular disease were eliminated, U.S. life expectancy would increase by nearly 7 years (1).

One of the processes thought to accelerate the onset of atherosclerosis is the damage of fats in our body (called “lipid peroxidation”) through oxidative stress and free radicals (2). This damage results in the formation of byproducts that include F2- Isoprostanes  (3) that are now regarded as the most reliable measure of oxidative stress in the body (4). Past research has found that foods like flaxseed, high in omega-3 fats, can help maintain healthy levels of free radicals (5). Now a review of two different studies (6) has again found omega-3 fats can help maintain cellular health.

In the first study (7), 56 men with high levels of fats in their blood (total cholesterol greater than 6 mmol/L, triglycerides greater than 1.8 mmol/L) were given 4 grams of either EPA (1 type of fat in fish oil), DHA (another type of fat in fish oil), or placebo (olive oil) per day for 6 weeks. The second study had the same methods of supplementation duration but there were 59 non-smoking diabetic men and women on high blood pressure medication (8). Blood samples were taken before and after the study to measure F2 isoprostane levels.

In the first study, those in the EPA group saw a 23% decrease (2201 to 1704.5 picomoles/Liter) in F2 isoprostane levels compared to 14% (2368 to 2036 pmol/L) in the DHA group and no significant changes in the olive oil.  In the second study, those in the EPA group had a 13% decrease in the EPA group (1669 to 1448 pmol/L) compared to 23% in the DHA group (1833 to 1410 pmol/L) and no significant change in the olive oil group.

Assuming the fall in F2 isoprostanes in the omega-3 group was due to the ability of omega-3 fats to decrease inflammation (9), the researchers concluded that “These findings give further support for supplementation of the diet with 3 fatty acids for cardiovascular risk reduction”.

Source: Mas, Emilie, et al. “The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA decrease plasma F2-isoprostanes: Results from two placebo-controlled interventions.” Free radical research 44.9 (2010): 983-990.

Copyright © 2010 Informa UK Limited

Posted July 9, 2010.

Reference:

  1. “Cardiovascular Disease at a Glance” posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
  2. Niki E, Yoshida Y, Saito Y, Noguchi N. Lipid peroxidation: mechanisms, inhibition and biological effects. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005;338:668–76.
  3. Jahn U, Galano JM, Durand T. Beyond prostaglandins: chemistry and biology of cyclic oxygenated metabolites from polyunsaturated fatty acids. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2008;47:5894–955.
  4. Basu S. F2-isoprostanes in human health and diseases: from molecular mechanisms to clinical implications. Antioxid Redox Signal 2008;10:1405 – 1434.
  5. Barden AE.  Flaxseed Oil Supplementation increases Plasma F1-Phytoprostanes in Healthy Men. J Nutr 2009; 139; 1890-1895.
  6. Mas E.  The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA decrease plasma F(2)-isoprostanes: Results from two placebo-controlled interventions.  Free Rad Res 2010 published online ahead of print. doi: 10.3109/10715762.2010.492830.
  7. Mori TA  Purified eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids have differential effects on serum lipids and lipoproteins, LDL particle size, glucose, and insulin in mildly hyperlipidemic men. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:1085 – 1094.
  8. Mori TA.  Effect of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on oxidative stress and infl ammatory markers in treated-hypertensive type 2 diabetic subjects. Free Radic Biol Med 2003;35:772 – 781.
  9. Mori TA, Beilin LJ. Omega-3 fatty acids and infl ammation. Curr Atheroscler Rep 2004;6:461 – 467.