Sunday, April 6, 2014

Study Finds More Evidence That Fish Oil Is Beneficial to Heart Health

News Brief by Kathryn Gibb

A study conducted by scientists at the University of Pittsburg Graduate School of Public Health alongside scientists in Japan, Philadelphia, and Hawaii have discovered that men who consume more fish oil have a lower incidence of coronary artery calcification, which could lead to cardiovascular disease. This study, recently published in the journal Heart, focused on the prevalence of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids in the blood of Japanese men compared to those in the blood of white American men.

The results of the study, which took into account of other factors that affect cardiovascular health such as alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes and cholesterol levels, found that American men had “three times the incidence of coronary artery calcification” compared to Japanese men. The study ruled out genetics as the cause of the difference and focused more on the prevalence of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids in the blood. These fatty acids have the ability to reduce inflammation and the build up of plaque in arteries. Sources of these fatty acids include oily fish, squid, and krill. The standard Japanese diet is composed of more fish than the standard U.S. diet. Because of this, the levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids in Japanese men were more than 100 percent higher than the levels of the white American men. The researchers believe further studies should be done to uncover more of the effect of these omega-3fatty acids on heart disease. 


Reference:
"Study Finds More Evidence That Fish Oil Is Beneficial to Heart Health." Www.nydailynews.com. NY Daily News, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. .
blog comments powered by Disqus

TuftScope: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Health, Ethics, and Policy

TuftScope is a student journal published biannually in conjunction with Tufts University since 2001. Funding is provided by the Tufts Community Union Senate. The opinions expressed on this weblog are solely those of the authors. The staff reserves the right to edit blog postings for clarity and to remove nonfunctional links.

  © Free Blogger Templates Autumn Leaves by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP