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In the early 1970's, Danish researchers examined the health status of the Inuit, an indigenous people living in Greenland. The results showed that although they ate few vegetables and fruits, they had lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood and had lower rates of heart disease. It was here that blue fish, which was enjoyed by the Inuit, first attracted the attention of the medical community.
In 1989, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that eating fish oil reduced mortality by 29% over a two-year period, and that this was believed to be due to the high amount of omega-3s in blue fish. Finally, in 2002, the American Heart Association (AHA) officially announced that omega-3s reduce cardiovascular disease in both epidemiological studies and clinical studies. It's now common knowledge that omega-3s have health benefits. In the United States alone, $1.2 billion worth of omega-3s are sold each year.
There are three main types of omega-3s. Omega-3s, which are abundant in perilla oil and nuts, are ALA (Alpha Linolenic Acid), an unsaturated fatty acid. However, the omega-3s that go into the main component of supplements are not ALA, but DHA and EPA, which are abundant in blue fish. The benefits of omega-3s discussed here are also for DHA and EPA. This is because when ALA enters the body, it is metabolized into DHA and EPA, but the conversion rate is less than 1%. And most of the omega-3 health benefits we know come from DHA+EPA.
One of the most important benefits of omega-3s is that they support blood vessel health. It is especially effective in reducing triglycerides, which cause hyperlipidemia. Of the omega-3s, EPA is the primary contributor. I personally think this is the most important reason to take omega-3s as a nutrient. This is because cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke, in which blood vessels become blocked and burst, are tragic diseases that claim the lives of more than 60,000 people every year in Korea.
Omega-3s, like other supplements, have been shown to have negative results in preventing heart disease and other diseases.A 2012 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed 20 papers related to omega-3s and found that they were not effective in total mortality, heart disease and sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. In 2015, the Washington Post reported that the benefits of omega-3s may be overstated.
However, it is important to consider that the disease-preventing effects of non-drug nutrients cannot be adequately evaluated in a few short-term clinical trials, and that omega-3s are relatively overshadowed by epidemiological studies due to the recent emergence of excellent new drugs such as statins for cholesterol treatments, hypertension drugs, and diabetes drugs. It should not be overlooked that the quality of omega-3s on the market varies widely, and the quality of these products has not been taken into account in most studies.
Recently, however, a series of positive studies on the efficacy of omega-3s have put a damper on the theory of omega-3 uselessness. In 2013, Atherosclerosis, one of the most influential journals on cardiovascular disease, published a meta-analysis of 11 randomized clinical studies related to omega-3s. They found that when consumed at least 1 gram for more than one year, it was not effective against stroke, but it reduced the risk of heart disease mortality by 32 percent, sudden death by 33 percent, and myocardial infarction by 25 percent. In 2015, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the U.S. announced that healthy people aged 60~80 years old who took 2g of omega-3 preparations per day for 12 weeks increased the elasticity of their arteries. That's why the American Heart Association as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are positive about the need for omega-3s. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found on a web page for physicians and other professionals that omega-3s reduce the incidence of sudden death, heart attacks, and myocardial infarction, as well as total mortality. "The evidence is strongest for fish and fish oil supplements," the report states.
In terms of heart function, studies have shown that omega-3s can help maintain normal heart rhythms and coronary blood flow, prevent arteries from narrowing again after coronary artery dilatation, and improve exercise capacity in patients with atherosclerosis. Helping to maintain a normal heart rhythm means alleviating some of the arrhythmias. I believe that omega-3 supplementation is not an option, but a necessity, especially for people with diabetes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. People with risk factors for cardiovascular disease include men over the age of 45 and menopausal women over the age of 50, people with high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, abdominal obesity, and people who use alcohol and tobacco, A person who has a family member who died suddenly at a young age due to a stroke or heart disease.
The Mayo clinic, one of the best hospitals in the United States, has determined on its official website that omega-3s have strong scientific evidence, meaning the strongest scientific evidence in five areas: coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and recurrence of heart disease. Given that omega-3s are a single nutrient rather than a drug, it's surprising to see such powerful efficacy in so many areas.
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