Do you think we are seeing a trend over negative coverage regarding dietary supplements?
Earlier in the week The Wall Street Journal headlines were, "The Case Against Dietary Supplements." The piece was a rehashing of every negative story over the last few years. Many of them we have dispelled or, in some cases, lauded.
Today it is yet another meta-analysis, this time from the British Medical Journal, saying that omega 3's may not reduce risk of heart disease and mortality risk. Ugh.
This will further exhaust a confused public who as recently as 2002 were bombarded with a meta-analysis just as big lauding the reduction in heart disease and total mortality risk (Am J Med). Which is it?
We have said time and time again that meta-analysis studies should never be accepted as gospel, yet with most of the negative press on dietary supplements over the last few years, the studies have been from meta-analyses.
Another note on this recent study only looked at research up to 2002. There have been numerous research studies since 2002 that have shown positive benefits of fish oil for many different maladies, including heart disease (refer to the research taken from our archives below).
Finally, the authors of the BMJ meta-analysis still suggest ingesting sufficient amounts of omega 3 and follow the guidelines that the United Kingdom (and US as well) suggest.
Confusing? I'd say so.
Steve
Three Studies Show Benefits of Fish on Heart Health -
Omega-3 fatty acids, derived from fish, main effect is calming potentially lethal irregular rhythms, says the American Heart Association.Based on the long-term, 22,000-memebr Physician's Health Study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, even men who have no apparent heart disease are far less likely to suffer sudden cardiac death with omega-3 consumption.
Data from the 84,000 women Harvard Nurse's Health Study, published in Journal of American Medical Association, mentions that women who eat fish regularly have nearly one-third fewer heart attacks than women who rarely eat fish.
An 11,000 participant Italian study published in Journal Circulation, says that heart-attack survivors who took fish oil supplements had only half the level of sudden cardiac death within the first four months of treatment as those who did not get supplements.
Omega-3 May Reduce Behavioral Issues
In a report issued by journal Pediatrics, 117 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years of age with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) showed a remarkable reduction in symptoms when supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids. University of Oxford researchers went so far as to remark the benefits rivaled that of stimulant medications.Study Finds Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Decrease Postpartum Depression
A new clinical study shows positive effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on postpartum depression. "Omega-3 fatty acids were assessed in a double-blind dose-ranging trial," says Marlene P. Freeman, M.D., director of the Women's Mental Health Program and assistant professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. "Subjects in the trial were randomized to 0.5 g, 1.4 g, or 2.8 g per day (N=16). Among all three doses, patients with postpartum depression improved substantially during the trial. Scores on depression measures decreased by approximately 50 percent, and differences were statistically significant." The Omega-3 fatty acids were well tolerated.
In addition, a larger, placebo-controlled trial for perinatal depression is now in progress at the University of Arizona (Marlene P. Freeman, M.D. and colleagues).
Oily fish in pregnancy increases child's brain power
Eating oily fish and seeds in pregnancy can boost children's future brain power and social skills, research suggests.A study of 9,000 mothers and children suggested those who consumed less of the essential fatty acid Omega-3 had children with lower IQs.
These children also had poorer motor skills and hand-to-eye co-ordination, research in the Economist said.
A team from the National Institutes of Health in the US analysed data from a long-term study done in Avon, UK.
Looking at the effects of Omega-3 intake on 9,000 mothers and their children, the team found mothers with the lowest intake of the essential fatty acid had children with a verbal IQ six points lower than the average.
While those with the highest consumption of mackerel and sardines and other sources of Omega-3 had children, at age three-and-a-half, with the best measures of fine-motor performance, researchers said.
Professor Jean Golding of Bristol University set up the original research - the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children -15 years ago to look at the predisposition to disease.
She told the BBC: "The baby's brain needs Omega-3 fatty acids. It doesn't create its own fatty acids so it needs to be something that the mother will eat."
The new research also builds on earlier work in the US which suggests pregnant mothers will develop children with better language and communication skills if they regularly consume oily fish.
Eating fish regularly delays dementia: study
Eating fish at least once a week slows the toll aging takes on the brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia, a pair of studies concluded on Monday.
Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have been shown to boost brain functioning as well as cutting the risk of stroke, and eating fish regularly appears to protect the brain as people age, the six-year study of Chicago residents said.
"The rate of (mental) decline was reduced by 10 percent to 13 percent per year among persons who consumed one or more fish meals per week compared with those with less than weekly consumption," wrote Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
"The rate reduction is the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age," she added in the report published online by the Archives of Neurology.
The protective effect from eating fish was evident even after researchers adjusted for consumption of fruits and vegetables.
In another study published in the same journal, Swedish researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm concluded that obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels at midlife each doubled the risk of dementia later in life.
Subjects who suffered from all three of the health problems at midlife multiplied their risk of developing dementia six times compared to people free of the risk factors, she said.
Nearly 1,500 subjects who have been part of a study that began in 1972 were reexamined. The 16 percent who were obese at midlife were at double the risk of dementia compared to the one-quarter of those with normal weight at midlife and the half who had been slightly overweight.
"Midlife obesity, high systolic blood pressure, and high total cholesterol were all significant risk factors for dementia, each of them increasing the risk around two times," study author Miia Kivipelto wrote.Govt. Summary on Omega 3 Fatty Acids
According to the National Institute's of Health Office of Dietary Supplements,Supplements reduce health care costs
A major study into the economics of older Americans taking omega-3 and lutein with zeaxanthin supplements has shown that they may shave a combined $5.6 billion off health care costs over the next five years, and help seniors live independently for longer.The Lewin Group was commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) to study the scientific evidence on the two supplements' ability to reduce the risk of disease and developed Congressional Budget Office-type estimates of potential health care savings.
It found that a daily intake of 1800mg of omega-3 by the over-65s could result in conservative savings of around $3.1 billion in five years, from physicians fees and approximately 385,303 fewer hospitalizations.
Fish Oil Beats Statin Drugs
Swiss researchers who reviewed 97 double-blind studies of the effectiveness of statins, two other pharmaceutcials, niacin, diet, and fish oil in preventing cardiac deaths found fish oil and statins to be the most effective. Fish oil reduced heart attacks 32% compared with 22% for statins. Fish oil cut overall deaths by 23% compared to 13% for statins.Omega-3 May Reduce Behavioral Issues
In a report issued by journal Pediatrics, 117 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years of age with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) showed a remarkable reduction in symptoms when supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids. University of Oxford researchers went so far as to remark the benefits rivaled that of stimulant medications.Mediterranean diet helps keep the weight off
People who eat a traditional Mediterranean diet are 60 per cent less likely to be obese, Greek researchers have said.The diet, rich in cereals, fruits, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil, has been linked to longer life, less heart disease, and protection against some cancers. The diet’s main nutritional components include beta-carotene, vitamin C, tocopherols, polyphenols, and essential minerals.
The cross-sectional study surveyed the diet of 1514 men and 1528 women with an average age of 45. The diets were evaluated using a self-administered, validated food frequency questionnaire. Daily or weekly intake of 156 different foods was reported, along with alcohol consumption and physical activity.
“Greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 51 per cent lower odds of being obese and a 59 per cent lower odds of having central obesity,” wrote lead author Demosthenes Panagiotakos in the journal Nutrition (available online February 2006, doi:10.1016/j.nut.2005.11.004).
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