Fish oil capsules pack same omega-3 punch as fish

[Guest guest]

Cite 2 is the ACJN article described in the news item. Cite-1 may have

relevance for me via " decreasing platelet aggregation " . Too much of

some supplements including omega-3s tends to increase the likelihood of

my having nose bleeds.

- - - -

*

Fish oil capsules pack same omega-3 punch as fish*

2007-12-28 13:00:29 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Anne Harding

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2007/12/28/eline/links/20071228elin003.html

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fish oil capsules and fatty fish do an

equally good job of enriching the blood and other body tissues with

healthy omega-3 fatty acids, new findings suggest.

But the findings can't be interpreted to mean that capsules and fish are

equally good for the heart, Dr. S. , who was involved in

the research, told Reuters Health. " There are things that can change the

blood lipids but don't do anything for the heart and vice versa, " said

, who is with the University of South Dakota in Sioux Falls.

Omega-3 fatty acid consumption is recommended by the American Heart

Association and several other groups to reduce the risk of

cardiovascular disease and consumption of fatty fish and fish oil

capsules have been assumed to have similar effects, and his

colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

But there has been little research on whether the body processes fatty

acids from fish oil capsules and fish in the same way.

To investigate, and his team had 11 women eat two servings of

tuna or salmon each week, while an additional 12 women took in the same

amount of omega-3s, an estimated 485 milligrams daily, in capsule form.

After 16 weeks, the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in the red blood cells

of women in both groups had risen by 40 percent to 50 percent, while

omega-3s in the plasma (the cell-free, liquid portion of the blood) had

risen by 60 percent to 80 percent.

" We went into the project assuming that fish would be better, based on

some previous literature from other people, " noted in an

interview. Based on the current findings, he added, " it doesn't make any

difference whether you get your omega 3 fatty acids from a concentrate

in a capsule or in fish -- they have the same effect on enriching the

tissues with omega 3. "

Nevertheless, said, he would encourage people to eat fish rather

than relying on fish oil capsules. " Fish of course brings with it

proteins and minerals and other factors that are good for our health

that the capsules don't bring, but we weren't able to measure any of

those things, " he said.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

*1: *Atherosclerosis. <javascript:AL_get(this, 'jour',

'Atherosclerosis.');> 2007 Dec 24 [Epub ahead of print]

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ame=pubmed_pubmed & LinkReadableName=Related%20Articles & IdsFromResult=18160071 & ord\

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& uid=18160071 & db=pubmed & url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0021-91\

50%2807%2900734-4>

*Omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease risk: Clinical and

mechanistic perspectives.*

* WS*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22%20\

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*Tighe AP*

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*son MH*

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*Schaefer EJ*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22Schaefer%\

20EJ%22%5BAuthor%5D & itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubme\

d_RVAbstract>.

Nutrition and Metabolic Disease Research, Sanford Research/USD,

Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls,

SD, United States.

The most common omega-3 fatty acids contain 18-22 carbons and a

signature double bond at the third position from the methyl (or n,

or omega) end of the molecule. These fatty acids must be obtained in

the diet as they cannot be synthesized by vertebrates. They include

the plant-derived alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3), and the

fish-oil-derived eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and

docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). Normally, very little ALA is

converted to EPA, and even less to DHA, and therefore direct intake

of the latter two is optimal. EPA and DHA and their metabolites have

important biologic functions, including effects on membranes,

eicosanoid metabolism, and gene transcription. Studies indicate that

the use of fish oil is associated with coronary heart disease risk

reduction. A number of mechanisms may be responsible for such

effects. These include prevention of arrhythmias as well as lowering

heart rate and blood pressure, decreasing platelet aggregation, and

lowering triglyceride levels. The latter is accomplished by

decreasing the production of hepatic triglycerides and increasing

the clearance of plasma triglycerides. Our focus is to review the

potential mechanisms by which these fatty acids reduce

cardiovascular disease risk.

PMID: 18160071 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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*2: *Am J Clin Nutr. <javascript:AL_get(this, 'jour', 'Am J Clin

Nutr.');> 2007 Dec;86(6):1621-5.

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ame=pubmed_pubmed & LinkReadableName=Related%20Articles & IdsFromResult=18065578 & ord\

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& uid=18065578 & db=pubmed & url=http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long & pmid=18\

065578>

*Comparison of the effects of fish and fish-oil capsules on the n 3

fatty acid content of blood cells and plasma phospholipids.*

* WS*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22%20\

WS%22%5BAuthor%5D & itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_\

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*Pottala JV*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22Pottala%2\

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*Sands SA*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22Sands%20S\

A%22%5BAuthor%5D & itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_R\

VAbstract>,

* PG*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22%20P\

G%22%5BAuthor%5D & itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_R\

VAbstract>.

Lipid and Diabetes Research Center, Saint Luke's Mid America Heart

Institute, Kansas City, MO, USA. bill.harris@...

BACKGROUND: n-3 Fatty acids (FAs) have been shown to be beneficial

for cardiovascular health. Whether n-3 FAs from oily fish consumed

weekly or from fish-oil capsules taken daily are equally

bioavailable is not clear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was

to compare the rate and extent of enrichment of blood cell membranes

[ie, red blood cells (RBCs)] and plasma phospholipids with n-3 FAs

from these 2 sources. DESIGN: Healthy premenopausal female

volunteers were randomly assigned to consume a daily average of 485

mg eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids either

from 2 servings of oily fish (ie, salmon and albacore tuna) per week

or from 1-2 capsules/d. RESULTS: After 16 wk, EPA+DHA in RBCs in the

fish group (n = 11) increased from 4.0 +/- 0.6% of total FAs to 6.2

+/- 1.4%, whereas it rose from 4.3 +/- 1.0% to 6.2 +/- 1.4% in the

capsule group (P < 0.0001 for both; NS for group effect). Similar

results were observed in plasma phospholipids. EPA+DHA stabilized in

the latter after 4 wk but continued to rise through week 16 in RBCs.

EPA in RBCs increased significantly (P = 0.01) more rapidly in the

fish group than in the capsule group during the first 4 wk, but

rates did not differ significantly between groups thereafter. Total

FA variances were less in RBCs than in plasma phospholipids (P =

0.04). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the consumption of

equal amounts of EPA and DHA from oily fish on a weekly basis or

from fish-oil capsules on a daily basis is equally effective at

enriching blood lipids with n-3 FAs.

Publication Types:

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'ptyp', 'Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov\'t');>

PMID: 18065578 [PubMed - in process]

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*3: *Pharmacol Res. <javascript:AL_get(this, 'jour', 'Pharmacol Res.');>

2007 Mar;55(3):217-23. Epub 2007 Jan 25.

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def & uid=17324586 & db=pubmed & url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fc\

gi?tool=pubmed & pubmedid=17324586>

*Omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: a case for omega-3

index as a new risk factor.*

* WS*

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed & Cmd=Search & Term=%22%20\

WS%22%5BAuthor%5D & itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_\

RVAbstract>.

Nutrition and Metabolic Disease Research Institute, Sanford

Research/USD, Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South

Dakota, 1400 West 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, USA.

bill.harris@...

The omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) found in fish and fish oils

(eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids, EPA and DHA) have been

reported to have a variety of beneficial effects in cardiovascular

diseases. Ecological and prospective cohort studies as well as

randomized, controlled trials have supported the view that the

effects of these FAs are clinically relevant. They operate via

several mechanisms, all beginning with the incorporation of EPA and

DHA into cell membranes. From here, these omega-3 FA alter membrane

physical characteristics and the activity of membrane-bound

proteins, and once released by intracellular phospholipases, can

interact with ion channels, be converted into a wide variety of

bioactive eicosanoids, and serve as ligands for several nuclear

transcription factors thereby altering gene expression. In as much

as blood levels are a strong reflection of dietary intake, it is

proposed that an omega-3 FA biomarker, the omega-3 index

(erythrocyte EPA+DHA) be considered at least a marker, if not a risk

factor, for coronary heart disease, especially sudden cardiac death.

The omega-3 index fulfils many of the requirements for a risk factor

including consistent epidemiological evidence, a plausible mechanism

of action, a reproducible assay, independence from classical risk

factors, modifiability, and most importantly, the demonstration that

raising tissue levels will reduce risk for cardiac events. For these

and a number of other reasons, the omega-3 index compares very

favourably with other risk factors for sudden cardiac death.

Publication Types:

* Review <javascript:AL_get(this, 'ptyp', 'Review');>

PMID: 17324586

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