Omega-3 fatty acids: How the oil in fish, nuts and plants can protect your health

In the nutritional world, fat is usually considered a four-letter word. But there is one important exception—omega-3 fatty acids. These healthy fats found in cold-water fish such as mackerel, salmon, and tuna and in walnuts, flaxseed and some fruits and vegetables including cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts are essential for maintaining the health of our cells. Because the body cannot produce omega-3 fatty acids, we need to make them part of our diet.

“A wide range of research is focusing on omega-3 fatty acids and discovering that these fats play an important role in preserving health and preventing disease,” says Dr. Miles J. Varn, PinnacleCare’s Chief Medical Officer. “PinnacleCare Members can work with their Advocate and physician to develop an eating plan that ensures they are getting an adequate intake of omega-3s to reap the health benefits these fats provide.”

What are omega-3 fatty acids?

Three of these fats are vitally important from a nutritional standpoint-- alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The body converts alpha-linolenic acid, found in flaxseeds, walnuts, soybeans and some dark, leafy vegetables, into EPA and DHA, but these two omega-3s are also found in food sources.

While researchers have not yet definitively answered the question of why omega-3 fatty acids are essential to human health, studies suggest that EPA is a key player in preventing cardiovascular disease, while DHA plays an equally important role in the development and protection of the brain and nerves.

All cells in the human body are surrounded and protected by a membrane which regulates the penetration of nutrients and helps dispose of the cell’s waste products. These membranes are primarily composed of fatty acids, so a lack of them in your diet negatively impacts the health of cell membranes. As cell membranes become unhealthy, the cells’ ability to communicate with each other also decreases, a condition that has been linked in studies to the promotion of tumor development and growth.

In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, there is another type of fat in this category, linolenic acid which is also known as an omega-6 fatty acid. While this is also a healthy essential fatty acid found in corn, safflower, sunflower and canola oil, most Americans eat far more omega-6 than omega-3 which can negatively impact cell health.

According to experts at University of Maryland Medical Center, you should consume two to four times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s. But in the U.S., the average person consumes 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats, a factor that has been linked to a rise in inflammatory disorders such as atherosclerosis, asthma, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

A key to heart health

Experts at PinnacleCare Center of Excellence the Mayo Clinic note that the strongest evidence of the health benefits conferred by omega-3s has been in the realm of cardiovascular disease. These macronutrients have been shown to help lower blood pressure as well as reduce trigylcerides and the risk of heart attack. There is also evidence that omega-3 fats reduce inflammation, which can help protect against the development of cardiovascular disease and other inflammatory conditions. In addition, researchers have found strong evidence that omega-3s can cut the risk of stroke caused by the build-up of plaque and blood clots in the arteries that feed the brain.

“The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefit provided by omega-3 fatty acids comes from three large controlled trials of 32,000 participants randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing DHA and EPA or to act as controls,” explains cardiologist Dr. James O'Keefe in a recent article. “These trials showed reductions in cardiovascular events of 19 percent to 45 percent. Overall, these findings suggest that intake of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from dietary sources or fish oil supplements, should be increased, especially in those with or at risk for coronary artery disease.”

Protect your brain

A UCLA study published this year demonstrates that DHA actively protects the brain against the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by increasing production of the protein LR11 which destroys the beta amyloid proteins that form the plaques in the brains of AD patients. These plaques are believed to produce toxins that kill neurons and impede mental function. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is also currently conducting a large clinical trial of the effect of DHA on patients already diagnosed with AD.

An earlier French study found that while omega-3 fatty acids had a positive impact on brain health, too much omega-6 fatty acid doubled the risk of developing dementia. In contrast, people who regularly ate omega-3 rich oils including walnut and flaxseed oil had a 60 percent decrease in dementia risk.

Omega-3 fats have also been shown to help protect the brain from Parkinson’s disease in a 2007 Canadian animal model study. Mice that ate a diet with more omega-3 fats appeared to be immune to the toxic compound that results in the same brain damage caused by Parkinson’s disease. “Our results suggest that this DHA deficiency is a risk factor for developing Parkinson's disease, and that we would benefit from evaluating omega-3's potential for preventing and treating this disease in humans,” says investigator Frederic Calon.

Make omega-3 part of your healthy life

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to provide health benefits for a wide range of other conditions, though for many of these the evidence has not been definitive and more study is needed. Among those conditions positively impacted by the inclusion of omega-3s in the form of foods or, in some cases, supplements, are:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Prostate cancer progression and survival rates
• ADD
• Asthma
• Macular degeneration
• Depression and other mood disorders
• Lupus
• Osteoporosis

PinnacleCare Members can talk to their Advocate to learn more about the evidence-based uses for omega-3s and to get started working with their physician and nutrition specialists to create a plan that ensures their diet includes an appropriate amount of omega-3 fatty acids to achieve their best health.