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Omega-3:

Research on Nutritional lipids and oils on Cardiovascular health

Study identifies dose threshold for omega-3’s to be 250 mg for EPA/DHA benefits...

Daily doses of omega-3s of at least 250 milligrams are required to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death and other heart conditions, says a new review and meta-analysis.

A report published in the British Journal of Nutrition stated:

At least 250 mg of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (LCFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), was associated with a 35 percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death.

In addition, at 250 mg doses were associated with a ‘near-significant’ 17 percent decrease in the risk of ‘total fatal coronary events’, echoed from a team of researchers from academia and industry.

“Thus, the intake of 250 mg omega-3 LCFA per day may, indeed, be a minimum target to be achieved by the general population for the promotion of cardiovascular health,” commented by authors Kathy Musa and Veloso from Cantox Health Sciences International.

They were affiliated with Cantox, the University of Toronto, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), Denomega Nutritional Oils AS, Ocean Nutrition Canada, and Monsanto.

Current recommendations are:

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in 2009 that 250mg should be the labeling reference intake value for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

In the US, the recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans did not include specific EPA/DHA recommendations. Instead recommended consumption levels of seafood of 8-12 ounces per week, which provide an average consumption of 250 mg per day of EPA and DHA.

The new meta-analysis and review was to test such recommendations. The reviewers identified 8 prospective studies to include, and these indicated that consuming at least 250 mg was associated with a significant reduction in sudden cardiac death and near-significant reductions in the risk of total fatal coronary happening.

However, in several meta-analyses, based on US studies, risk of (coronary heart disease) death was found to be dose-dependently reduced by the omega-3 LCFA. They observed there were with further risk reductions with intakes in excess of 250 mg/d.

Minimum, not optimum

Co-author of the paper, Harry Rice, PhD, VP of regulatory & scientific affairs for GOED, NutraIngredients-USA, opined that the results “suggest that 250mg/day EPA+DHA should be considered a minimum, and not an optimum level of consumption.

What is really interesting about this meta-analysis is that the data used were from people previously free of known coronary heart disease. This positive results provide further evidence of the need for establishing a dietary reference intake (DRI) for the long-chain omega-3 fatty acidsintake for individual.

Many studies have indicated that the cardioprotective benefits of EPA and DHA are positive. Thus, in the interest of public health, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) should assess the current data on health outcomes associated with the long-chain omega-3s.

Omaga3 By Dr. Ken S

To find out more on the original review click here:

Study identifies dose threshold for omega-3’s heart benefits



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