Omega 3s reduce risk of sudden death
A study found that there was a 40% to 50% decrease in sudden cardiac death in people with modest dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish rich in EPA and DHA.
24/02/05 Omega-3s greatly reduce the chance of sudden cardiac death, according to a study published in the journal Circulation.
The study authors found that there was a remarkable 40% to 50% decrease in sudden cardiac death in people with modest dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish rich in EPA and DHA. They also found that this result occurred regardless of the amount of omega-6 fatty acids. “In this large prospective cohort study, modest dietary intake of long-chain n-3 PUFAs (>= 250 mg/d) was associated with a 40% to 50% lower risk of sudden death, regardless of background intake of n-6 PUFAs.”
They also found that omega-3 fatty acids from plant sources also lower the risk of nonfatal cardiac events and CHD. This suggests that in the absence of fatty fish, vegetable sources of omega-3 may influence CHD risk. The authors conclude that, “our findings suggest that dietary intake of long-chain n-3 PUFAs from seafood may lower the risk of sudden death regardless of the background intake of n-6 fatty acids. This lower risk was seen with modest dietary intake (>= 250 mg/d), the equivalent of approximately 1 to 2 fatty fish meals per week. Our results also suggest that when long-chain n-3 PUFA intake is low, dietary intake of intermediate-chain n-3 PUFAs from plant sources may lower CHD risk, regardless of background n-6 PUFA intake. Together these results suggest that attention to relative intakes of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids may be less important than simply increasing the intake of n-3 PUFAs. Our findings also suggest that dietary consumption of plant sources of n-3 fatty acids may be important for CHD prevention among persons who do not regularly consume fatty fish or in populations in which fatty fish is not readily available.”
