If you want the full health benefits of omega-3, it’s best to get them from natural food sources like oily fish than in supplement form.
That’s the overriding conclusion out of a pair of studies published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that showed that while omega-3 from dietary sources such as herring, mackerel and salmon can help lower blood pressure in mice, supplements showed no anti-hypertensive effects.
In fact, omega-3 in supplement form was actually found to diminish the beneficial health effects of the natural fatty acid acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in fish oil, said the team of researchers from the US and Germany who conducted both studies.
"The intake of non-natural omega-3 fatty acids can therefore also have counter-productive effects," said Michael Bauer from Jena University Hospital in Germany.
When mice were fed the DHA, the kind found in natural food sources, as expected it resulted in the expansion of blood vessels and consequently a drop in blood pressure.
By comparison, DHA ethyl ester, found in most fish oil pills, failed to do the same and even appeared to “antagonize” or compete with the positive effects of DHA from natural sources, scientists said.
The latest study builds on previous research published in the British Medical Journal last year that likewise found that food sources of omega-3 carry more health benefits than supplements.
In a meta-review of 38 studies that involved 80,000 participants across 15 countries, researchers from Cambridge University and Erasmus MC Rotterdam in the Netherlands found that those who ate at least two servings of oily fish a week – sardines, mackerel, herring and salmon – reduced their risk of stroke by up to six percent, while fish supplement intake failed to show any benefits in reducing stroke risk.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Fri Mar 08 2013
Parlimen Thailand pilih Perdana Menteri baharu esok
Parlimen Thailand akan bersidang pada Jumaat ini bagi mengadakan mesyuarat khas memilih perdana menteri baharu susulan keputusan mahkamah yang menyingkirkan Srettha Thavisin pada Rabu.
5 kematian akibat komplikasi denggi pada ME ke 31 dilaporkan
Jumlah kes demam denggi Pada Minggu Epidemiologi ke-31 tahun 2024 dilaporkan sebanyak 2,515 kes berbanding 2,609 kes pada minggu sebelumnya.
[TERKINI] Fahmi nafi arah Google nyahaktif ciri graf penukar ringgit
Menjawab tuduhan seorang pengguna X, Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai itu menerusi platform sama menegaskan beliau tidak pernah mengarahkan penyedia perkhidmatan itu berbuat demikian.
Wanita dan kanak-kanak maut dalam nahas kereta, MPV di Kuala Kangsar
Dua maut selepas kereta dinaiki terlibat dalam kemalangan dengan sebuah MPV jenis Toyota Velfire di Jalan Kuala Kangsar-Manong.
[TERKINI] Bapa terima baik kehilangan Nidza Afham
Mokhtar Mahmud, bapa kepada penyanyi Muhammad Nidza Afham redha dengan pemergian Allahyarham yang disahkan meninggal dunia selepas jasadnya ditemui terapung di jambatan Sungai Klang pada petang Rabu.
Pantau Belanjawan: Kelestarian: Memperkukuh ekosistem ekonomi hijau
Pengarah Urusan Gading Kencana, Datuk Ir Guntor Tobeng mengulas berkenaan usaha Malaysia memperkukuh ekosistem ekonomi hijau, di sebalik cabaran global serta peluang masa hadapan.
[TERKINI] Belasungkawa: Nidza Afham dikebumikan di Puncak Alam
Jenazah penyanyi Nidza Afham Mokhtar, 23, yang ditemukan meninggal dunia di Sungai Klang, akan dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam, Puncak Alam, Selangor, pada Khamis.
EON Berhad mahu dikenali sebagai penyedia perkhidmatan automotif menyeluruh
EON Berhad sedang memposisikan diri sebagai lebih daripada sekadar penyedia kereta, dengan berkembang menjadi penyedia perkhidmatan kereta secara menyeluruh.
Suspek bunuh Cikgu Istiqomah dijangka didakwa Isnin
Suspek kes pembunuhan guru wanita Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi, 33, di Melaka dijangka didakwa di mahkamah selewat-lewatnya Isnin depan.
Lelaki tolak isteri jatuh gaung didakwa esok
Suspek kes pukul dan tolak isteri ke dalam gaung di Kilometer 31.2 Jalan Raya Timur Barat (JRTB) Gerik-Jeli dekat Gerik, Julai lalu akan didakwa di mahkamah pada Jumaat.