Omega-3s offer the Ultimate Cardiovascular Protection

The Diabetes and Heart Connection

Understanding the connection could save your life

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.^[1]

Understanding the connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease is important, because you can lower the risk of having a heart attack or ischemic stroke by following a healthy lifestyle plan which includes omega-3 fatty acids.

Here are the many ways that omega-3s can protect your heart:

Omega-3s Can Decrease Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular Disease is one of the major causes of death in the world. The American Heart Association states, “Omega-3 fatty acids with EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) & DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of – or who have – cardiovascular disease.” ^[2] Numerous studies have shown that omega 3 consumption can significantly reduce this incidence.

Reducing Triglycerides

An analysis of 18 randomized, controlled studies examining the effect of omega 3 fish oil supplementation on patients with type 2 diabetes, found that fish oil lowered triglyceride levels by 31 mg/dl, decreasing their risk for development of cardiovascular disease.^[3]

Another analysis of 18 randomized controlled studies, showed patients supplementing with fish oil/omega 3 had 25% lower triglyceride levels, 36% lower LDL-cholesterol levels, and 39.7% lower LDL-triacylglycerol levels.^[4] A 16 year long study including approximately 5,000 women with type 2 diabetes, found that those with a high consumption of fish oil/omega 3 had a significantly lower incidence of coronary heart disease and a significantly lower total mortality.^[5] Therefore, people that are insulin resistant or have type 2 diabetes should include consumption of omega 3’s as a part of their daily regimen as a means of cardio protection.^[6]

The reduction in triglyceride levels by omega 3 fatty acids is also attributed to a decrease in the production of very-low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which are responsible for the transport of triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol.^[7][8] One study found that daily supplementation with fish oil resulted in a 66% reduction in triglyceride levels and a 78% reduction in LDL levels.^[9]

Omega-3s as an Anti-Inflammatory

Inflammation has been reported as being responsible for numerous diseases including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and several others.^[10] Omega 3 supplementation can reduce serum levels of markers of inflammation.^[11] DHA supplementation has also been shown to reduce inflammation as measured by decreased levels of other markers of inflammation.^[12]

Ischemic Stroke Improvements

Approximately 795,000 Americans suffer from a new or recurrent stroke each year and more than 143,000 of those result in death.^[13] It is well documented that increased fish consumption is correlated with a reduced risk in ischemic stroke and stroke mortality.^[14] Both women and men that consume omega 3 fatty acids significantly reduce their risk of ischemic stroke.^[15] The protective effect of omega 3 fatty acids are due, in part, to its ability to inhibit platelet aggregation^[16] as well as a reduce whole blood viscosity.^[17]

Atherosclerosis

The anti-inflammatory effects of omega 3 fatty acids are thought to protect against atherosclerosis. Several studies have shown that daily supplementation with as little as 1 gram of EPA and DHA can significantly decrease the risk of developing atherosclerosis.^[18] In addition to reducing the risk of developing atherosclerosis, omega 3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, also slow the progression of the disease.^[19]

Omega-3s Can Reduce Hypertension (High blood pressure)

Daily supplementation with 2-3 grams or more of fish oil has been shown to decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.^[20] Analysis of 90 randomized studies concluded that supplementation with more than 2 grams of fish oil daily results in a reduction of systolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.6 mmHg.^[21]

NOTE: Consult your doctor first to make sure my recommendations fit your special health needs.

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REFERENCES

1. https://www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes
2. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3071550
3. Farmer, A; V Montori, S Dinneen, C Clar (2001). “Fish oil in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus”. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online) (3): CD003205. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003205. ISSN 1469-493X.
4. Hartweg, J; A J Farmer, R Perera, R R Holman, H A W Neil (2007-08). “Meta-analysis of the effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on lipoproteins and other emerging lipid cardiovascular risk markers in patients with type 2 diabetes”. Diabetologia 50 (8): 1593-1602. doi:10.1007/s00125-007-0695-z. ISSN 0012-186X.
5. Hu, Frank B; Eunyoung Cho, Kathryn M Rexrode, Christine M Albert, JoAnn E Manson (2003-04-15). “Fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake and risk of coronary heart disease and total mortality in diabetic women”. Circulation 107 (14): 1852- 1857. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.0000062644.42133.5F. ISSN 1524- 4539.
6. Nettleton, Joyce A; Robert Katz (2005-03). “n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in type 2 diabetes: a review”. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 105 (3): 428-440. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2004.11.029. ISSN 0002-8223.
7. Harris, W S; W E Connor, D R Illingworth, D W Rothrock, D M Foster (1990-09). “Effects of fish oil on VLDL triglyceride kinetics in humans”. Journal of Lipid Research 31 (9): 1549-1558. ISSN 0022-2275.
8. Nestel, P J; W E Connor, M F Reardon, S Connor, S Wong, R Boston (1984-07). “Suppression by diets rich in fish oil of very low density lipoprotein production in man”. The Journal of Clinical Investigation 74 (1): 82-89. doi:10.1172/JCI111422. ISSN 0021-9738.
9. Zaciragic A, Huskic J, Hadzovic-Dzuvo A, Valjevac A, Avdagic N, Mulabegovic N (November 2007). “Serum C-reactive protein concentration and measures of adiposity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus”. Bosn J Basic Med Sci 7 (4): 322-7. PMID 18039190.
10. 25.0 25.1 Phillips T, Childs AC, Dreon DM, Phinney S, Leeuwenburgh C (December 2003). “A dietary supplement attenuates IL- 6 and CRP after eccentric exercise in untrained males”. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35 (12): 2032-7.
11. Caughey, G E; E Mantzioris, R A Gibson, L G Cleland, M J James (1996-01). “The effect on human tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta production of diets enriched in n-3 fatty acids from vegetable oil or fish oil”. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63 (1): 116- 122. ISSN 0002-9165.
12. 25.0 25.1 Phillips T, Childs AC, Dreon DM, Phinney S, Leeuwenburgh C (December 2003). “A dietary supplement attenuates IL-6 and CRP after eccentric exercise in untrained males”. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35 (12): 2032–7. doi:10.1249/01.MSS.0000099112.32342.10. PMID 14652498.
13. Stoll, A L; W E Severus, M P Freeman, S Rueter, H A Zboyan, E Diamond, K K Cress, L B Marangell (1999-05). “Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial”. Archives of General Psychiatry 56 (5): 407-412. ISSN 0003-990X.
14. Zhang, J; S Sasaki, K Amano, H Kesteloot (1999-05). “Fish consumption and mortality from all causes, ischemic heart disease, and stroke: an ecological study”. Preventive Medicine 28 (5): 520-529. doi:10.1006/pmed.1998.0472. ISSN 0091-7435.
15. Iso, H; K M Rexrode, M J Stampfer, J E Manson, G A Colditz, F E Speizer, C H Hennekens, W C Willett (2001-01-17). “Intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids and risk of stroke in women”. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (3): 304- 312. ISSN 0098-7484.
16. Dyerberg, J; H O Bang, E Stoffersen, S Moncada, J R Vane (1978-07-15). “Eicosapentaenoic acid and prevention of thrombosis and atherosclerosis?”. Lancet 2 (8081): 117-119. ISSN 0140-6736.
17. Terano, T; A Hirai, T Hamazaki, S Kobayashi, T Fujita, Y Tamura, A Kumagai (1983-03). “Effect of oral administration of highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid on platelet function, blood viscosity and red cell deformability in healthy human subjects”. Atherosclerosis 46 (3): 321-331. ISSN 0021-9150.
18. Hino, Asuka; Hisashi Adachi, Koji Toyomasu, Noriko Yoshida, Mika Enomoto, Akiko Hiratsuka, Yuji Hirai, Akira Satoh, Tsutomu Imaizumi (2004-09). “Very long chain N-3 fatty acids intake and carotid atherosclerosis: an epidemiological study evaluated by ultrasonography”. Atherosclerosis 176 (1): 145-149. doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2004.04.020. ISSN 0021-9150.
19. Erkkilä, Arja T; Nirupa R Matthan, David M Herrington, Alice H Lichtenstein (2006-12). “Higher plasma docosahexaenoic acid is associated with reduced progression of coronary atherosclerosis in women with CAD”. Journal of Lipid Research 47 (12): 2814- 2819. doi:10.1194/jlr.P600005-JLR200. ISSN 0022-2275.
20. Howe, P R (1997-09-20). “Dietary fats and hypertension. Focus on fish oil”. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 827: 339-352. ISSN 0077-8923.
21. Geleijnse, Johanna M; Erik J Giltay, Diederick E Grobbee, Adrianus R T Donders, Frans J Kok (2002-08). “Blood pressure response to fish oil supplementation: metaregression analysis of randomized trials”. Journal of Hypertension 20 (8): 1493-1499. ISSN 0263-6352.