Nearly every month there is a new study that has determined there is a health benefit from diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and this month is no exception. We found two of the articles we came across particularly interesting.

The first one was a small study conducted in Norway that found beneficial results in type II diabetes patients with a high intake of omega-3 fish oil. The study, which was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to measure fish oil's effects on lipoproteins in the two-armed, parallel, placebo-controlled and randomized study. The subjects were given either 5.9 grams per day of omega-3 from fish oil or 8.5 grams per day of corn oil as a placebo. Insulin sensitivity was also tested by the researchers using standard hyperinsulinemic and isoglycemic clamps. Evaluation of the data after the nine-week intervention yielded significant differences in the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) size, particle concentrations of large VLDL, and small high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the omega-3 fish oil group compared to those in the placebo group. Improvements in the subjects lipid profile were not the only improvements, insulin sensitivity was lowered in the fish oil group as well.¹

In the second unrelated study, which was published in the Journal of Nutrition, British researchers found that low levels of omega-3 fatty acids lowered blood pressure. In this small double blind, placebo controlled, crossover study, subjects were given either a 700mg daily dose of DHA derived from microalgae or olive oil for three months. (This increased average serum DHA levels by 58%.) The subjects then underwent a 4-month "washout period" before they were given the alternate intervention. Diastolic blood pressure was reduced by an average of 3.3 mmHg. Unfortunately neither systolic blood pressure or other markers of cardiac health, such as C-reactive protein where significantly affected.² Previous studies had showed that high levels of omega-3s, in the 2 to 3 grams per day range, could lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

1. Garg, M. L., R. J. Blake, et al. (2007). "Consumption of an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched dip modulates plasma lipid profile in subjects with diabetes type II." Eur J Clin Nutr.

2. Theobald, H. E., A. H. Goodall, et al. (2007). "Low-Dose Docosahexaenoic Acid Lowers Diastolic Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged Men and Women." J Nutr 137(4): 973-978.