By Rosie Schwartz
While omega-3s' links to heart health have been widely reported, Rosie Schwartz has some more surprising benefits of this up-and-coming nutritional superstar.
Chances are you've been hearing about the health perks of omega-3 fats for quite some time. It's been decades since scientists first discovered that eating omega-3-rich cold water fish offered protection against dying from heart disease. Since that time, scientists have made some remarkable discoveries about these essential fats - they're called essential because the body can't make them.
Here are some of the surprising benefits of omega-3s new research has revealed:
1.Omega-3s may protect your hearing
The latest study on omega-3s, published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, comes from Australian scientists who assessed the link between the consumption of omega-3s from fish and the risk of age-related hearing loss. Study subjects who had two servings of fish per week compared with those who had less one serving of fish per week had a significantly reduced risk of hearing loss. But before you skip this section as you're too young to think about age-related issues like this, consider that loud noise can certainly accelerate this type of hearing loss. So if you like the volume of your favourite tunes cranked up, you might want to reel some fish in on a regular basis.
2. Immunity from depression?
Numerous studies are looking into links between low omega-3 intake and depression and mood disorders - right through the life cycle from pregnancy to old age. It's thought that inflammatory compounds may be at the centre of developing conditions like depression. Joseph Hibbeln, MD, a researcher at the Unit on Nutrition in Psychiatry at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, Maryland, was one of the very first investigators to draw attention to the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatric disorders. He has conducted studies looking at omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention of suicide, postpartum depression, and violence and is coming up with promising results. Stay tuned for more news.
3. They can give your brain a boost
Hibbeln's research has also linked a shortage of omega 3s during pregnancy and during childhood to lower IQs. Dyslexia is another condition where low omega-3s may be a culprit. But it's certain omega-3s that appear to be critical to brain functioning.
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While omega-3 fatty acids are naturally found in both plant and marine sources, it's the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) that come from cold water fish like salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and tuna that appear to be key to learning and behaviour.
4. Better behaved kids
Some studies have shown that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have lower concentrations of omega-3s in their red blood cells and that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial. But more research is needed.
Omega-3 fats from cold-water fish seem to offer benefit for the area of the brain which affects behaviour. Plants sources like flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, canola and hemp oil and leafy greens contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). While your body can convert ALA to the more potent disease fighting DHA, it's a very inefficient process and so you would need to consume a lot of ALA to reap the rewards.
There's also research which shows that boosting the omega-3/omega-6 ratio, from both fish and plant sources, plays a role so also including plenty of plant omega-3s is still a smart idea.
5. A new weapon in the battle of the bulge for generations to come
A new French study which looked at animals diets over a few generations suggests that a deficiency in ALA combined with a chronic excess of omega-6s could lead to "inherited obesity," a genetic tendency to become obese.
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The study, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, describes an increase in fat mass of mice over several generations when fed an "unbalanced Western diet." Over the past number of decades, Western diets have shifted their balance from more omega-3-rich foods to those with higher omega-6 levels. Sources of omega-6 fats include corn, soybean, sunflower and cottonseed oil and foods made from them. Many scientists investigating omega-3s not only recommend boosting your intake of these fats but also reducing how much in the way of omega-6 fats you consume.
6. Putting out the flames of asthma
Researchers are looking to the anti-inflammatory effects on omega-3s to calm the inflammation which occurs with asthma. In a recent German study, scientists investigated omega-3s in asthmatic subjects with grass pollen allergies and found mild protective effects on the inflammation brought on by the exposure to the grass pollen.
In a study at Indiana University on exercise-induced asthma, the use of omega-3 supplements resulted in less inflammation and a reduced use of the subjects' asthma medication.
7. Benefits for those with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
Research on a number of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases has shown that supplementation with fish oils offered benefits such as a decrease in the disease activity and a lowered use of anti-inflammatory drugs. Rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and migraine headaches are among those conditions showing positive results.
8. Help your ticker run smoothly
Research shows that omega-3 fats may help to stabilize heart rhythms. They may not only reduce the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, the most common abnormal heart rhythm, but also help to return heart rhythms to normal following a heart attack.
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