Very interesting fish oil article

Article from Vital Choices Newsletter ()
August 13, 2007
Miner’s "Miracle" Leads Stellar Omega-3/Health Summary
Top researchers quoted as deploring authorities' failure to push for increased omega-3 intake
by Craig Weatherby

Click for full story © M.O. Ellis 2006 / West Virginia Univ. Alumni Magazine

We want to applaud Men’s Health magazine for publishing the best omega-3 article we’ve seen in any publication intended for non-scientists.


The article's key point is summarized in this excerpt: “Scientists worldwide are praising a nutrient so powerful that it may help combat dozens of diseases. But don't expect an endorsement from our policy makers: They say we can do without.”



The Men’s Health piece – titled “The Government's Big Fish Story” – begins dramatically, with the story of Randal McCloy, the sole survivor of last year’s Sago Coal Mine disaster in West Virginia. (He's pictured at left, between two of his doctors.)



Mr. McCloy suffered extreme carbon monoxide exposure, which normally results in severe brain damage. While Mr. MCloy received the standard interventions, including hyperbaric oxygen treatment, these were not expected to prevent serious disability.

Instead, his neurosurgeon – Julian Bailes, M.D. of West Virginia University – believes the miner was spared only by the unprecedented decision to administer very high doses of omega-3 fish oil.



Dr. Bailes said McCloy had almost no measurable brain activity until they started feeding him fish oil through a tube, which provided huge doses of the two key omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA).



As the authors of the Men’s Health article wrote, “… unexpectedly, McCloy emerged from his coma. This in itself was amazing, but he wasn't done. In the weeks that followed, he stunned even the most optimistic experts by recovering his memory and gradually regaining his ability to walk, talk, and see, a turnaround that many in the medical field called miraculous.”



The conclusion of this part of the article is worth quoting: “’The omega-3s helped rebuild the damaged gray and white matter of his brain,’ says Dr. Bailes, who now takes his own medicine, swallowing a fish-oil supplement each morning. On his orders, McCloy, still recuperating at home, continues to take fish oil daily. ‘I would say he should be on it for a lifetime,’ says Dr. Bailes. ‘But then, I think everybody should.’”



(Large amounts of omega-3 DHA accumulate in the brain’s grey matter during fetal and infant development. And research supports its ongoing importance to the tissues of adult brains: see “Omega-3s Display More Brain-Mood Benefits” and “Mental Decline Slowed by Omega-3s”.)



Researchers interviewed by Men's Health deplored the failure of health authorities to advocate assertively for increased intake of omega-3s.

And unlike most popular articles on omega-3s, this one stresses the importance of decreasing Americans' intake of omega-6 fatty acids.

These pro-inflammatory, omega-3-blocking fats dominate American diets, thanks to their heavy presence in standard meats and poultry and in cheap vegetable oils (corn, soy, cottonseed, canola, sunflower, safflower) and the processed and prepared foods that contain them.


The only way you’d get more essential information would be by reading the recent, definitive book by New York Times science contributor Susan Allport, titled Queen of Fats (see “Queen of Fats Tells Exciting, Untold Omega-3 Story” and “The Queen of Fats: Part II of Our Review”) and by diving deep into our Vital Choices newsletter archives.



We urge you to read this incredibly informative, wonderfully written article (which we've posted online) and pass it on to friends and family. To access it, click on the article title above or below, and save or open it.



In addition to addressing some of the most fascinating aspects of omega-3s in human biology and evolution, the piece summarizes the adverse impacts of America’s gross omega-3/omega-6 intake imbalance, the evidence of omega-3s’ effects on major health conditions, and includes recommendations on supplemental omega-3s.



The only way you’d get more essential information about omega-3s would be to read the recent, definitive book by New York Times science contributor Susan Allport, titled Queen of Fats (see “Queen of Fats Tells Exciting, Untold Omega-3 Story” and “The Queen of Fats: Part II of Our Review”) and by diving deep into our Vital Choices newsletter archives.



The article features cogent quotes from interviews with a number of leading researchers, including renowned omega-3 scientist William E. Lands, Ph.D., who has responded graciously to our requests for guidance concerning omega-3 fatty acids in human health.



Dr. Lands discovered many of the basic functions of omega-3s as a former Professor at the Michigan Medical School and Director of Basic Research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He also authored an indispensable reference book titled Fish, Omega-3s, and Human Health.



We hope you will get a chance to read “The Government's Big Fish Story”, and share it widely!





Sources

* Erdely SR, Watkins D. The Government's Big Fish Story. Accessed online August 7, 2007 at http://health.msn.com/general/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100166680>1=10212
* Innis SM. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in human milk: an essential role in infant development. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2004;554:27-43. Review.
* Wainwright PE. Dietary essential fatty acids and brain function: a developmental perspective on mechanisms. Proc Nutr Soc. 2002 Feb;61(1):61-9. Review.
* United Press International. Omega-3 credited in miner's recovery. Accessed online August 10, 2007 at http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20070727-01004600-bc-us-sagosurvivor.xml


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Copyright © 2007 Vital Choice Seafood, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Information in this newsletter is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by medical professionals, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Copyright is held by Vital Choice Seafood, to which all rights are reserved. Other than personal, non-commercial use or forwarding, no material in this newsletter may be copied, distributed, or published without the express permission of Vital Choice Seafood.
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A Study on Vitamin E and Hotflashes

Hot flashes affect as many as 75% of menopausal women. Estrogen reliably reduces the severity of hot flashes and remain the single most effective treatment. Today, however, more and more women are seeking alternatives. Instead of hormonal therapy, women are turning to vitamins, and other over-the-counter products for relief from hot flashes. This study was undertaken to assess the effect of vitamin E on hot flashes. Method: A placebo double blind-controlled trial was conducted. After 1 week baseline period, the enrolled patients (n = 51) received placebo (identical in appearance to vitamin E softgel) daily for 4 weeks, followed by 1 week wash out and 400 IU vitamin E (softgel cap) daily for the next 4 weeks. Diary was used to measure hot flashes before and at the end of the study. Result: There were statistical significant differences in hot flashes severity score (2.37 ± 0.74, 1.80 ± 0.87) and their daily frequency (5.00 ± 3.34, 3.19 ± 2.74) after the treatments between the placebo and vitamin E therapies (p <>Conclusion: Based on our trial, vitamin E is recommended for the treatment of hot flashes.

Soft drinks are hard on the body

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is increased among middle-aged adults who regularly drink carbonated soft drinks, even soda that is calorie-free, new research suggests.

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of several cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excess fat around the abdomen and glucose intolerance, a condition in which the body can no longer process sugar in the blood that often precedes diabetes.

Up until now, theories relating soft-drink consumption and metabolic syndrome have been based primarily on the high sugar content, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan, at Boston University School of Medicine, and associates note in their report, published in the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

To further evaluate this relationship, the authors analyzed data from subjects in the Framingham Heart Study who were in their mid-50s participated in two evaluations between 1998 and 2001 and were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began.

In their analysis, the researchers found that the subjects who consumed one or more soft drinks per day had a 48-percent higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to whose who drank less.

In the second analysis, subjects who drank soft drinks had 44-percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome. Drinking soft drinks also increased the incidence of each component of the metabolic syndrome.

Previous work has shown that consumption of soft drinks is associated with overall dietary behavior, with a diet high in calories and fat, and low in fiber. However, Vasan and associates point out, even after accounting for known risk factors such as diet, smoking and physical activity, the association between soft drink consumption and metabolic syndrome remained statistically significant.

However, because this was an observational study, Vasan's group could not discern any evidence that drinking soft drinks actually caused the metabolic syndrome.

"Public health policy measures to limit the rising consumption of soft drinks in the community may be associated with a lowering of the burden of metabolic risk factors in adults," they conclude.

SOURCE: Circulation, July 24, 2007.

Fishy Eyes?

Study: Eating Fish Helps Protect Eyesight

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Monday, July 10, 2006; 11:49 PM

CHICAGO -- Two new studies give one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish: prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in old age.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon are already known to help the heart and brain stay healthy. The new studies, appearing Monday in the Archives of Ophthalmology, add to evidence that fish eaters also protect the eyes.

The new studies aren't the strongest level of scientific evidence, but they confirm the findings of previous studies that also link fish consumption with prevention of macular degeneration.

A study of 681 elderly American men showed that those who ate fish twice a week had a 36 percent lower risk of macular degeneration. In the other study, which followed 2,335 Australian men and women over five years, people who ate fish just once a week reduced their risk by 40 percent.

The U.S. study also found that smokers nearly doubled their risk of the eye condition compared to people who never smoked.

Macular degeneration starts with blurring in the center of what the eye sees. It progresses to blindness, slowly or quickly depending on the type of disease. Six to 8 percent of people age 75 and older have an advanced form of the disease.

"We have a longer life expectancy so the prevalence and burden related to age-related macular degeneration will continue to increase," said Dr. Johanna Seddon of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, lead author of the U.S. study.

The proper balance of essential fatty acids was crucial to preventing eye disease in the study, Seddon said. The men who ate not only more omega-3 fatty acids, but also fewer omega-6 fatty acids, found in vegetable oils and baked goods, got the most benefit.

Both studies on the effect of fish were based on participants' recall of what they ate. The studies were observational, meaning they observed people's behavior and health. Although the researchers tried to account for other risk factors, the people who ate more fish may have had other healthy habits that lowered their risk.

Stronger evidence may come in five or six years with results from a large, randomized study of how fish oil and another nutrient, lutein, affect macular degeneration, said Dr. Emily Chew of the National Eye Institute, who is heading that study.

Volunteers will be assigned randomly to get either fish oil, lutein, or both _ or placebos.

Researchers don't yet know why eating fish seems to protect the eyes. Omega-3 fatty acids may neutralize free radicals in the eye, preventing the formation of new blood vessels, reducing inflammation or all three, Chew said.

Dr. Yu Guang He of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said the new studies confirm findings from other research and will give doctors even more confidence as they advise patients what they can eat to protect their eyesight.

"I always tell them if you like fish, if you enjoy fish, eat more fish. Some people don't like the flavor. I would encourage those people to take (fish oil) supplements," he said.

___

On the Net:

Archives of Ophthalmology: http://archopht.ama-assn.org/

Headaches a Big Headache for Sufferers

Headaches a Big Headache for Sufferers

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women who suffer from chronic headaches end up with more than just the pain associated with the headache.

According to University of Toledo researchers, women whose heads throb on a regular basis are four-times more likely than those who experience fewer headaches to report symptoms of major depression. They're also three-times more likely to report physical symptoms like low energy, difficulty sleeping, nausea, dizziness, sexual problems or bodily pains.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 women, 90 percent of whom were diagnosed with migraine. About 440 of the women reported chronic headache, which is defined as 15 or more headaches each month. The remainder suffered from episodic headache, defined as fewer than 15 headaches per month.

Women diagnosed with the most severe form of migraine headache were 32-times more likely to suffer from major depression if they were also experiencing some of the other physical symptoms noted in the study.

The investigators report they aren't sure how headaches may be causing depression or these other symptoms but suggest the link may lie in a dysfunction of serotonin in the central nervous system.

"Painful physical symptoms may provoke or be a manifestation of major depression in women with chronic headache, and depression may heighten pain perception," reports study author Gretchen Tietjen, M.D. "This relation between migraine and major depression suggests a common neurobiology."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Neurobiology, 2007;68:134-140

Fish oil may preserve thinking ability in elderly

High blood levels of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, found in fish oil, may help preserve thinking ability in the elderly, according to the findings of two studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The results were particularly striking among subjects with high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.

Accumulating evidence suggests that diets that include omega-3 fatty acids, specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protect against the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to a Dutch research team. However, the effect of EPA+DHA consumption on thinking ability, or "cognitive function," has received less scrutiny.

So Dr. Boukje Maria van Gelder, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, and associates evaluated data for 210 healthy men in the "Zutphen Study," who were 79 to 89 years old in 1990 and had normal mental capacity. Their diets were assessed in 1990, and cognitive function was tested in 1990 and again in 1995.

Subjects who ate fish had a slower decline in cognitive function than subjects who did not eat fish.

The investigators conclude that "fish consumption and EPA+DHA intake are not significantly related to cognitive impairment but are significantly related to cognitive decline."

Van Gelder's team recommends the daily consumption of roughly 400 mg of EPA and DHA, found in fish, meat, eggs, leeks, and cereal products.

In the second study, which involved 2,251 older individuals, Dr. May A. Beydoun, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues showed that high blood levels of EPA and DHA are associated with less decline in verbal ability.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. William E. Connor and Dr. Sonja L. Connor suggest that EPA has anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties that work together to help preserve cognitive function.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2007.

Regulating High Blood Pressure with Vitamins

Regulating Blood Pressure Naturally with Vitamins
by Darrell Miller

High blood pressure, which is also called hypertension, affects about one in three adults. Although there are many causes of hypertension, there are not necessarily any symptoms, with 30% of people having high blood pressure not knowing it. Therefore, just because you don't have symptoms doesn't mean you don't have high blood pressure, which is why it is called "the silent killer." High blood pressure is very dangerous, being the number one cause of stroke, as well as the cause for heart attack and heart failure. Changing blood pressure numbers depends a great deal on the choices we make every day, such has how much we exercise, the foods we ear, and our overall lifestyle. However, for those times when extra help is needed, there is a new scientifically-studied supplement that will help us lower our blood pressure and give us better overall health.

Blood pressure is divided into two parts, systolic and diastolic. Systolic is the pressure of the heart beating; while diastolic is the pressure of the heart vessels when they are filling. Although a persons' blood pressure can vary naturally throughout the day, if numbers are consistently high after many visits to the doctor, it is possible that you have pre-hypertension or high blood pressure. Healthy blood pressure numbers are about 115/75 mm/Hg. Arteries that are kept young through healthy diet and exercise are usually more elastic and unclogged compared to those that have plaque buildup from diets high in saturated fat and sedentary lifestyles. These unclogged arteries are able to transport blood through them easily and without much effort. However, clogged arteries result in faster blood flow, all of the time, which can cause damages to heart tissue, arteries, kidney, and other major organs in the long run.

High blood pressure can be caused by a variety of lifestyle factors being: body type, sedentary lifestyle. Sodium intake, low potassium intake, heavy alcohol intake, unhealthy eating, and smoking. Although weight isn't always a reliable indicator of whether or not you'll have high blood pressure, the type of weight is. Lean body mass (muscle) doesn't increase blood pressure levels, but fat does, especially when it is around your mid-section. Many of our jobs require us to sit all day at work and then we continue to sit more when we get home. With time, this leads to weight gain, which makes your heart work harder to pump blood through the body. Inactivity usually leads to higher heart rates. Even though salt intake itself isn't necessarily bad, it leads to more water retention, which increases blood pressure. A moderate intake of salt, especially sea salt or Celtic salt, for healthy individuals is fine. Most Americans do not get enough potassium. It helps to regulate the amount of sodium in our cells and expels the rest to our kidneys. Low levels of potassium can lead to a build up of sodium in the body. Because having three or more alcoholic drinks a day doubles and individuals' chance of developing high blood pressure, it is important to limit the amount of alcohol intake. Drinking a large amount will eventually put a lot of stress on the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain. Eating a lot of processed and fatty foods can lead to high blood pressure as well. By adapting a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as whole grain products, fish, nuts, magnesium, and potassium, blood pressure can be brought back down. Smoking damages the heart and arteries, while the nicotine constricts blood vessels, increases heart rate, and raises blood pressure. The carbon monoxide in smoke replaces oxygen in the blood, which makes the heart work even harder to make up for the difference. It is important if you have high blood pressure that you do not smoke.

Along with the above diet and lifestyle changes, there are other natural ways to lower blood pressure. These supplements include: fish oil, CoQ10, and garlic. Although these are very effective, they usually lower systolic pressure much more than diastolic pressure. There is a blend of natural ingredients that lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure separately and work even better combined, dandelion leaf extract, lycopene, stevia extract, olive leaf extract, and hawthorn extract. Dandelion leaf extract provides a healthy supply of vitamins, including vitamins A, B, C, D, iron, silicon, magnesium, zinc, potassium, and manganese. This extract produces a diuretic effect in the body relieving hypertension in the body by drawing excess water and sodium from the body and releasing it through the kidneys as urine, which allows the blood vessels to relax and in turn lowers blood pressure. Lycopene, which is mostly found in tomatoes and processed tomato products, has great antioxidant abilities as well as free-radical scavenging properties. It also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol, lowers homocysteine levels, and reduces blood platelet stickiness which leads to clogged arteries. Higher intakes of lycopene mean less thickening of arteries and a reduced risk of heart attack. Stevia extract, which is often used as a sweetener, relaxes arteries and helps to prevent the buildup of calcium on artery walls, which keeps them healthy and reduces blood pressure. Many scientific studies have proven that stevia controls blood sugar levels as well as has great potential in treating type 2 diabetes along with hypertension. Olive leaf extract relaxes blood vessels and prevents buildup of plaque in the arteries, which in turn lowers blood pressure. It also acts as an antioxidant. Hawthorn extract has been used to support heart health for many centuries. It improves blood pressure levels by increasing blood vessel elasticity, as well as improves coronary artery blood flow and contractions of the heart muscle. This supplement also has antioxidant properties, as well as the anti-anxiety abilities and blood sugar regulation properties.

After taking a combination of these herbs, you should notice both systolic and diastolic numbers lowering within two weeks. When you are taking herbs that support your blood pressure, it is important to keep it monitored so that you have an adequate reading of your numbers. To do so, you can purchase a home blood pressure monitoring device for thirty to two-hundred dollars. However, buying one in the thirty to fifty dollar range is sufficient and will be money well-spent. Although there are no side effects noted in the study, you may notice an increase in the number of trips you take to the bathroom do to the diuretic effect of the dandelion leaf extract. The vitamins mentioned above can be found at your friendly internet health food store.