Healthy Living
Essential Fatty Acids And Heart Disease
By David Perlmutter, MD, FACN
Over the past decade, the usefulness of essential fatty acid supplementation in cardiovascular disease has received a lot of attention and while mainstream medicine emphasizes cholesterol lowering drugs and perhaps aspirin, the data confirming the usefulness of essential fatty acid supplements is no less powerful. In an article appearing in The Lancet (August 7, 1999) Italian researchers demonstrated a powerful protective effect of Omega 3 essential fatty acids derived from fish with respect to cardiovascular risk. Their justification for this study was the observation that Eskimo populations, despite consuming high fat diets, have very low rates of cardiovascular disease, likely because of the fact that their diets are rich in fish oils.
During the two-year period from 1993 to 1995, over 11,000 patients, having survived a recent myocardial infarction, were randomly assigned to either receive omega 3 essential fatty acids (one gram each day), vitamin E, or no supplementation whatsoever. The findings of the study revealed a profound lowering of the risk of either second myocardial infarction, death, or stroke, in the group receiving the essential fatty acid supplements by as high as 20%.
The authors speculate that the beneficial effects of the omega 3 essential fatty acids likely is derived from the fact that they helped reduce the production of inflammatory chemicals, reduce oxidation of cholesterol, improve the function of cells lining the arteries, and may have a role in the gene expression of certain "adhesion molecules", which may be involved in increasing risk for coronary events.
Essential fatty acid supplementation represents a powerful tool in reducing risk of vascular events including myocardial infarction and stroke. Common essential fatty supplements include flax seed oil, algal oil containing DHA and and fish derived oils containing EPA and DHA. These nutritional supplements are easily obtained from health food stores. It is important to take a good quality vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) along with these essential fatty acid supplements to keep them from becoming oxidized and thus rendered effective. Further, essential fatty acids should always remain refrigerated, again, to reduce their risk for becoming oxidized.
Perhaps the most authoritative text available to learn about the health-giving properties of essential fatty acids is the book, Fats and Oils - The Complete Guide to Fats and Oils in Health and Nutrition by Udo Erasmus (ISBN 0-920470-16-5)