"Nutrition Action" is a health letter published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, which is one of the nation's top consumer advocates. CSPI seeks to provide scientifically based health and nutritional information to North Americans. "Nutrition Action" has reported on the health benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil, which include helping prevent heart attacks.
"Nutrition Action"
"Nutrition Action" is the largest health and nutrition newsletter circulated in North America -- with around 900,000 subscribers in the United States and Canada, according to a 2009 report by the CSPI. The CSPI, founded by executive director Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. and others, educates the public. It highly advocates governmental policies that are consistent with available scientific evidence on health and environmental issues. In addition, this FDA award-winning organization fights the major influence of industry on public perceptions and policies.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids, which the body cannot make itself, must be obtained from food sources such as fish oil and flaxseed oil. Fish oil already contains the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. The omega-3 fatty acid -- alpha-linolenic acid -- found in flaxseed oil must be converted into EPA and DHA by the body. In addition, alpha-linolenic acid may not be efficiently converted into DHA and EPA by your body, says Yong Q. Chen of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the October 2007 issue of "Nutrition Action." Heart disease patients should take 1,000mg or 1g of fish oil supplements daily containing DHA and EPA.
Benefits
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil -- EPA and DHA -- can provide numerous health benefits. While most evidence points to the benefits of fish oil for heart disease, research also appears promising for the use of fish oil to fight diseases such as cancer, dementia, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, eye diseases and many more conditions. As reported in the April 2004 edition of "Nutrition Action," William Harris of the University of North Dakota's Stanford School of Medicine considers fish oil one of the biggest medical success stories in years.
Heart Effects
Fish oil can prevent death from a sudden heart attack and decrease the risk of death in heart attack survivors. The April 2004 issue of "Nutrition Action" cites a study published in the 1999 edition of the journal "Lancet," which observed the effects of fish oil supplementation on 2,800 Italian heart attack survivors. Participants received 850mg of fish oil daily over 3½ years and had a 20 percent less chance of dying when compared to survivors not taking fish oil. In addition, "Nutrition Action" reports that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil can stabilize an erratic heartbeat, or arrhythmia, in people without a history of abnormal heart rhythms.
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