You may have felt your heart skip a beat in extreme situations, but a poor diet and lack of exercise can cause your heart to skip beats or beat irregularly continuously. Known as a cardiac arrhythmia, many of these irregular heartbeats can be occasional and harmless, but some can be life-threatening. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential but lacking in the modern diet and affect many of the factors that contribute to arrhythmias.
Cardiac Arrhytmias
Your nervous system is continuously causing the muscles in your heart to contract in a regular rhythm. As the muscles of your heart begin to function abnormally, your heart may beat too fast, too slowly or irregularly. If detected by your doctor, many arrhythmias can be successfully treated. Obesity, metabolic disorders, high cholesterol and many other factors associated with poor diet and lack of exercise can raise the risk of developing arrhythmias.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in both plant and animal sources, but many of these may not be common in the modern diet. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish as well as fish, krill or algae oil. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have been the form found to have benefit in most research studies. Short-chain omega-3 fatty acids can be found in vegetable sources such as soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and oils derived from these sources.
Evidence
According to an extensive 2007 review from the journal "Circulation," omega-3 fatty acids have been found indisputably to have effects on the major factors in electrical activity of the heart, such as ion channels, exchanger proteins and cardiac modulators. The direct effect or benefit of omega-3 fatty acid intake levels or supplementation has not yet been determined. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet is beneficial for overall heart health.
Safe Supplementation
Omega-3 fatty acids should only be used as part of treatment for a heart condition under the supervision of your healthcare provider. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume 11 to 14 grams of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids from vegetable, seed or nuts sources and 1.1 to 1.6 grams of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids per day. Omega-3 fatty acids may excessively decrease blood sugar or the ability of the blood to clot if taken with other medication or supplements. Taking other medication with omega-3 fatty acids supplements may reduce the amount of the medication absorbed by your body.
References
- "Circulation"; Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cardiac Arrhythmias: Prior Studies and Recommendations for Future Research; London et al.; 2007
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Medical Reference: Complementary Medicine: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Arrhythmia
- Oregon State University: Linus Pauling Institute: Micronutrient Information Center: Essential Fatty Acids
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