In the United States, 1-in-4 deaths is due to heart disease.
If that doesn’t get your attention, I’m not sure what will…
Since roughly 25% of people die from poor heart health, a surge of new research has just been done and released to the public.
Liana Del Gobbo lead this new research at Stanford University School of Medicine, and it includes data from over 45,000 participants and 16 countries, including the United States, Europe, Costa Rica, Israel, and Singapore.
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All of these studies were based on participant’s omega-3 fatty acid intake.
Omega-3 fatty acids have encountered some scrutiny in the media, but after these comprehensive studies, it may be harder to discount the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids on heart health.
The research presented in the JAMA Journal of Internal Medicine measured actual levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood of the participants, as opposed to relying on questionnaires of the participants diet and applying ‘guess-tamations’ from there, which is an obviously error-riddled method of data collection.
However, this new, systematic, accurate method of blood testing showed that those who had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had a 10% lower risk of having a fatal heart attack, compared to those with lower levels. However, those with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids coursing through their veins had as much as a 25% less risk of having a fatal heart attack. That is a huge percentage guys.
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“For the leading cause of death in the world, lowering the risk [of a fatal heart attack] by about 25 percent is quite meaningful,” said senior author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. “Although our findings are observational using biomarkers, the observed risk reduction is about the same size effect as statins have on fatal heart disease.”
So, given this new found correlation between omega-3 fatty acids and heart health, if everyone in the U.S. were to eat several servings of omega-3 fatty acids foods per week, then the number of deaths due to heart disease could be reduced to 1-in-6 (instead of the current 1-in-4).
So, what foods have omega-3 fatty acids in them?
Fish is the most popular food source of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish, such as trout, salmon, sardines, anchovies, and herring, all contain the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
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You can also find omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts, flaxseed, seed and nut oils, and some seaweed, or you can simply take an over-the-counter omega-3 fish oil supplement.
Curated article from:
LiveScience
