Omega-3 and life expectancy

A July 2021 study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), in collaboration with The Fatty Acid Research Institute in the United States and several universities in the United States and Canada, said that 

• "Having higher levels of these [Omega-3] acids in the blood, as a result of regularly including oily fish in the diet, increases life expectancy by almost five years", 

• "Being a regular smoker takes 4.7 years off your life expectancy, the same as you gain if you have high levels of omega-3 acids in your blood”.

• "This reaffirms what we have been seeing lately … not all saturated fatty acids are necessarily bad.”

• "What we have found is not insignificant. It reinforces the idea that small changes in diet in the right direction can have a much more powerful effect than we think, and it is never too late or too early to make these changes"

Omega-3 supplementation and Stress

An April 2021 study by The Ohio State University said,

"The findings suggest that omega-3 supplementation is one relatively simple change people could make that could have a positive effect at breaking the chain between stress and negative health effects,”

"You could consider an increase in cortisol and inflammation potential factors that would erode telomere length," 

"The assumption based on past work is that telomerase can help rebuild telomere length, and you want to have enough telomerase present to compensate for any stress-related damage.”

"The fact that our results were dose-dependent, and we're seeing more impact with the higher omega-3 dose, would suggest that this supports a causal relationship."

"Not everyone who is depressed has heightened inflammation - about a third do. This helps explain why omega-3 supplementation doesn't always result in reduced depressive symptoms," 

"If you don't have heightened inflammation, then omega-3s may not be particularly helpful. But for people with depression who do, our results suggest omega-3s would be more useful."

Some dietary sources of Omega-3

Fish, especially salmon, tuna, herring, sardines and mackerel

Seeds especially walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseed

Nuts

Omega 3 Supplements

A February 2020 study by the University of East Anglia said,

"These large systematic reviews included information from many thousands of people over long periods. This large amount of information has clarified that if we take omega 3 supplements for several years we may very slightly reduce our risk of heart disease, but balance this with very slightly increasing our risk of some cancers. The overall effects on our health are minimal.

"The evidence on omega 3 mostly comes from trials of fish oil supplements, so health effects of oily fish, a rich source of long-chain omega 3, are unclear. Oily fish is a very nutritious food as part of a balanced diet, rich in protein and energy as well as important micronutrients such as selenium, iodine, vitamin D and calcium - it is much more than an omega 3 source.

"But we found that there is no demonstrable value in people taking omega 3 oil supplements for the prevention or treatment of cancer. In fact, we found that they may very slightly increase cancer risk, particularly for prostate cancer.”

"However this risk is offset by a small protective effect on cardiovascular disease.”

"Considering the environmental concerns about industrial fishing and the impact it is having on fish stocks and plastic pollution in the oceans, it seems unhelpful to continue to take fish oil tablets that give little or no benefit."