Omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish and walnuts prevent heart attacks
A study has found that consumption of fatty fish such as salmon (rawas in Hindi) and trout as well as walnuts and flaxseed oil may increase the levels of omega-3 fatty acids and lower the risk of dying from heart attacks.
The findings showed that both plant-based and seafood-based omega-3 lead to about 10 per cent lower risk of fatal heart attacks.
‘Our results lend support to the importance of fish and omega-3 consumption as part of a healthy diet,’ said Dariush Mozaffarian from Tufts University in Boston, in the US.
Fish is the major food source of omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosa pentaenoic acid (EPA), docosa pentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosa hexaenoic acid (DHA).
According to the US Department of Agriculture, although all fish contain some levels of omega-3 fatty fish, fatty fish such as salmon, trout, anchovies, sardines and herring contain much higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.
Fish also provides specific proteins, vitamin D, selenium and other minerals, in addition to omega-3 fatty acids.
The research paper published in journal JAMA Internal Medicine said plant-based omega-3 fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) are found in walnuts, flaxseed oil, and canola oil and some other seed and nuts and their oils.
The study involved a total of 19 studies from 16 countries and included 45,637 participants. Of these, 7,973 people developed a first heart attack over time, including 2,781 deaths and 7,157 nonfatal heart attacks.
‘This new global consortium provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand how blood biomarkers of many different fats and fatty acids relate to diverse health outcomes,’ Mozaffarian noted.
