Fish oil is one of the most popular dietary supplements in the U.S. because of the perceived cardiovascular benefits of the omega-3 it contains.
However, scientific findings on its effectiveness have been conflicting.
In a recent study, scientists from Pennsylvania State University found that for healthy older people, taking omega-3 fish oil supplements every day improves heart health after 12 weeks of use.
The risk of heart disease increases with age because our arteries become stiffer. Arterial stiffness affects how blood travels through them and ultimately how strongly the heart needs to pump.
The commonly used measures of arterial stiffness are pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index. When the heart ejects blood into the blood vessels, pressure increases, creating a bulge in the vessel.
PWV is the speed at which the bulge ripples through the arteries. When the pressure pulse hits a fork in the arteries, part of the pressure pulse bounces back towards the heart and combines with the new pulse coming out of the heart.
How much the reflected pulse enhances the new one is called augmentation index. High PWV and high augmentation index values reflect stiffer arteries.
Reported heart benefits of omega-3 include reduced arterial stiffness seen through improved PWV and augmentation index.
In this study, researchers examined whether omega-3 supplements could reverse the effects of aging on the blood vessels in healthy older people.
People aged 60 to 80 took two omega-3 capsules twice daily for 12 weeks. Each capsule contained 1000 mg of omega-3 (465 mg EPA and 375 mg DHA).
The researchers found that 12 weeks of omega-3 supplementation strongly decreased PWV in healthy older people, supporting improvement in vascular health, although PWV was still higher than in younger adults.
The omega-3 supplements also did not improve arterial stiffness in the younger adults.
These findings suggest that increased omega-3 intake may be an effective therapy in the prevention of heart disease in healthy older people by reducing arterial stiffness.
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The research was conducted by Kevin Monahan et al and published in Physiological Reports.
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