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from John & Debra Schulenburg
Senior Directors, Shaklee International
Tips From The Professor...
How Much Omega-3s Should We Take Daily?
Some people ask me whether there is any need for
someone who has no known risk factors for heart disease
to make sure that they are getting omega-3s in their
diet - and if so, how much should they be getting?
There is currently no Daily Value (DV) recommendation
for omega-3s, although the Food and Nutrition Board
(the scientific body that issues DV recommendation) has
promised to review the available data and make a
recommendation in the near future.
A study published May 31, 2011 in the British Journal
of Nutrition (doi: 10:1017/S0007114511001644) by K.
Musa-Veloso et al goes a long way towards answering
that question.
This study was a meta-analysis of 8 previously
published prospective clinical trials looking at
214,426 adults aged 34 to 84 with no prior history or
evidence of heart disease.
What the study found was that the individuals consuming
250 mg/day of omega-3s were 35% less likely to
experience sudden cardiac death and were 17% less
likely to experience fatal coronary heart disease
of all causes than individuals consuming < 250 mg/day
of omega-3s.
Simply put, the answer to the first question is YES!
Even if you are perfectly healthy with no known risk of
heart disease, adding omega-3s to your diet can
significantly reduce your risk of a fatal heart attack.
And I might add that sudden cardiac death is the worst
kind of heart attack because sudden death is often the
first symptom that you have any kind of heart problem!
That's what I call one heck of a first symptom!
As for the second question the authors of this study
concluded that 250 mg of omega-3s should be considered
as the minimum amount that everyone should aim for in
their diet.
The authors made it clear that they did not consider
250 mg to be an optimal amount, because even greater
decreases in the risk for heart attack were observed in
several of the studies at higher daily intakes of
omega-3s.
I should also point out that this study was only
focused on heart disease related deaths in healthy
individuals. It did not consider the minimum amount
needed by people with known risk factors for heart
disease or the minimum amount needed for people with
inflammatory diseases.
So there's a lot more to learn about how much omega-3s
we should aim for if we want to obtain all of the
health benefits of omega-3s or already have significant
health challenges.
But, for now, we know that 250 mg/day of omega-3s is a
minimum amount - even for healthy adults.
To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
University of North Carolina
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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Shaklee Heart Health
John & Debra Schulenburg
Senior Directors, Shaklee International
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