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A team of British scientists studying patients with diseased arteries found
that omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil appeared to fight inflammation in blood
vessels.
Fish oil helped to stabilise the fatty deposits, or plaques, that built up
in artery walls.
They were then less likely to rupture and break apart, thereby risking a
blockage that could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
The scientists also suspect that fish oil helps prevent plaques building up
in the first place, since this largely involves inflammation.
Its effect on inflammation would also account for the well known ability of
omega-3 fatty acids to keep joints supple and alleviate arthritis.
Professor Philip Calder, who led the team from the University of
Southampton, said the findings gave hope to hundreds of thousands of people
who might be heading for premature death due to narrowed arteries.
``Increasing their intake of omega-3 fatty acids simply by eating more oily
fish or taking fish oil capsules can reduce their risk of heart-related
death,`` he said.
The study, reported in The Lancet medical journal, involved 162 patients who
were due to undergo surgery for diseased arteries.
They were given either capsules of omega-3 fish oil, sunflower oil, or a
supplement made from palm and soybean oil which was not expected to have any
effect.
Examination of plaques taken from their arteries showed that those from the
fish oil group contained raised levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
They also showed fewer signs of inflammation. The omega-3 plaques lacked the
thin, fibrous ``caps`` which made them likely to rupture. There were also
less of the immune system`s white blood cells present, another sign of
inflammation.
Inflammation is essentially the body`s reaction to an injury as tissue
becomes flooded with white blood cells and signalling chemicals.
Professor Calder acknowledged that the patients received a high dose of fish
oil compared with the average amount consumed.
But he thought taking much lower amounts over longer periods could be
equally beneficial.
``We gave them about 1.6 grams of omega-3 per day, which is 10 times more
than people would normally have,`` he said.
``To achieve this level people would have to consume several oily fish meals
a week or take quite a number of fish oil capsules per day.
``The level we`re talking about is quite high, but if people have a very
long period of exposure to a lower dose it might have the same effect.``
Evidence for this could be seen in the results of numerous studies showing
the health benefits of fish oil.
Professor Calder added: ``I have no hesitation in recommending that people
increase their consumption of omega-3s, even if they are not ill, because
they are protective.``
As well as helping to prevent disease, fish oil could also work as a
treatment.
``I think there are many disease conditions where omega-3s could be used in
a therapeutic way,`` he said.
Professor Sir Charles George, medical director of the British Heart
Foundation, said: ``This study adds further weight to the existing evidence
that fish oil help reduce the risk of arterial disease.
``It goes further than previous research by identifying a clear link between
fish oils and the atheromatous plaque that causes stroke or coronary heart
disease. The research shows that within a few weeks fish oils have a
stabilising effect on the plaques (furring) in the arteries which may
prevent them from rupturing - the process that leads to a heart attack or
stroke.
``This research is important, and it reinforces advice to eat one portion of
white fish and one portion of oily fish every week."
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