Omega-3s May Slow Aging in Heart Patients

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association may explain the reason behind the higher survival rates of heart disease patients who consume omega-3 fatty acids.

Chromosomes contain structures called telomeres, which are significantly involved in chromosome replication and stability. As a telomere grows shorter, researchers believe that the inevitable result is cell death. In this study, a high amount of omega-3 fatty acid in a patient’s blood appeared to slow down the rate that a telomere grows shorter. Ramin Farzaneh-Far, MD, the lead author of the study, said that this new effect of omega-3 fatty acids “may be to slow down the biological aging process in patients with coronary heart disease.”

Farzaneh-Far has discovered in earlier studies that the length of the telomeres predicts death and poor outcomes from heart disease. “We found the shorter your telomeres, the greater your risk of death.”

Ravi Dave, MD, a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine, is excited about the potential of the results of this study. He predicts that if this research is supported by future studies, testing telomere length could be an excellent predictor of the risk of heart disease.

The American Heart Association has always been a proponent of omega-3 fatty acid intake. They recommend at least a gram a day for anyone with documented cardiovascular disease, ideally from an oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, or albacore tuna. Learning about healthy nutrition is an essential part of your medical weight loss program.  Even if you do not have heart disease, you should consider eating oily fish at least twice a week.