Recovering heart attacks patients are encouraged to get high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Why? They tend to live longer. This prompted the Journal of the American Medical Association to do a study on the correlation between aging and omega-3s because the fatty acids are shown to slow the biological aging process.
Humans age at the rate of the shortening of telomeres, which are structures at the end of a chromosome. Scientists believe that as the telomeres shorten over time, the eventual result is cell death. Therefore, the shorter the telomeres, the greater risk of death. When omega-3s get involved, the telomeres lengthen, elongating life. Are omega-3s the long lost fountain of youth?
The study was conducted on 608 heart disease patients who had suffered a coronary blocking or heart attack. Over the follow-up period, "Patients with the lowest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids exhibited a rate of telomere shortening 2.6 times faster than patients with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids," Farzaneh-Far tells WebMD.
Whether meals of fatty fish or taking fish-oil supplements is the best way to ingest omega-3s is unclear because flaxseed plants are another non-animal source of this anti-aging phenomenon. "Flax meal, by itself, is an important part of lowering LDL, or bad cholesterol," Dr. John LaPuma of Santa Barbara, Calif., a physician and nutrition expert states.
Fish has been known to be a great source of protein, have less saturated fats and fewer calories. However, fish can also be contaminated with mercury, lead, antibiotics, PCB's and food dyes, etc. Dr. LaPuma says, "The best data are in fish rather than supplements, but the data for supplements are better than they were five years ago."
Researchers are now looking to conduct the study with healthy adults, but the anti-aging benefits of omega-3s are already highly obvious in heart patients.
Written by Amy Munday
HULIQ.com
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