Fish oil supplements are a multi-billion dollar market, being one of the more popular supplements, around 2 out of every 25 people are believed to be taking some form of omega-3 supplement.
The results from this study of over 441,000 participants published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that this simple supplement may help you to override your genetic programming; finding that omega-3 supplements help to reduce the genetic risk of high total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride levels.
“Recent advances in genetic studies have allowed us to predict someone’s genetic risk of high cholesterol,” explains Yitang Sun, lead author and recent doctoral graduate from UGA’s Department of Genetics, in a statement. “But the current prediction has room for improvement because it does not consider individual differences in lifestyles, such as taking fish oil supplements.”
Fish oil helps to counter effect family history
High cholesterol can be a bad thing, arteries begin to harden, and the risk of stroke and heart attack increases. While it is no secret that living a healthy lifestyle can help prevent high cholesterol, more than 86 million (1 in 4) American adults have high cholesterol. To add to this, millions more are at risk of developing high cholesterol due to a variety of factors, including ones they can’t control such as genetics.
“Our study shows that considering lifestyles will improve genetic prediction,” said Kaixiong Ye, corresponding author of the study and an assistant professor of genetics in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Our findings also support that fish oil supplements may counteract the genetic predisposition to high cholesterol.”
According to the researchers, the effects of fish oil are even beneficial in increasing the levels of HDL cholesterol, which is often referred to as the so-called “good cholesterol”.
“Taking fish oil is associated with a shift toward a healthy lipid profile,” said Kaixiong Ye.
More research is needed
Although more research is required, the findings offer hope to those who didn’t win the genetic lottery and are struggling with their cholesterol levels. In the meantime, while this study focused on fish oil supplements, eating a healthy balanced diet that includes fatty fish is generally considered to be heart-friendly. However, if consuming fish would have the same effects as seen in this study is unclear.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Content may be edited for style and length.
References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916524006051?via%3Dihub
https://news.uga.edu/fish-oil-supplements-fight-risk-of-high-cholesterol/
https://worldhealth.net/news/are-fish-oil-supplements-good-idea-it-complicated/
