AHA and Omega-3 Heart Health

This is a MUST read post from the Isotonix blog regarding the AHA.

AHA: Omega-3s help manage triglycerides, heart health
Author: James Moffat | Leave a comment
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When talking about cardiovascular disease, the first word that comes to mind for many people is cholesterol. While cholesterol levels do play an integral role in cardiovascular health, another less talked-about word – albeit just as important – is triglycerides.

But the American Heart Association (AHA), as well as health professionals and researchers throughout the world, is well aware of the risk elevated triglycerides can have on cardiovascular disease. And, in a first for the organization, the AHA is letting its position on the matter be known.


Just this week, in its journal Circulation, the AHA released a statement on triglyceride management, including the increased intake of omega-3 EPA and DHA derived solely from fish. According to the statement:

A long-standing association exists between elevated triglyceride levels and cardiovascular disease. … [T]riglyceride levels appear to provide unique information as a biomarker of risk, especially when combined with low HDL-C and elevated LDL-C.

What are Triglycerides?

According to the AHA, “triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body.” They’re stored in fat cells until the body needs them to be converted into energy.

Excess levels of triglycerides can cause major problems, and have been associated with coronary artery disease, diabetes and other illnesses. The AHA reports that “more than 31% of the U.S. population has borderline high triglyceride levels.”

While genetics can play a role in increased triglyceride levels, the main culprit is the prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. These lifestyle factors – combined with increased processed and fatty foods in many Americans’ modern diets – increase the risk of elevated triglyceride levels, which in turn increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

According to the AHA, improving diet, increasing fitness levels and “consuming marine-derived omega-3” can lower triglyceride levels by as much as 50%.

Omega-3s and Triglycerides

The latest statement from the AHA not only reaffirms the organization’s previous statements regarding the amount of omega-3 fish oils (EPA and DHA, specifically) needed to remain heart healthy, but it also outlines the source of omega-3s; specifically, fish. While the statement mentions nuts, flaxseed and other sources of omega-3s, it discounts their usefulness in lowering triglyceride levels:

[N]on–marine-based polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have not demonstrated consistent reductions in triglycerides; this may reflect very low conversion rates of alpha-linolenic acid and its intermediary, stearidonic acid, to the active triglyceride-lowering omega-3 compounds EPA and DHA. Therefore, if omega-3 PUFAs are used for triglyceride lowering, they should be exclusively marine-derived EPA and/or DHA.

To take the AHA’s statement further, it’s also important to know what types of fish contribute to an omega-3 product. For example, smaller fish – specifically anchovies and sardines – contain higher percentages of EPA and DHA than larger fish, because they feed on algae that synthesize these omega-3 fatty acids. These types of fish also have a shorter lifespan and are lower in the food chain, which means they are less prone to accumulating environmental toxins than other species.

In addition to the recent AHA news, published research has shown omega-3 fish oil to be beneficial for healthy cognitive and cardiac functioning. Studies have shown that daily intake of fish oil can rapidly raise the levels of EPA and DHA in cardiac tissue. This is important because both EPA and DHA have been proven to help maintain normal plasma triglycerides. In addition, DHA has been shown to help maintain blood pressure and blood viscosity.

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