12.17.20
Omega-3 fatty acids have a long history of being heralded for heart-healthy attributes, stemming from evidence supporting their role in mitigating a risk of cardiovascular mortality, but concerns about the potential they have to raise LDL cholesterol levels have persisted.
According to a new clinical trial, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, however, supplements containing the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA actually reduced LDL cholesterol in healthy trial participants.
While good evidence shows that people with very high serum triglyceride levels who are treated with high doses equating to 4g/day of EPA and DHA commonly see a rise in LDL cholesterol, a recent study sourcing data from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study and Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) saw that this risk didn’t apply to generally healthy people with normal triglyceride levels.
Investigators utilized data from 9,253 healthy men and women who had at least to preventive medical examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas over a ten-year period. These examinations involved both blood cholesterol testing, and a measurement of blood concentrations of omega-3. Information about fish oil supplements was also collected. The mean age at baseline of this trial was 52.6 years old, with a predominantly male, normolipidemic cohort being assessed.
According to the data, neither the people who started taking fish oil supplements nor people whose blood DHA levels increased between visits saw a significant increase in LDL cholesterol levels throughout the trial. In fact, a 1-unit rise in DHA levels was associated with a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol. The analysis took into account certain variables, including changes in the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. While the researchers said that the decrease in LDL cholesterol levels was not clinically relevant, the study still demonstrated that fish oil supplementation in the general population did not adversely effect blood lipids.
“These new findings from the CCLS clearly show that people who take fish oil supplements need not worry about adversely affecting their cholesterol levels as some have proposed,” Dr. William Harris, co-inventor of the Omega-3 index and lead author of the study, said.
Harris pointed to an American Heart Association advisory on Omega-3s which corroborated the findings of this study.
Their review found that there is “no strong evidence that DHA-containing prescription omega-3 fatty acid agents used alone or in combination with statins raise LDL-C in patients with high triglyceride levels.”
“These findings may serve to reassure individuals who, in adopting a more heart-healthy lifestyle, want to increase their omega-3 fatty acid intake,” the authors of the study concluded.
According to a new clinical trial, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, however, supplements containing the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA actually reduced LDL cholesterol in healthy trial participants.
While good evidence shows that people with very high serum triglyceride levels who are treated with high doses equating to 4g/day of EPA and DHA commonly see a rise in LDL cholesterol, a recent study sourcing data from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study and Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) saw that this risk didn’t apply to generally healthy people with normal triglyceride levels.
Investigators utilized data from 9,253 healthy men and women who had at least to preventive medical examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas over a ten-year period. These examinations involved both blood cholesterol testing, and a measurement of blood concentrations of omega-3. Information about fish oil supplements was also collected. The mean age at baseline of this trial was 52.6 years old, with a predominantly male, normolipidemic cohort being assessed.
According to the data, neither the people who started taking fish oil supplements nor people whose blood DHA levels increased between visits saw a significant increase in LDL cholesterol levels throughout the trial. In fact, a 1-unit rise in DHA levels was associated with a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol. The analysis took into account certain variables, including changes in the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. While the researchers said that the decrease in LDL cholesterol levels was not clinically relevant, the study still demonstrated that fish oil supplementation in the general population did not adversely effect blood lipids.
“These new findings from the CCLS clearly show that people who take fish oil supplements need not worry about adversely affecting their cholesterol levels as some have proposed,” Dr. William Harris, co-inventor of the Omega-3 index and lead author of the study, said.
Harris pointed to an American Heart Association advisory on Omega-3s which corroborated the findings of this study.
Their review found that there is “no strong evidence that DHA-containing prescription omega-3 fatty acid agents used alone or in combination with statins raise LDL-C in patients with high triglyceride levels.”
“These findings may serve to reassure individuals who, in adopting a more heart-healthy lifestyle, want to increase their omega-3 fatty acid intake,” the authors of the study concluded.
