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Only empty promises? It is said that omega-3 fatty acids protect against myocardial infarction and CO. This is the current badumption. But now a meta-badysis of the Cochrane Foundation raises doubts. Because long-term studies with over 110,000 participants have found no significant protective effect of these unsaturated fats against cardiovascular disease. At least in the case of cardiac arrhythmia, at least the intake of alpha-linolenic acid appears to help, according to the researchers.
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They are found in salmon, mackerel and other oily fish, but also in nuts, rapeseed and other plant seeds: omega-6 fatty acids. 3. These are unsaturated fats that are essential for us and therefore vital.In addition, omega-3 fatty acids are considered true health: if you consume enough, they should prevent the brain from shrinking, macular degeneration slow down and especially: lower blood lipids and blood pressure and thus protect against diseases ardiovascular
Review with 112,000 participants
But what about the protective effect of heart omega-3 fats? Cochrane Foundation researchers have now verified this in a meta-study. They evaluated the results of 27 long-term studies with a total of more than 112,000 participants. They tested the effects of three essential fatty acids Oimega-3: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) found in nuts and seeds, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in oily fish.
If a group of participants had taken additional fish oil capsules or other omega-3 supplements for at least a year, the control group received placebo capsules without these agents. In some studies on the effects of alpha-linolenic acid, a margarine enriched with omega-3 fatty acids or a nut-enriched diet was used instead of capsules
Virtually no positive effect
disappointing result: Ingestion Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have virtually no effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers report. "Healthy" fats have not reduced the number of heart attacks, strokes or other heart problems. With fish oil capsules, participants' risk of death dropped to 8.8% – compared to 9% in the control groups.
Even with plant alpha-linolenic acid, scientists have not found any significant positive effect on heart health. The only exception: this omega-3 fatty acid seems to protect a little from the cardiac arrhythmia, as revealed by metastudy. Increasingly, when participants ingested this herbal omega-3 fatty acid, their risk of cardiac arrhythmia increased from 3.3% to 2.6%.
Refuted Common Belief
"Our review provides good evidence that taking long-chain omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil, EPA or DHA does not promote health of the heart, "said Lee Hooper, head of the University of East Anglia. "The most reliable studies have consistently shown no or almost no effect of these fatty acids on cardiovascular health." This refutes the usual belief in the healthy effects of these fats.
"Our systematic badysis included data from many thousands of people over long periods of time, but despite all this information, we do not see any protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids," says Hooper. In addition, although the participants' blood lipid levels dropped – but because it was also the "good" HDL cholesterol, they apparently neutralized the positive effects.
These results indicate that omega-3 fatty acids are essential and important for our health, however, taking these fats above what is needed does not seem to bring much or very little benefit for health – at least with regard to heart health. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018, doi: 10.1002 / 14651858.CD003177.pub3)
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