Some good info on fish oil and blood pressure ....
The Benefit of O m e g a 3 From
Fish Oil for Blood Pressure
The Benefit of O m e g a 3 from Fish Oil: One Very Promising Solution
Let’s face it. Blood pressure is a huge problem. We already know that. But could the benefit of o m e ga 3 from fish oil be a solution?
Statistics for the U.S. reveal that 25% of the American population has what the American Heart Association classifies as high blood pressure or hypertension. And, unfortunately, hypertension is becoming a bigger problem among youth.
The question is not, does high blood pressure present a problem? The question is…
What should we do about it?
We could give several answers to that question, such as…
•Take a variety of anti-hypertensive medications.
•Change your diet.
•Get more exercise.
You do know the first choice mentioned should be our last resort… don’t you?
But this page is not about all the possible solutions to high blood pressure. Instead it is about some of the studies that support the idea that...
One benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil is lowering blood pressure.
These studies indicate that fishoils (and especially o m e g a-3) can have a significantly positive affect on your hypertension.
If given a choice, should we rely on anti-hypertensive drugs to keep our blood pressure in check? Or should we promote more natural solutions?
The following studies present one possible answer to that question.
The Benefit of O m e g a 3 from Fish Oil on Blood Pressure
One study entitled, "O m e g a-3: Effects On Blood Pressure in Subjects At Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease" was conducted by paticipants of the Department of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Royal Perth Hospital.
The study was conducted as follows:
120 men with moderate cardiovascular risk were randomly allocated to several groups having either a high fat diet or a low fat diet.
The five high-fat groups were assigned to…
•Take 6 or 12 fish-oil capsules daily, or
•Eat fish, or
•Have a combination of fish oil and fish, or
•Take placebo capsules
The two low-fat groups took either fish or placebo capsules.
Subjects were seen at regular intervals during the baseline and dietary intervention periods for measurement of…
•weight
•blood pressure
•heart rate
•dietary compliance
•urinary electrolyte excretion
•platelet phospholipid fatty acids
•blood glucose
•insulin concentration
One noticeable benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil and fish consumption is that there was…
… a greater fall in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures in participants eating fish or taking fish oil, particularly in the low-fat groups, compared with control subjects.
Read more detail about the benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil in this study by clicking here.
O m e g a-3 Fatty Acids Improve Blood Pressure Control In Hypertensive Heart Transplant Recipients
The benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil for hypertension may also have significant application for patients who have had a heart transplant. Hypertension is one complication that often accompanies heart transplant surgery.
The following study was conducted to test the usefulness of o m e g a-3 supplementation in transplant patients.
Forty-five transplant recipients were studied for up to 12 years. All patients suffered from hypertension. Each patient was either given 3-4 grams of o m e g a-3 daily, or a placebo.
On average, patients in the placebo group experienced…
•an increase in systolic blood pressure of 8 mmHg
•a lesser increase in diastolic blood pressure of 3 mmHg
•14% increase in systemic vascular resistance
No such blood pressure increase was observed in the *****-3 group. Neither was there any increase in systemic vascular resistance.
The blood pressure stabilizing effects observed in the o m e g a-3 group were credited to the increase of EPA and DHA (o m e g a-3 fatty acids) in the blood.
The benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil is clearly seen in the following remarks from the study…
Treatment with o m e g a-3 fatty acids may reduce the long-term continuous rise in blood pressure after heart transplantation and may offer a direct or indirect renoprotective effect, making these fatty acids a potentially attractive treatment for post-transplant hypertension.
You can read the actual abstract of the study by clicking here.
One more study should suffice to make the point.
Does Fish Oil Supplementation Reduce Blood Pressure?
Seveal researchers at the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine got together to answer the above question.
To do so they performed an analysis of 17 controlled clinical trials of o m e g a-3 supplementation. Here are the results.
In the 11 trials that enrolled individuals with normal blood pressure O m e g a -3 supplementation led to significant reductions of systolic and diastolic BP.
In the 6 studies that enrolled patients with untreated hypertention significant reductions of systolic and diastolic BP were also observed.
To quote the study directly…
Our analyses indicate that diet supplementation with a relatively high dose of o m e g a-3 PUFA, generally more than 3 g/d, can lead to clinically relevant BP reductions in individuals with untreated hypertension.
To read more about the benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil in this study click here.
Based on these studies, and others like them, it is clear that there is a significant benefit of o m e g a 3 from fish oil in relation to blood pressure. In short we can add anti-hypertensive properties to the long list of other O m e g a -3 qualities. If you are taking fish oil supplements for some other heart health reason your blood pressure may be benefiting as well.
If you are not taking them, and your blood pressure is high, maybe you should start.
Merc.
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Originally Posted by hybrid83
