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Increasing omega-3 intake does not benefit cardiovascular health, show the results of a recent Cochrane review[1]
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The research included 79 randomised controlled trials lasting at least 12 months, most of which involved supplementation with long-chain omega-3, while others involved dietary advice to increase fatty acid intake. In total, the data included 112,059 participants.
A meta-analysis found little or no effect of increasing long-chain omega-3 intake on death from all causes, cardiovascular deaths, cardiovascular events, coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths, stroke or arrhythmia. There was low-quality evidence that eating alpha-linolenic acid-rich (plant-based) foods may slightly reduce cardiovascular events, CHD deaths and arrhythmia.
Lead author Lee Hooper, a reader in research synthesis, nutrition and hydration at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, said: “We can be confident in the findings of this review, which go against the popular belief that long-chain omega 3 supplements protect the heart.
“This large systematic review included information from many thousands of people over long periods; despite all this information, we don’t see protective effects.”
References
[1] Abdelhamid A, Brown T, Brainard J et al. Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (Review). Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018 Jul 18;7:CD012345. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003177.pub3
