Fish oil may be true "elixir of youth"

[Al-khiyal]

Fish oil may be true "elixir of youth" - research

LONDON, January 19, 2010 (KUNA) -- Fish oil may be the true "elixir of youth" according to new evidence of its effect on biological ageing, it was revealed Tuesday. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil extend the genetic "fuse" that determines the lifespan of cells, say U.S. scientists in the new research which was highlighted by the UK media. The discovery, made in heart disease patients, may explain many of the claimed health benefits of omega-3. Taking fish oil supplements is said to protect against heart disease, improve survival after a heart attack, reduce mental decline in old age, and help prevent age-related changes in the eye that can lead to blindness. Research has also shown that rodents live a third longer when given a diet enriched with fish-derived omega-3. Although omega-3 fatty acids have powerful anti-inflammatory properties and lower levels of some blood fats, the mechanisms behind these effects are poorly understood. The new research suggests that omega-3 has a direct effect on biological ageing by slowing down the rate at which protective caps on the ends of chromosomes shorten. The caps, called telomeres, are made from copied strands of DNA and have a similar function to bookends or the plastic ends of shoelaces. They prevent the ends of chromosomes - the "packages" of DNA in the cell nucleus - becoming damaged and keep the DNA organised and contained. Each time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter until a critical point is reached. DNA then becomes damaged, and the cell stops dividing, and may die. In this way, the telomere acts like a biological fuse. However, the rate at which the fuse "burns" can vary both between individual people and individual cells. This is believed to have an impact on age-related diseases. US scientists conducting the new research looked at the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on telomere shortening in 608 hospital out-patients with heart disease.

[Al-khiyal]

Fish body oils may delay aging

SAN FRANCISCO, January 20, 2010 (UPI) -- Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish body oils, may protect against cellular aging in people with heart disease, U.S. researchers suggest. Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether omega-3 fatty acid blood levels were associated with changes in leukocyte - a type of blood cell telomere length - in a study of 608 outpatients with stable coronary artery disease. Telomeres are a structure at the end of a chromosome involved in the replication and stability of the chromosome. Genetic factors and environmental stressors can shorten the length of the telomere and shorter telomeres cold shorten life. The researchers measured leukocyte telomere length at the beginning of the study and again after five years of follow-up as well as levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that individuals in the lowest quartile of omega-3 experienced the most rapid rate of telomere shortening, whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the slowest rate of telomere shortening. "Levels of omega-3 fatty acids were associated with less telomere shortening before and after sequential adjustment for established risk factors and potential confounders."

[Al-khiyal]

Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to longevity

January 20, 2010 -- Omega-3 fatty acids, from fish like salmon and other sources, have for years been shown to help lower levels of heart disease and cardiac death. New research suggests the fatty acids may possess an even more fundamental benefit: Heart patients with high omega-3 intake had relatively longer "telomeres," which are stretches of DNA whose length correlates with longevity. Cardiologists from the University of California, San Francisco, and other hospitals measured telomere length over five years in 608 patients who had coronary-artery blockage and previous heart attacks. Researchers found that people with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their white blood cells experienced significantly less shortening of telomeres over five years, as compared with patients with lower omega-3 levels. "What we're demonstrating is a potentially new link between omega-3 fatty acids and the aging process," said Ramin Farzaneh-Far, a clinical cardiologist and assistant medical professor at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital who is the lead author of the research.

Published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, the study focused only on "marine" omega-3 found in fish, not the type found in vegetable sources like flaxseed, walnuts, canola oil or soybean oil. The study didn't distinguish between meals of fatty fish and fish-oil supplements — leaving open the question of whether it's better for people to eat more fish, to eat plants such as flaxseed or just to take omega-3 supplements. The American Heart Association, in a 2002 scientific statement in the journal Circulation, concluded that consuming omega-3 fatty acids in fish or supplements "significantly reduces subsequent cardiac and all-cause mortality." The fish most often cited are salmon, herring and sardines.

John LaPuma, a Santa Barbara, California, physician and nutrition expert, says, "The best data are in fish rather than supplements, but the data for supplements are better than they were five years ago." There is "very little good evidence for the omega-3s from flax and walnuts," said Dr. LaPuma, author of ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine. But these foods have other benefits, he said. For instance, "flax meal, by itself, is an important part of lowering LDL," or bad cholesterol, Dr. LaPuma said.

Researchers in the new study said they observed "baseline levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids were associated with decelerated telomere attrition over 5 years." Additionally, Dr. Farzaneh-Far said, "in multiple studies, short telomere length [in white blood cells] has been shown to predict death and cardiovascular events and heart failure." He cautioned that "it's an open question as to whether telomere length is causal or just a marker" of cell death. But he referred to telomere shortening as "a key part of cellular aging." "To definitively address the question of whether omega-3 fatty acids inhibit cellular aging, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial would be necessary," the authors wrote. Dr. Farzaneh-Far suggested that such research should be done in healthy adults because the evidence already is powerful on behalf of advantages of these fatty acids in heart patients.