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Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids. The combination could be potentially dangerous for some patients with heart disease, arthritis, asthma and other allergic and auto-immune diseases that are particularly vulnerable to an “exaggerated inflammatory response.” Newswise — Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School...

Eating Fish And Foods With Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked To Lower Risk Of Age-related Eye Disease"Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss among elderly people," they write as background information in the article. New treatments for AMD are potentially risky and treat only certain forms of the disease. "Thus, primary prevention of AMD by modifying risk factors (e.g., cigarette smoking) remains an important public health strategy." Elaine W-T. Chong, M.B.B.S., of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of studies published before May 2007 evaluating the fish consumption and overall omega-3...

Omega-3 Intake During Last Months Of Pregnancy Boosts An Infant's Cognitive And Motor Development ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2008) — A study supervised by Université Laval researchers Gina Muckle and Éric Dewailly reveals that omega-3 intake during the last months of pregnancy boosts an infant's sensory, cognitive, and motor development. The details of this finding are published in a recent edition of the Journal of Pediatrics. To come to this conclusion, researchers first measured docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration--a type of omega-3 fatty acid involved in the development of neurons and retinas--in the umbilical cord blood of 109 infants. "DHA concentration in...

Cardiovascular Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reviewed ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2008) — Thousands of research studies have documented how the oils known as omega-3 fatty acids can benefit the cardiovascular system, particularly among people diagnosed with coronary artery disease. The incredible volume of research on this topic creates difficulty for many physicians and patients to stay current with findings and recommendations related to these oils. In the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, contributors briefly summarize current scientific data on omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular health, focusing on who benefits most from their protective effects, recommended guidelines for administration and...

It's good news that we are living longer, but bad news that the longer we live, the better our odds of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Many Alzheimer's researchers have long touted fish oil, by pill or diet, as an accessible and inexpensive "weapon" that may delay or prevent this debilitating disease. Now, UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil is indeed a deterrent against Alzheimer's, and they have identified the reasons why. Greg Cole, professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and associate director of UCLA's Alzheimer Disease Research Center, and his colleagues...

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Protect Against Parkinson's, Study Says ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2007) — Omega-3 fatty acids protect the brain against Parkinson's disease, according to a study by Université Laval researchers. This study, supervised by Frederic Calon and Francesca Cicchetti, is the first to demonstrate the protective effect of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids against Parkinson's. Parkinson's disease is caused by the progressive death of the neurons responsible for producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter closely linked with movement control. The disease is usually diagnosed when 50 to 80% of these neurons are already dead, and there is currently no medication...

Supermarkets 'mislead with omega 3 claims' By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 2:13am BST 25/10/2007 Supermarkets and food companies are misleading customers by making baffling health claims about omega 3, an organisation has claimed. Omega 3 is found naturally in oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel The fatty acid has become increasingly popular in recent years after some studies suggested that it can help reduce the risk of heart disease. However, parts of the food industry have been accused by the consumer group Which?of "riding the money-making omega 3 wave". A survey of 2,405 of their members...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A diet rich in fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids helped cut the risk that children with a family history of diabetes would develop the disease, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "It is exciting because it suggests we might be able to develop nutritional interventions to prevent diabetes."Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes in children. It occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.No one knows exactly what triggers...

Binge-drinking 'causes drop in omega-3 levels' By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent Last Updated: 2:07am BST 25/07/2007 Binge-drinking reduces levels of essential fatty acids which play crucial roles in concentration and memory, scientists have found. Research shows that not only do heavy drinkers need to consume more omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs), but that their diets contain lower amounts of the important nutrients. Omega-3 is broken down into the fatty acids which form the structure of brain cell membranes and carry electrical signals between brain cells. Oily fish such as mackerel are a good source of omega-3, which has been shown...

A diet rich in a type of omega-3 fatty acid can help prevent Alzheimer's disease, and a newly discovered molecule might block enzymes in the brain that lead to plaque formations -- a hallmark of the progressive brain disorder -- two new studies suggest. In one of those studies, at the University of California, Irvine, scientists used genetically engineered mice and it is reportedly the first to show that an omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA for short, can slow the accumulation of tau, a protein that leads to plaque and tangles in brain tissue seen in...

Jersey scientists find a possible key to autism A team of New Jersey scientists believes it has found ways to detect biological risk factors for autism through simple urine and blood tests, a discovery that could lead to groundbreaking medical treatment for the neurological disorder. The team of 16 scientists, mostly drawn from the campuses of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, say their findings, the result of more than two years of study on how the body breaks down fatty acids, could be a breakthrough for what is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in the nation, with...

ROME — Every patient in the cardiac care unit at the San Filippo Neri Hospital who survives a heart attack goes home with a prescription for purified fish oil, or omega-3 fatty acids. “It is clearly recommended in international guidelines,” said Dr. Massimo Santini, the hospital’s chief of cardiology, who added that it would be considered tantamount to malpractice in Italy to omit the drug. In a large number of studies, prescription fish oil has been shown to improve survival after heart attacks and to reduce fatal heart rhythms. The American College of Cardiology recently strengthened its position on the...

UCLA study shows altering fatty acid levels in diet may reduce prostate cancer growth rate UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels. Published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, this initial animal-model study is one of the first to show the impact of diet on lowering an inflammatory response known to promote prostate cancer tumor progression and could lead to new treatment approaches....

Immortality is within our grasp . . . In Fantastic Voyage, high-tech visionary Ray Kurzweil teams up with life-extension expert Terry Grossman, M.D., to consider the awesome benefits to human health and longevity promised by the leading edge of medical science--and what you can do today to take full advantage of these startling advances. Citing extensive research findings that sound as radical as the most speculative science fiction, Kurzweil and Grossman offer a program designed to slow aging and disease processes to such a degree that you should be in good health and good spirits when the more extreme...

Claims that oily fish is good for people's health are not backed by strong evidence, experts have said.Researchers studied the effects of omega 3 fats on death rates, heart disease and cancer and found there was no evidence of a "clear benefit" of omega 3 fats on health. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, scientists were keen to point out that the importance of omega 3's should not be ruled out. But they warned that the evidence about potential benefits should be regularly reviewed. Omega 3 fats are found in oily fish such as mackerel and fresh...

CHICAGO - Fish oil, seen as beneficial for reducing heart disease risks, probably doesn't help prevent cancer, according to a review of studies involving more than 700,000 patients. Researchers examined data from 38 studies that tracked patients for up to 30 years, and said most showed there is no cancer protection from omega-3 fatty acids. Although a few studies found some risk reduction for cancers of the breast, prostate and lung, those studies were relatively small and not definitive, said Dr. Catherine MacLean, the lead author and a researcher at the Rand Corp. and Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare...

Fish diet 'brings a brighter baby' By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 20/01/2006) Pregnant women who eat more fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, tend to have brighter, more sociable children, claim researchers. The amount of omega-3 helps to determine the child's intelligence, fine motor skills - the ability to manipulate small objects and hand and eye co-ordination - and the propensity to anti-social behaviour, says a study by Dr Joseph Hibbeln, of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.Omega-3 is found in oily fish like salmon The findings, which were presented to a meeting in London this week, show...

The nude mouse tale: Omega-3 fats save the life of a terminal cancer patient Category: Cancer/Oncology News Article Date: 11 Nov 2005 Ron Pardini is not a medical doctor. Yet he is seen as a hero by his cancer-stricken neighbor, "D.H." Pardini helped the 78-year-old after D.H. was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. "In 2000 he was told by his doctor he had only a few months to live," said Pardini, a professor of biochemistry and associate director of the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Nevada, Reno. "But five years later, he is still alive, and has...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Eating fish at least once a week slows the toll aging takes on the brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia, a pair of studies concluded on Monday. Omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have been shown to boost brain functioning as well as cutting the risk of stroke, and eating fish regularly appears to protect the brain as people age, the six-year study of Chicago residents said. "The rate of (mental) decline was reduced by 10 percent to 13 percent per year among persons who consumed one or more fish meals per week...

A combination of omega-3 fatty acids, found naturally in oily fish, and the anesthetic propofol appears effective in fighting breast cancer and may provide the basis for the development of new drugs to treat the disease, researchers report. In laboratory tests, this combination reduced the ability of breast cancer cells to turn into malignant tumors -- inhibiting cancer cell migration by 50 percent and greatly reducing their metastatic activity, the study said. Researchers at the Methodist Research Institute and Indiana University in Indianapolis studied the effects on breast cancer cells of two omega-3 fatty acids - docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and...