Fish oil products that are not associated with an increase in bad cholesterol

The Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) has published a new research paper in collaboration with the Cooper Institute on the omega-3s EPA and DHA in fish oil and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

Omega-3 fatty acids have a long history of being “heart healthy,” and are known for lowering blood levels of triglycerides (but usually not cholesterol). Recently, however, questions have been raised about one of the two omega-3 acids “fish oil” – DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) – and its potential to raise LDL-C levels, the “bad” cholesterol. ”.

There is good evidence that people with very high serum triglyceride levels (> 500 mg / dL) treated with high doses of omega-3, i.e., 4 g / day of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA are more common. Seeing an increase in LDL -C, it is unclear whether this is happening in the “real world” with generally healthy people taking fish oil products for cardioprotection.

A recent study from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study (CCLS) and FARI sheds new light on this question.

The researchers used data from 9253 healthy men and women who had at least two immune medical examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas over a 10-year period. These tests routinely included both blood cholesterol testing and Omega-3 Index measurement (i.e., red blood cells (RBC) EPA + DHA levels from OmegaQuant Analytics). Questions regarding the routine use of fish oil products were also collected.

With this information, the researchers then asked 2 questions: 1) whether people who started taking fish oil products between cycles experienced an increase in LDL-C levels, and 2) whether LDL-C levels in people with DHA RBC levels rise between cycles?

It turns out that the answer to both of these questions is “no.” In fact, a 1-unit increase in RBC DHA levels was associated with a slight decrease (1–2 mg / dL) but a decrease. statistically significant in LDL-C. And this analysis took into account concomitant changes in the background use of cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. This small reduction in LDL-C is not clinically relevant, but this study shows that the use of fish oil supplementation in the general population does not adversely affect LDL-C.

The lead author of this study was Dr. William Harris, President of FARI and co-engineer of the Omega-3 Index. In his view, “these new findings from the CCLS clearly show that people who take fish oil products do not have to worry about adversely affecting their cholesterol levels. some have suggested. “

He also noted that these results are also in line with the recent findings of the American Heart Association Consultant on the use of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of high triglyceride levels. This large review found that there is “no strong evidence that DHA – prescribed omega-3 acid agents used alone or in combination with statins elevate LDL-C in patients with high triglyceride levels. 1 “

Commenting on this paper, Dr. Carl Lavie, a cardiologist and Medical Director at the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Program at the John Ochsner Institute of Heart and Mortality in New Orleans, LA, said, “The study is large this from the Cooper Clinic reveals that RBC DHA levels are not associated with higher (indeed lower) LDL cholesterol levels, and omega-3 supplementation was also not associated with elevations in LDL- C. “

Dr. Lavie and his colleagues recently published data from 40 studies in more than 135,000 participants in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings showing that the combined dose of EPA and DHA predicted reductions in main cardiovascular outcomes2. “This new data from the Cooper Institute adds to the cumulative evidence for the safety and efficacy of omega-3 from dietary and pharmaceutical sources, including a combination of EPA and DHA,” he said.