The Framingham Heart Study, which launched in 1948, is an ongoing, large-scale study on the residents of Framingham, Massachusetts. Over the past 70 years, the project has provided substantial insight into identifying the risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
In February 2018, a report was published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology in which researchers evaluated the blood from 2500 of the offspring of the original Framingham Heart Study participants.
Using the Omega-3 Index, which is the percentage of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) + DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in red blood cells, the researchers measured the omega-3 fatty acid content in each participant’s blood sample.
The Results
The study found that the participants who had the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA) also had significant reductions in all-cause mortality—meaning that the risk of death from any cause was dramatically reduced. (1)
This is not the first report linking omega-3 fatty acids to heart health and longevity. (1,2) This larger study was a follow-up replication study to the previous studies that identified links between omega-3 levels and longevity. (1)
Other studies have found that the greater the omega-3 content in the blood, the lower the rate of telomere breakdown. (2) Telomeres are the end-caps on the chromosomes that shrink with age and stress. The shorter your telomeres, the more exposed to increased cellular aging, degeneration, and disease you become. (5)
Nobel prize-winning science by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn discovered that meditation can actually slow down the degeneration of the telomeres. (3)
Cholesterol Alone Not Linked to Heart Health Risk
Through massive scientific misunderstandings and misleading marketing messages, we have all been conditioned to believe that cholesterol levels alone are a major indicator of cardiovascular concerns.
More and more studies are being published challenging this contention.
In this omega-3 fatty acid study, they did not find this to be true. In fact, they found that it was the higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids (not low cholesterol levels) that indicated and predicted heart health.
Dr. William Harris, the author of the study, said, “This did not turn out to be the case here. When baseline serum cholesterol levels were substituted for the Omega-3 Index in the same multi-variable models, the former (cholesterol) was not significantly associated with any of the tracked outcomes (heart health and all-cause mortality) whereas the latter (omega-3’s) was related to 4 of the 5 (positive) outcomes assessed.”
More studies are needed before the Omega-3 Index is a routine blood screen, along with cholesterol and glucose.
Get 3x the Absorption from your Fish Oil Supplement
Good fats, like the DHA and EPA found in fish oils, are delivered to the cells of the body via the body’s lymphatic channels in the form of triglycerides.
Once there, they support the cell integrity, skin, heart and brain function. They also deliver baseline energy into every cell of the body—without these fats, we become depleted and exhausted.
If the dietary fats or fish oil supplements are not fully broken down by the liver’s bile production, only a small amount of these fish oils actually get broken down into their natural triglyceride form and, therefore, are not absorbed into the bloodstream effectively.
>>> Learn more about the lymphatic system here
Based on this understanding, we found a fish oil manufacturer that has patented a process to pre-digest the fish oils. They are delivered in a very small pearl soft gel that delivers three times the absorption of DHA and EPA in one soft gel.
Our Mini Omega 3x actually triple the amount of DHA and EPA absorbed, because they are ingested in the “pre-digested” triglyceride form—the natural form they are delivered to the bloodstream in. With Mini Omega 3X, none of the DHA and EPA is lost in the digestive process.
Do you have any suggestions for people who can’t tolerate fish oil? I’ve always had a bad reaction to fish oil supplements, which I suspect has to do with my histamine intolerance.
yeah, dissolve a tea spoon of sulfur twice daily, 30 minutes before food intake and get rid of weird diseases!
I still don’t buy into the consumption of PUFAs to any high degree, they are highly susceptible to oxidation in the body whether they are consumed fresh or not. They have more double carbon bonds, which means they hold more oxygen, which means they will rancidify easier. PUFAs are DNA damaging and cancer causing, and the day will come when the main stream science will realize that fact. The longest living cultures, of which many that live in mountain regions, do not have access, nor eat fish and do not have diets high in omega-3 oils. I actually feel better since I woke up and quit consuming fish oils.
what a horde of crap! might as well blabber that eating macs kfcs and your desires is good.
How about vegan Omega 3s?
Walnuts and flax seeds