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| | | From: Rene (Original Message) | Sent: 1/2/2008 7:02 PM |
More support for omega-3 and weight management
By Stephen Daniells
12/21/2007- As we head into the festive season, and the inevitable over-indulgence, researchers from Japan have reported that omega-3-rich fish oil could reduce body weight gain by boosting fat metabolism - in mice at least.
Laboratory mice fed a high fat diet and supplemented with eight per cent fish oil gained less weight and metabolised more fat than their murine counterparts not receiving the supplement.
The research is published in this month's Journal of Nutrition.
The study adds to an ever-growing list of potential health benefits from the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, identified as one of the super-nutrients taking the food and supplements industry by storm.
Much of its healthy reputation that is seeping into consumer consciousness is based largely on evidence that it can aid cognitive function, may help protect the heart against cardiovascular disease, and could reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Lead author Takuya Mori and co-workers from the Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation, Tochigi, fed obesity-prone C57BL/6J mice the diet with 30 per cent of calories from fat for five months, with half the animals supplemented with fish oil (eight per cent).
At the end of the study, the researchers reported that the fish oil-supplemented group exhibited increased levels of lipid metabolism-related genes, including carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a, cytochrome P450 4A10, and malic enzyme.
Moreover, fish oil ingestion boosted the activity of enzymes related to metabolism. Specifically, enzymes related to fatty acid beta-oxidation, omega-oxidation, and malic were 1.2-, 1.6-, and 1.7-fold higher in the fish oil-supplemented diet, compared to those only receiving the high fat diet.
"These findings suggest that an up-regulation of intestinal lipid metabolism is associated with the anti-obesity effect of FO," wrote the researchers.
Back in May, Australian researchers reported that a combination of fish oil supplements and exercise led to reductions in fat mass by about 1.5 kg, as well as improving heart health markers (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, pp. 1267-1274)
The researchers, from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, studied 75 overweight adults (age range 25-65). They reported that subjects who received daily fish oil supplements (260 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 60 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)) exhibitred decreased blood triacylglycerols levels (14 per cent) and increased plasma HDL cholesterol levels (10 per cent) relative to baseline amounts.
Moreover, researchers from the University of Georgia reported in November 2006 that the omega-3 fatty acid DHA could affect adoptosis (programmed cell death) and significantly decrease the accumulation of fat in the preadipocytes in a dose-dependent manner and the development (differentiation) of mature adipocytes in culture (Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136, pp. 2965-2969).
Source: Journal of Nutrition
December 2007, Volume 137, Pages 2629-2634
"Dietary Fish Oil Upregulates Intestinal Lipid Metabolism and Reduces Body Weight Gain in C57BL/6J Mice"
Authors: Takuya Mori, H. Kondo, T. Hase, I. Tokimitsu, T. Murase From: [http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=82244&m=1NIU102&c=eesdyjwxcwxhnwg] |
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| | | From: Rene | Sent: 1/25/2008 6:12 PM |
Late-onset Alzheimer's slowed by DHA omega-3 By Stephen Daniells
1/25/2008- Supplements of the omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can reduce levels an enzyme linked to Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Using both mice and cultured human cells the UCLA researchers report that DHA could increase the production of LR11, a protein key to the clearance of enzymes in the brain that make the beta amyloid plaques that are thought to cause Alzheimer's disease.
"In this study, we report that DHA significantly increases LR11 in multiple systems, including primary rat neurons, aged non-Tg mice and an aged DHA-depleted APPsw AD mouse model. DHA also increased LR11 in a human neuronal line," wrote lead author Qiu-Lan Ma in the The Journal of Neuroscience.
The research adds to a growing body of science linking intake of the omega-3 fatty acids, mainly DHA, to improved cognitive function and slower cognitive decline.
Indeed, previous studies have reported that omega-3 fatty acids may slow mental decline in people with very mild Alzheimer's disease (Archives of Neurology, Vol. 63, pp. 1402-1408 and pp. 1545-1550).
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (�?81 bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15 bn (�?22 bn).
The new study suggests that DHA may be most useful for early intervention and prevention of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), the most common form of the disease that occurs later in life and has no obvious family inheritance pattern.
Ma and co-workers report that DHA induced increases in LR11 in all the systems studied, as well as from an in vivo model of type-2 diabetes, another AD risk factor.
"Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta-amyloid production and may be a significant genetic cause of LOAD, our results indicate that DHA increases in [LR11] levels may play an important role in preventing LOAD," concluded the authors.
The data was welcomed by Dr. Edward Nelson, vice president of medical research for Martek, who provided the vegetarian DHA used in the study.
"This study adds to the evidence supporting the important brain health benefits provided by an enhanced DHA status, and there are a number of ongoing studies investigating the role of DHA in reducing the risk for neurological diseases like Alzheimer's," said Nelson.
Study in this area is ongoing with a National Institutes of Health- funded multi-million dollar clinical study on DHA in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Results from this NIH clinical study will be available in 2010.
The new results build on an earlier pre-clinical study using genetically modified mice, reported to be the first study to show that DHA may slow the accumulation of a protein, tau, that leads to the development of neurofibrillary tangles, one of two signature brain injuries of Alzheimer's disease (Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 27, No. 16).
Source: The Journal of Neuroscience
26 December 2007, Volume 27, Issue 52, Pages 14299-14307, doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3593-07.2007
"Omega-3 Fatty Acid Docosahexaenoic Acid Increases SorLA/LR11, a Sorting Protein with Reduced Expression in Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (AD): Relevance to AD Prevention"
Authors: Qiu-Lan Ma, B. Teter, O.J. Ubeda, T. Morihara, D. Dhoot, M.D. Nyby, M.L. Tuck, S.A. Frautschy, G.M. Cole [http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com] |
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Reply
| | | From: Rene | Sent: 2/20/2008 4:07 PM |
| Maternal omega-3 consumption boosts offspring's coordination
By Stephen Daniells 12/20/2007- Increased intake of the omega-3 DHA during pregnancy could produce improved motor function in the offspring in later life, suggests a new study from the Netherlands.
Over 300 children were followed for seven years, with the results showing a positive effect on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA: 22:6n-3) levels in the umbilical blood during pregnancy and nervous system health in the children, states the study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Our results suggest that prenatal DHA availability, which can be influenced by maternal dietary DHA intake during pregnancy, can have an effect on quality of movement in later life," wrote lead author Esther Bakker from the Netherlands Open University.
The research adds to our understanding of how omega-3 play an important role in the development of the baby in utero, with a wealth of other studies reporting that a diet rich in the DHA omega-3 fatty acid (docosahexaenoic acid) during pregnancy and breastfeeding is associated with a healthy pregnancies as well as the mental and visual development of infants.
Mothers are also aid to be less at risk of post partum depression or mood change, and to recover more quickly after pregnancy, if they consume enough of the fatty acid.
Only recently omega-3 pioneer Dr. Jorn Dyerberg told NutraIngredients.com in an exclusive interview that he expected omega-3 recommendations to become broader and broader, including supplements during pregnancy and early childhood. This is because of the benefits reported for mental development, and there are studies that show omega-3 supplementation can influence breast milk composition and subsequently a child's brain, he said.
The new results support the growing body of science indicating the benefits of an omega-3-rich maternal diet and improved health of the offspring.
Bakker, in collaboration with researchers from the University Hospital Maastricht, obtained umbilical blood samples to measure DHA levels, and related this to the motor function of the offspring after seven years, using the Maastricht Motor Test (MMT).
They report a positive relationship between DHA concentrations and the MMT total and quality score, even after adjusting the results corrected for the covariables gender, cognitive performance, gestational age and age at measurement
However, no relationship between DHA concentrations and quantitative movement scores was reported by the researchers.
The study supports an earlier report from Australia involving 98 pregnant women given fish oil supplements (1.1 g of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 2.2 g of DHA) from 20 weeks of pregnancy until the birth of their babies (Archives of Disease in Childhood (Fetal and Neonatal Edition), doi: 10.1136/adc.2006.099085).
While no significant differences were observed in overall language skills and growth between the two groups of children, the researchers report that the children whose mothers had taken fish oil supplements had higher scores for receptive language (comprehension), average phrase length, and vocabulary.
They also report that high levels of omega-3 fatty acid in cord blood were strongly associated with good hand-eye coordination.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to a wide-range of health benefits, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and certain cancers, good development of a baby during pregnancy, joint health, and improved behaviour and mood.
According to Frost and Sullivan, the European omega-3 market was worth around �?60m (£108m) in 2004, and is expected to grow at rates of 8 per cent on average to 2010.
Despite such impressive growth rates, a recent survey by the Washington, DC-based Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) reported that only 41 per cent of mothers and expectant mothers know they should be consuming omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy. Questions were put to the women regarding the "Big 3" of pregnancy nutrition: folic acid, calcium with vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
The finding that women are less aware of the need for omega-3, compared with other nutrients for healthy mothers and babies, implying formulators' omega-3 message has still not saturated the prenatal market.
Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, 19 December 2007; doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602971
"Relationship between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids at birth and motor function at 7 years of age"
Authors: E.C. Bakker, G. Hornstra, C.E. Blanco and J.S.H. Vles from: [http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=82216&m=1NIUD20&c=eesdyjwxcwxhnwg] |
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