Project Description

Potential Health Benefits of Plant vs. Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acids

We are now enrolling participants for this 12-week study. The most likely candidates for this study are people who are either overweight, have high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, or slightly elevated fasting blood glucose, but are not currently taking cholesterol-lowering or anti-hypertensive medications. If you are interested in participating, click here to take a brief screening survey.

Enrolled participants will receive valuable health information and the results of important laboratory tests (usually not administered by health care physicians) at no cost. Anyone who will consent to be screened for the study will receive free cholesterol and blood pressure results.

A large and growing body of literature has suggested that omega-3 fatty acids (a specific type of dietary polyunsaturated fat) may be protective against cardiovascular disease. There are two main sources of omega-3 fatty acids: marine sources (fatty fish) provide EPA and DHA, and plant food sources (flax, walnuts, canola oil) provide ALA. These are also widely available and popular dietary supplements. Whether plant sources or marine sources confer similar benefits is still controversial. In addition, there is no consensus on the optimal doses from different sources.

Omega-3 fatty acids have shown to lower the levels of blood triglycerides and inflammatory markers. These tend to be elevated in people with insulin resistance, who are likely to especially benefit from taking omega-3 fatty acids. The aim of the Omega-3 Study is to investigate the potential health benefits of EPA/DHA vs. ALA. Each supplement is provided in a low and a high dose.