If you aren’t taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement, you’re going to want to after reading this!
A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that omega-3 fish oils can fight damage caused by polluted air. Researchers from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute for Environmental Health Scientists gave 29 healthy, middle-aged adults either omega-3 fish oil supplements or a placebo of olive oil. After just four weeks of supplementation, the participants were placed in enclosed chambers for two hours while being exposed to pollution levels “similar to those you might be exposed to in an average urban environment”. They tested their blood before and after the exposure.
The results? The people on the fish oil supplements saw much lower cardiac damage and distress than those who took the placebo. Moreover, although both groups had similar LDL or “bad” cholesterol and lipid levels before exposure, those levels spiked in the placebo olive oil group and remained steady in the fish oil group.
According to Rodale, the effects of air pollution on heart health have become a very serious threat. Most environmental cardiologists used to believe that the best way to ward of air-pollution-induced heart problems was to eat healthfully, not smoke, and exercise; in other words, just ward off heart disease in general. But this study suggests that just adding a fish oil supplement will make a big impact on air pollution’s effect on our heart health, and it’s so painless!
Aim for 3 grams of fish oil per day every day, which is what the study participants took, and the common dose for over-the-counter supplements. For more benefits of Omega-3 fish oil, click here!
