Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Omega-3 Fatty Acids & Complications Of Obesity

According to a recent study, diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids protect the liver from damage caused by obesity and the insulin resistance it provokes.

Ana González-Périz and colleaques found that two types of lipids in omega-3 fatty acids—protectins and resolvins— can actually reduce the instance of liver complications, such as hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, in obese people.

To reach this conclusion, they studied four groups of mice with an altered gene making them obese and diabetic. One group was given an omega-3-enriched diet and the second group was given a control diet. The third group was given docosahexaenoic acid, and the fourth received only the lipid resolvin. After five weeks, blood serum and liver samples from the test mice were examined. The mice given the omega-3-rich diet exhibited less hepatic inflammation and improved insulin tolerance. This was due to the formation of protectins and resolvins from omega-3 fatty acids.

Eat more fish, supplement this with encapsulated omega-3 fish oil, if you want to but you should still exercise and eat wisely to bring your bodyweight to healthy limits.

Journal Reference:

Ana González-Périz, Raquel Horrillo, Natàlia Ferré, Karsten Gronert, Baiyan Dong, Eva Morán-Salvador, Esther Titos, Marcos Martínez-Clemente, Marta López-Parra, Vicente Arroyo, and Joan Clària. Obesity-induced insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis are alleviated by -3 fatty acids: a role for resolvins and protectins. Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal, February 23, 2009 as doi: 10.1096/fj.08-125674

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