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"July 9, 2008 | Michael O'Riordan Boston, MA - The consumption of a diet containing vegetable oils rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is associated with significant reductions in the risk of nonfatal MI, a new study has shown [1]. Investigators say the protective effect of ALA is evident among individuals with low intakes, suggesting the greatest benefit might be in developing countries, where fatty-acid consumption is limited. "The potential for benefit is great when the baseline intake is low," said lead investigator Dr Hannia Campos (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA). "In countries where people eat very little fish-and some of these countries have almost no sources of omega-3 fatty acids because they cook with corn or sunflower oils-the consumption of vegetable oils with ALA could have a major impact on heart disease." In an editorial accompanying the published study [2], Dr William Harris (University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls) said that the data are suggestive and would be good news for individuals who will not or cannot eat fish, but more studies are still needed. "If ALA were able to do the same 'heavy lifting' that [eicosapentaenoic acid] EPA and [docosahexaenoic acid] DHA do, this would be welcomed news, because the capacity to produce ALA is essentially limitless, whereas there are only so many fish in the sea," he writes. "

Alpha-linolenic acid and risk of nonfatal acute myocardial infarction. Campos H, Baylin A, Willett WC. Circulation. 2008 Jul 22;118(4):339-45. Epub 2008 Jul 7. Erratum in: Circulation. 2008 Sep 16;118(12):e492. PMID: 18606916 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.762419 Conclusions - Consumption of vegetable oils rich in {alpha}-linolenic acid could confer important cardiovascular protection. The apparent protective effect of {alpha}-linolenic acid is most evident among subjects with low intakes.

Intake of fish and n3 fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese: the Japan Public Health Center-Based (JPHC) Study Cohort I. Iso H, Kobayashi M, Ishihara J, Sasaki S, Okada K, Kita Y, Kokubo Y, Tsugane S; JPHC Study Group. Circulation. 2006 Jan 17;113(2):195-202. Epub 2006 Jan 9. PMID: 16401768 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.581355 Conclusions- Compared with a modest fish intake of once a week or &20 g/d, a higher intake was associated with substantially reduced risk of coronary heart disease, primarily nonfatal cardiac events, among middle-aged persons

Fish oil-derived fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid and docosapentaenoic acid, and the risk of acute coronary events: the Kuopio ischaemic heart disease risk factor study. Rissanen T, Voutilainen S, Nyyssönen K, Lakka TA, Salonen JT. Circulation. 2000 Nov 28;102(22):2677-9. PMID: 11094031 Methods and Results-We studied this association in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, a prospective population study in Eastern Finland. Subjects were randomly selected and included 1871 men aged 42 to 60 years who had no clinical coronary heart disease at baseline examination. A total of 194 men had a fatal or nonfatal acute coronary event during follow-up. In a Cox proportional hazards' model adjusting for other risk factors, men in the highest fifth of the proportion of serum DHA+DPA in all fatty acids had a 44% reduced risk (P=0.014) of acute coronary events compared with men in the lowest fifth. Men in the highest fifth of DHA+DPA who had a low hair content of mercury (2.0 µg/g). There was no association between proportion of eicosapentaenoic acid and the risk of acute coronary events. Conclusions-Our data provide further confirmation for the concept that fish oil-derived fatty acids reduce the risk of acute coronary events. However, a high mercury content in fish could attenuate this protective effect.

"The Japan eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) is a clinical trial that all Track Your Plaquers should know about. This enormous trial followed a simple design: Japanese men, between 40-75 years, and Japanese postmenopausal women aged