In a study providing further evidence of the impressive health benefits of fish-liver oil, researchers from Iceland say consuming it in adolescence or midlife may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in women when they get older. Examining a total of 3326 women aged between 66 and 96 years of age, the researchers found that those who consumed fish-liver oil at least three times a week in adolescence or midlife had a decreased risk of coronary heart disease compared to women with no intake at all. Concluding that consuming fish-liver oil from early life may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in older women, the researchers say the study provides important evidence of the preventive role of lifelong nutrition.
Significantly, however, no such association was observed in this study regarding fish consumption. Women who ate more than two portions of fish a week in adolescence or midlife were not found to be any less likely to develop coronary artery disease than those who ate two portions or less.
Worldwide, evidence is clearly now mounting that fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids can play important roles in the prevention and control of not only cardiovascular disease but also neurological disease, chronic inflammation, cancer and many other health problems. Notable examples include studies showing that omega-3 supplements can help reduce preterm birth risk, prevent skin cancer, clear the amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease, boost children’s IQ, cut mortality after a heart attack and reduce levels of the prostate-specific antigen linked to prostate cancer risk.
Moreover, only a few days ago, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins can stop the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
As Dr. Rath describes in the Barletta Declaration, actively increasing our knowledge regarding natural, nutritional, cellular and other forms of preventive medicine will enable us to make better decisions both for our own health and that of others. For despite what the pharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders would have us believe, the reality is that micronutrients and nutrition are of truly paramount importance both in gaining and maintaining optimum health. To save millions of lives, it’s simply a matter of taking advantage of this knowledge and sharing it as widely as possible.