Oil Right For Hearts - omega-3 fats in some vegetable oils - Brief Article

Nutrition Action Healthletter, Sept, 1999 by Bl

The omega-3 fats in some vegetable oils--like the omega-3s in fish oils--may reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks, say researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Frank Hu and colleagues studied more than 76,000 participants in the Nurses' Health Study who had filled out diet questionnaires in 1984. Ten years later, 232 of the women had died of a heart attack while 597 had suffered a heart attack and survived.

Women who consumed the most alpha-linolenic acid--the omega-3 fat in some vegetable oils--were about half as likely to die of a heart attack than women who ate the least. They were just as likely to suffer a non-fatal heart attack, though.

"Both fish oils and alpha-linolenic acid have anti-arrhythmic effects in animals," says Hu, "so both can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death." A "sudden death" heart attack occurs when the heart loses its normal beat.

The women who had the lowest risk of a fatal heart attack consumed about 1.4 grams of alpha-linolenic acid a day. That's what you'd get in about half a teaspoon of flaxseed oil, a tablespoon of canola oil, 1 1/3 tablespoons of soy oil, or a cup of olive oil.

"Regular dressing is a major source of alpha-linolenic acid in the U.S.," says Hu. But it doesn't matter how you get omega-3s. If you want to save calories on your salad, stick with fat-free dressing and use canola oil to saute or marinate your vegetables or chicken. You can also eat fish two to four times a week.

Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 69: 827, 890, 1999.