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Elevated cholesterol,
and possibly inflammation, plays a role in causing heart disease.
Inflammatory prostaglandins from white blood cells and platelets
are synthesized from arachidonic acid (AA). Antiinflammatory
products are generated from the omega-6 precursor fatty acid
dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), the product of gamma-linolenic
acid (GLA) elongation.
Many studies have
shown that supplementing the diet with fish oils enriched
in omega-3 fats EPA and DHA tend to reduce triglycerides and
increase HDL (good) cholesterol concentrations.
However, studies
have gotten mixed results regarding its effect on LDL (bad)
cholesterol and few studies have examined the effects of adding
fat supplement GLA to omega-3 fat supplements.
In a new study
involving 31 women, researchers compared the effects of EPA
and DHA supplementation (4 grams) by itself to that of EPA
and DHA with GLA supplementation (1 or 2 grams). The combination
of EPA, DHA and GLA tended to reduce LDL cholesterol by about
12 percent.
A combination of
a 4:2 ratio of the supplements (4 g EPA and DHA, 2 g GLA)
resulted in an average of a 15 percent decrease in non-HDL
cholesterol concentrations, which translates to an over 40
percent decrease in heart disease risk.
American
Journal Clinical Nutrition January 2003;77:37-42
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