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Fish Oil Supplementation
Offers Hope For Diabetes Sufferers
A Fish Oil Diet for Diabetes
Diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin production or lack of responsiveness to insulin, resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels). There are 2 primary types of diabetes mellitus, type I (insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset), which may be caused by an autoimmune response, and type II (non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset). Diabetes insipidus is typically due to hormonal dysregulation. While fish oil supplementation does not provide a cure for type I or type II diabetes a diet high in fish oil may help to treat or alleviate many of the health disorders and risks associated with diabetes.
Several studies have shown an inverse relationship between a diet high in fish oils and the risk of health disorders common among diabetes patients, specifically coronary heart disease (CHD) and sudden heart attacks. To determine the extent to which fish oil supplementation may positively effect either of these disorders, specifically in diabetes patients, Harvard Medical School set up a special study that included 5103 female nurses with diabetes, but free of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Between 1980 and 1996 there were 362 cases of CHD (7.1%) and 468 deaths from all causes in the study group (9.2%). The causes of death were CHD or stroke - 161, cancer - 172, and other causes - 135.
Periodically throughout the study researchers required that all participants fill out a complete dietary questionnaire. Researchers found that participants who consumed fish on a regular basis (1 or more times a week) had up to a 40% lower risk of CHD than did participants who consumed fish less. The study also showed that participants who had fish at least 5 times a week reduced their risk of CHD by 64% and their overall mortality by 52%. However, only dark-meat fish and deep sea cold water fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, bluefish, and swordfish) and shrimp, lobster and scallops showed a beneficial effect. The researchers also calculated the amount of fish oils (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) obtained from the diet and found that study participants with an average intake of just 250 mg/day had a 31% reduction in CHD and a 37% reduction in death from all causes compared to participants with a low (40 mg or less) daily intake. Based on the results of the study researchers suggested that regular fish consumption (or fish oil supplementation) should be considered as an integral part of a healthy diet for the management of diabetes.
Additional studies on animals have indicated that fish oil supplementation may also have a beneficial effect on insulin resistance and can prevent its development and substantially delay the development of diabetes in some glucose-intolerant individuals. The researchers also concluded that that long-term fish oil supplementation lowers triglyceride levels in non-insulin-dependent diabetics without adversely affecting blood glucose control.
Are you thinking about purchasing Fish Oil? Check out our Guide for buying Fish Oils before you do!
A number of references in this text were taken from the following sources:
Hu, Frank B., et al. Fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake and risk of coronary heart disease and total mortality in diabetic women. Circulation, Vol. 107, April 15, 2003, pp. 1852-57
Grundy, Scott M. N-3 fatty acids: priority for post-myocardial infarction clinical trials. Circulation, Vol. 107, April 15, 2003, pp. 1834-36 (editorial)
Rivellese, Angela A., et al. Long-term effects of fish oil on insulin resistance and plasma lipoproteins in NIDDM patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Diabetes Care, Vol. 19, November 1996, pp. 1207-13
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"I've never been much of a believer in supplements. However, after repeated invitations from my wife I started taking Omega 3 Fish Oil. Consequently, my cholesteral levels have improved and I've never felt so healthy."
"Since I started supplementing with high-dose fish oil nearly 8 months ago my skin has not been nearly so dry, my allergies have almost entirely gone away and my general health appears to be improving."
"After one month of taking fish oil, my husband starting noticing positive changes in the texture of his hair, and his blood sugar levels were dramatically stabilizing, as he is a type 1 diabetic (for the past 27 years)."