Fish oils can help lower blood fat levels, study concludes

• Fish oil supplements may help reduce some fatty substances in the blood of people with diabetes, but not others, researchers report.
• Since people with type 2 diabetes have high levels of fat in their blood, as well as lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, the findings point to a way for patients to "partially correct" the condition, the authors say.
• Fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel are also rich in fish oil.
• But certain types of fat, including one type of LDL or "bad" cholesterol, were not affected, according to Dr. Martin Petersen from The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Rolighedsvej, Denmark and colleagues.
• Their study of 42 adults found that those who took a supplement with 4 grams (g) of fish oil for eight weeks lowered their levels of triacylglycerol (TAG), a fatty substance linked to heart disease.
• Their levels of two subtypes of the "good" cholesterol known as HDL also rose.
• Similarly, the ratio of LDL to HDL fell by nearly 1% among patients taking fish oil supplements, and rose 4% among patients taking corn oil, the researchers report in the October issue of Diabetes Care.
• But there was no apparent effect on the ratio of total cholesterol to LDL cholesterol, a measure of heart disease risk.
• Similarly, fish oil did not reduce levels of small dense LDL particles in the blood, which have been closely linked to symptoms of heart disease.
• "In conclusion, fish oil supplementation was found to partially correct the dyslipidemia (abnormal blood fats) of type 2 diabetes," the researchers write.
• However, "the predominancy of small dense LDL particles--was unaffected by fish oil."