Originally published December 18 2005
German company pushes DHA supplements toward vegetarian consumers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Nutrinova, a German company, has conducted a study on DHA levels in vegetarian diets, and the study has concluded that vegetarians, who miss the DHA benefits associated with eating oily fish, should take DHA supplements, of which Nutrinova is a leading manufacturer.
Omega-3 fatty acids as well as fish consumption have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease.
But people that eat no fish rely on vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acids, such as plants rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
ALA is converted by the body to DHA but this makes it a less efficient source of the key omega-3 fats and means that vegetarians could be missing out on the fatty acids thought to protect the heart.
Nevertheless, producers of algae-derived DHA or fish oils are under pressure from makers of flaxseed oil or other vegetable oils rich in ALA, who offer a cheaper product.
The new study investigated how Nutrinova's DHA from microalgae could boost the omega-3 index of vegetarians.
A low omega-3 index has recently been described as an indicator for increased risk of coronary heart disease.
For the double-blind, randomized, intervention study, the researchers gave 104 healthy vegetarians a DHA supplement (0.94 g DHA) or an olive oil placebo for eight weeks.
Although most of the participants reached recommended intakes for essential fatty acids, such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), none of them reached a recommended omega-3 index of at least 8 per cent, shows the study reported in the August issue of Lipids (vol 40, issue 8, pp807-14).
"This suggests that the in vivo conversion of ALA (as available from plant sources such as flax) to EPA and DHA is not adequate to reach a desirable EPA and DHA status," said Nutrinova in a statement.
"We conclude that an 8-wk supplementation with 0.94g DHA per day from microalgae oil achieves a beneficial omega-3 index of at least 8 per cent in most subjects with low basal EPA + DHA status," write the researchers.
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