A new review of a large study (VITAL), which was recently published in the BMJ, found daily supplementation of Vitamin D (2000 IU) and Omega-3 Essential Fatty acids (1,000 mg) reduced the risk of developing multiple autoimmune diseases by 22% when compared to taking a placebo alone.
In the VITAL study, which assessed how high doses of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids and Vitamin D impacted the health outcomes of individuals, almost 26,000 people were recruited to participate. Recruits were all 55 years and older. Researchers followed up with participants for a median of 5.3 years. Medical records during the study period were reviewed and participants were traced for autoimmune diseases like psoriasis, autoimmune thyroid disease, polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis.
For the Vitamin D portion of the study, 123 participants in the supplements group and 155 participants in the placebo group had a confirmed autoimmune disease. This represented a 22% reduction in the risk of autoimmune disease development.
For the Omega-3 portion of the study, 130 participants in the supplement group and 148 participants in the placebo group had a confirmed autoimmune disease. It seemed the Omega-3 group alone didn’t have a statistically significant outcome in the risk of developing an autoimmune disease. However the rate was reduced by 18% in the participants with probable autoimmune disease. This seemed to show better results with longer term supplementation.
If only the last 3 years of the study were considered the Vitamin D supplement group had 39% fewer participants confirmed to have an autoimmune disease when compared to the placebo group and the Omega-3 supplement group had 10% fewer participants confirmed to have an autoimmune disease compared to the placebo group. Participants who supplemented with both Vitamin D and Omega 3 researchers found about 30% fewer participants developed autoimmune disease compared to the placebo group.
Autoimmune diseases are more common in older adults and negatively affect life expectancy and health. Researchers believe that a range of inflammatory regulating activities seen by Omega-3 (EPA and DHA) and Vitamin D could suppress inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, increase the production of regulatory T cells, reduce antigen presentation capacity, inhibit the production of C-reactive protein, and decrease T cell proliferation and activation.
Further testing is needed as a follow up.
Here is some additional information about Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids:
Chemically a fatty acid is an organic acid with an acid group at one end of its molecule and a methyl at the other end. Fatty acids are categorized in the Omega groups 3, 6 or 9 according to the location of their last double bond.
An Essential Fatty Acid is a fatty acid that the body cannot manufacture by itself, in other words they must be obtained through supplementation or through foods. There are 2 fatty acids that are designated as essential fatty acids: linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. There are more fatty acids than these 2 specific essential fatty acids found in the Omega 3-6-9 groups but a healthy body may be able to manufacture them as long as there is enough linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, so they are considered non-essential fatty acids. There are however certain health benefits to be obtained by intaking some of the non-essential fatty acids directly, especially in the case of the Omega 3 fatty acids.
The Need for More Omega 3
Humans evolved on a diet that had approximately a 1:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), today our Western diet contains a ratio of 15:1 – 16.7:1. A typical Western diet is deficient in Omega-3 Fatty Acids and has an overabundance of Omega-6 Fatty Acids when compared to the diet in which humans evolved and their genetic patterns were established. In a study done by The Harvard School of Public Health over 96,000 deaths in the US were attributed to being caused by an Omega-3 deficiency. Other research shows that excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids and high Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios promote many types of diseases like autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease. It is obvious that increasing Omega-3 Fatty Acid intake is necessary for a healthier population.
Molecular Distillation
The public was made aware of excessive levels of mercury, a neurotoxic heavy metal, as well as PCBs and other toxic organic compounds found in certain fish species from a well-publicized federal advisory in 2001. It was determined that fish oil supplements could also be subject to excessive levels of these neurotoxins. It makes choosing a “CLEAN” fish oil even more important than ever. For this very reason Viva Vitamins uses pure, high quality, molecularly distilled Omega-3 EPA/DHA fish oil in the products they manufacture. Molecular distillation is a process where all heavy metals and PCBs are virtually removed from the fish oil. Additionally extensive testing is performed to verify that all federal standards of purity have not just been met but have been surpassed.
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