Good article I found on Essential Fatty Acids for the heart…

Report: Women Still Neglect Heart Risk

by Koren Barret, N.D.

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Australian research team reveals astonishing news about nutrient that impacts arterial elasticity

If you see a heart attack portrayed on television or in a movie, you can almost bet that the actor is a man. Similarly, if you see an advertisement for a drug to prevent cardiovascular disease, more than likely the person in the picture also will be male. But if you were an actual ER physician treating a heart attack victim in real life, chances are the person wheeled in on the gurney would be a woman.

And if the media seems to be missing the reality—that women remain more at risk for heart attack and stroke than ever before—you better believe that most women are not aware of the fact either. In a recent survey of 1,008 women conducted by the American Heart Association, only 55% knew that heart disease is the number-one killer of U.S. women over the age of 25 (Mosca, 2006). Even worse, a study published in the medical journal Journal of the American College of Cardiology reported that the 9.1 million American women who have heart disease or had a stroke do not get the same care, attention or treatment as men do (Lerman & Sopko, 2006).

While these facts may seem daunting, the good news is that you can take steps right now to enhance your heart health. Perhaps the first is becoming active and losing as much excess weight as possible. “Obese, sedentary women have 9.4 times the risk of coronary heart disease compared to lean, active women,” says Dr. Frank Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health (Fox, 2006). You also can start making dietary changes—including the addition of specific supplemental nutrients—to support a healthy cardiovascular system.

Helps Arteries Stay Elastic
Regular consumption of the high-quality Essential Fatty Acids found in Flaxseed Oil seems to be a viable option for both female and male heart health. Animal, clinical and epidemiological studies suggest that adding Flaxseed Oil to your diet may help arteries stay elastic, which is an important factor in a healthy cardiovascular system (Kruger & Horrobin, 1997; Cappuccio et al, 2000).

The elasticity or compliance of the arterial system is an important index of circulatory function. As compliance decreases, cardiovascular risk increases. Conversely, increasing the compliance or flexibility of arteries reduces the risk of adverse events (Hall, 1993).

Beginning in the 1990s, medical scientists at Australia’s prestigious Baker Research Institute clinically tested the idea that increasing dietary EFAs could make arteries more flexible. The team focused their research efforts on Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA), an Essential Fatty Acid particularly concentrated in Flaxseed Oil. The physicians compared a low-fat diet featuring this vegetarian oil (supplementing participants with 20 grams daily) against both a typical metropolitan diet high in saturated fat as well as a different low-fat eating plan featuring oleic acid, the fatty acid in sunflower oil. Changes in the subjects’ blood-lipids (fats) were measured before and after each volunteer consumed the test diets.

Increases Flexibility by 83%
Oddly enough, the scientists encountered a rather curious challenge during the study. One of the test participants eating the Flaxseed Oil diet became so enthusiastic about how much better she was feeling that the scientists did not know how to interpret her vastly-improved triglyceride and cholesterol levels. She lost so much weight that the research team could not determine whether her healthier circulation was due to the calorie-restricted diet or the Flaxseed Oil itself…or both.

For the rest of the study participants, a precise interpretation of the results proved far easier. Adding Flaxseed Oil in to the diet for just four weeks increased arterial flexibility by an astonishing 83%. The researchers estimated that this arterial compliance increase made arteries up to 43% less likely to be impacted by a clot and further intensified circulation up further, to surprisingly high healthy levels (Nestel et al, 1997).

Better Than Animals & Other Plants
It would seem logical that seeking plant sources of ALA would be a wise course of action, since animal sources (such as red meat, butter and cream) are not only high in fat but may also contain hormones and preservatives that could counteract any benefit from the nutrient. Plus, with recent news about polluted fish with a high mercury content, there’s obviously something fishy—in addition to the taste and smell—about fish oil. Fish oil is a good source of Essential Fatty Acids, but many people object to its peculiar odor and flavor as well as how large doses of fish oil can cause nausea, diarrhea, belching and malodorous breath with a persistent aftertaste.

In addition, unfortunately, two other common non-fish food sources of ALA—mayonnaise and salad dressings—feature canola or soybean oils that are refined, bleached and deodorized by a harsh chemical process containing solvents that are commonly found in gasoline. These over-refined, inorganic sources also can contain carcinogenic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

In contrast, consuming a dietary supplement that features natural Flaxseed Oil—which possesses none of these drawbacks—may be a better choice.

If you can find a formula that contains this heart-friendly nutrient in liquid soft-gel form, which keeps the oils in their natural, highly-absorbable state, you may be even better off.

 

By combining supplementation with a healthy exercise and eating plan that features plenty of fresh vegetables and high-fiber low-sugar carbohydrates, you can make yourself aware and proactive for your own cardiovascular health.

References:
Cappuccio, F.P. et al. (2000). Unraveling the links between calcium excretion, salt intake, hypertension, kidney stones and bone metabolism. The Journal of Nephrology, 13(3), 169–177.

Fox, M. (2006). Women still neglect heart risk, studies find. RedOrbit News. February 1. Retrieved online June 21, 2006 from http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/375983/us_women_still_neglect_heart_risk_studies_find/#.

Hall, A.V. et al. (1993). Abrogation of MRL/lpr lupus nephritis by dietary flaxseed. American Journal of Kidney Disorders, 22(2), 326–332.

Kruger, M.C. and Horrobin, D.F. (1997). Calcium metabolism, osteoporosis and essential fatty acids: A review. Progress in Lipid Research, 36(2-3), 131–151.

Lerman, A. and Sopko, G. (2006). Women and cardiovascular heart disease: clinical implications from the Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study. Journal of the American College Cardiology, February 7. 47(3) (Suppl): S59–62.

Mosca, L. et al. (2006). Cardiovascular disease in women: National study of women’s awareness, preventive action and barriers to cardiovascular health. Circulation–Journal of the American Heart Association, Inc., 113(4), 525–534.

Nestel, P.J. et al. (1997). Arterial compliance in obese subjects is improved with dietary plant n-3 fatty acid from flaxseed oil despite increased LDL oxidizability. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 17, 1163–1170.