By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

Something’s fishy in the world of longevity medicine—and it could give new life to your aging cells, especially if you suffer from heart disease. New research that just landed on my desk shows that heart patients with a high intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish and fish oil supplements had relatively longer “telomeres.”

Telo-what?

If you’ve never heard of telomeres, don’t worry—most people haven’t. But here’s a simple, straightforward explanation on how this exciting new discovery can help you turn back the clock:

The human body is composed, in part, of miniscule structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes contain all of the genetic information that determines your gender, hair color, eye color and all of the other characteristics that make you unique. On the end of each of these chromosomes is a protective cap called a telomere. Think of telomeres like the protective plastic tip on the end of your shoelaces.

As we get older, our cells split apart and make copies of themselves to preserve our genetic information. The job of the telomere is to prevent too much genetic information from being lost each time a cell splits. As the cells divide, the telomere shortens slightly. The shorter your telomere, the sooner the cell dies. In a nutshell, this means that telomeres control how your cells age. This, in turn, controls how fast your body ages.

How do omega-3s figure into this process? According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, people with heart disease who have higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids experience a slower rate of telomere shortening over time.

The study, which recently appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), recruited 608 men and women from the larger Heart and Soul Study. The researchers tested the participant’s blood samples for two types of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They also checked the length of white blood cell telomeres at the beginning of the study and after five years of follow up.

It turns out that the patients whose levels of EPA and DHA were the highest had the slowest rate of telomere shortening while those whose levels were lowest had rates that were the fastest. Not surprisingly, the folks with shorter telomeres were also more likely to die younger.
Omega 3s protect telomeres by reducing oxidative stress, especially in heart cells. They also enhance the activity of a specific enzyme called telomerase that helps maintain telomere length.

A large number of epidemiologic studies show that people who eat fish often or take a daily dose of fish oil not only live longer, they suffer from less heart disease than people who don’t. In fact, there is evidence that omega-3s have heart-healthy anti-inflammatory and triglyceride-lowering effects, as well as the ability to lower blood pressure, regulate heartbeat and prevent blood platelets from clumping together. This is why the American Heart Association recommends eating more oily fish like salmon, sardines or mackerel. They also suggest taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements for the primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. But the real secret to omega-3s heart healthy benefit may be in its impact on telomeres.

So how can you best take advantage of omega-3s longevity benefits? Ideally, you should boost the amount of oily fish you eat to two or three times per week. In addition, I tell my patients that it’s critically important to take a fish oil supplement every day. Look for a supplement that contains purified marine lipid fish oil and take 3 to 4 grams daily with meals. And that’s one fish tale you can truly believe in.

References:

Farzaneh-Far R. Association of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Levels with Telomeric Aging in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2010;303:250-257.

Huzen J. Telomeres and biological ageing in cardiovascular disease. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2008;152:1265-1270.

Huzen J. The emerging role of telomere biology in cardiovascular disease. Frontiers in Bioscience. 2010;15:35-45