Summary
Diverging results from studies of marine oil supplementation to western diets initiated
the undertaking of a double-blind crossover study, with administration to healthy
volunteers for 4 weeks of either 10 g of fish oil or 10 g of vegetable oil. Each oil
containing approx. 40% of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) respectively.
During the n-3 PUFA period, systolic blood pressure, plasma total lipids, triglycerides
and VLDL concentrations fell significantly whereas plasma antithrombin-III (AT-III)
rose. Cutaneous bleeding time increased significantly. In contrast only AT-III rose
during the n-6 PUFA feeding, however, more marked than during the n-3 oil period.
It is concluded that a n-3 PUFA oil supplement to the western diet exerts an effect
that generally is considered as beneficial in terms of the risk of developing cardiovascular
diseases. It is in this respect superior to that of n-6 PUFA, stressing the necessity
of a more differentiated approach to advices on dietary PUFA enrichment than presently
is exerted.
Keywords
Diet - PUFA’s - Platelet function - Hemostasis - Blood pressure
