By Lisa M. Davila
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
“I once knew a patient who ate salmon six nights a week,” says Leslie Rigali, D.O., Erickson Health physician at Brooksby Village, an Erickson-built and -managed community in Peabody, Mass. “Not many people can do that, but she certainly had an excellent cholesterol profile!”
Omega-3 fatty acids may have contributed to this avid salmon-eater’s great cholesterol levels. Omega-3s are considered “essential” fatty acids because they can’t be manufactured by the body, and must be obtained from food or supplements. They can have some very real health benefits, especially for older adults, but there are also risks.
Omega-3s are found primarily in cold-water fish or fatty fish like salmon and tuna. They are also found in some plants, nuts, and oils (see sidebar). Omega-3s are the primary active ingredient in fish oil supplements.
Th e best sources of omega-3s
Seafood sources contain two kinds of omega-3s called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These types are more readily used by the body than alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is the type found in plant sources.
“My first recommendation to everyone is always healthy eating,” Rigali says. “So if you can get omega- 3s through your diet, that’s ideal. But sometimes I’ll recommend a supplement for a patient who can’t or doesn’t want to take a take a prescription medication, like a statin, for elevated cholesterol.”
Supplements can vary widely in quality. “Look for supplements high in omega 3s, low in saturated fats, and low in other polyunsaturated fats, for example, corn oil and safflower oil,” says Miriam Pappo, M.S., R.D., director of clinical nutrition at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, NY. “Supplements should be ‘molecularly distilled’ because that removes mercury and toxins, and ‘purified’ to remove the fishy taste.”
Talk to your doctor before you take omega-3 supplements. “Omega-3s can interfere with certain medications, especially blood thinners like Coumadin (warfarin sodium) or aspirin,” Pappo says.