British researchers say that a relatively small amount of omega-3 fatty acid can lower blood pressure. The King’s College team believes eating a non-fish based source of Omega-3 could also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The omega-3 tested came from algae and not from fish. So what is the difference? Fish oil contains both Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) while algae omega-3 contains only DHA. Since there are vegetarians that do not eat fish, the researchers wanted to know if DHA alone could lower blood pressure.
A study by the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care found that women who gained excess weight during pregnancy had were four times more likely to have overweight children in early childhood than those who did not gain enough weight during pregnancy. The study was first published in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The study researched data collected from 1,044 mothers and their children in from Project Viva, which is a study of pregnant women and children located at the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention’s Obesity Prevention Program.
“Maternal weight gain during pregnancy is an important determinant of birth outcomes,” says lead author Emily Oken, MD, MPH, instructor in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention. “These findings suggest that pregnancy weight gain can influence child health even after birth and may cause the obstetric community to rethink current guidelines.”
Scientists from the University of Glasgow found that fats found in our stomach could reduce the protective benefits of antioxidants including vitamin C. The research is being presented today, at the Society of Experimental Biology’s Annual Main Meeting.
Cancer in the proximal stomach has been increasing over the last 20 years. The researchers report that environmental factors such as diet play a role. Nitrite is also believed to be a pre-carcinogen for gastric cancer.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is one antioxidant that protects against the formation of nitrite compounds by making it into nitric oxide. If the antioxidants aren’t available, nitrite would form spontaneously into nitrosating species which could target secondary amines and bile acids and forming carcinogenic N-nitrosocompounds.
