Some fats are bad for your heart; some fats are good for your heart. There’s a reason why this fat’s called essential.
Essential fatty acids are important for your health but cannot be manufactured by your body. So, it is essential that you get them through your diet.
A just published study has added to the evidence that omega-3 essential fatty acids are good for cardiovascular health.
The massive study of 272,000 people found that people with the highest levels of omega-3 had a significant 21% lower risk of heart failure. And, if you had heart failure, you had a significant 50% lower risk of dying from it if you had the highest levels of omega-3. There was also a significant 47% lower risk of dying from anything (all-cause mortality) during the study with the highest omega-3 levels than with the lowest.
This study adds to the already massive amount of evidence that omega-3 essential fatty acids are good for your heart. A recent meta-analysis of 40 controlled studies found that supplementing omega-3 EFA’s reduced the risk of having a heart attack by 13% and of dying of a heart attack by 35%. It found a 10% reduced risk of coronary heart disease and a 9% reduced risk of dying from it (Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Feb 2021;96(2):304-13).
Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Dec 2024;99(12):1895-1904.