EPA & DHA

EPA&DHA- rich meals (covers at least 1 day EPA&DHA):

1. Matcha rice with salmon and vegetables, serves 4 people

Scientific studies on the relationship between EPA&DHA and disease prevention:
A review article (a collection of scientific studies on a specific topic) of randomized, placebo-controlled double blind clinical trials (RCTs) will answer the following question:
"Do taking dietary supplements make sense?" Yes for a positive conclusion and no for a negative conclusion.

A review article (a collection of scientific studies on a specific topic) of cohort studies or case-control studies will answer the following question:
"Should I change my diet?".

1. Fish consumption reduces Alzheimer's disease
2. Higher dietary intake of processed meat increases hepatocellular carcinoma
3. EPA + DHA supplements for at least 6 months increase walking speed among the elderly
4. 0.5 servings of fish per week reduce multiple sclerosis
5. A higher dietary intake of fruit, dietary fiber, fish and vitamine C reduce COPD in adults
6. Dietary omega-3 PUFAs intake reduce digestive system cancers
7. Omega-3 PUFA supplementation may reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
8. 1.5 g/day EPA + DHA improve insulin sensitivity in children
9. 2-3 servings/week fish reduce all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes
10. 50g/day processed meat increase type 2 diabetes
11. Omega-3 fatty acids + vitamin E or D reduce gestational diabetes
12. >650 mg/day maternal or neonatal DHA and/or EPA supplements increase weight in childhood
13. N-3 fatty acids supplementation reduces preeclampsia during pregnancy
14. Omega-3 supplementation decreases CRP levels in patients on hemodialysis
15. Dietary DHA, DPA and EPA are associated with higher lung function among current smokers
16. Dietary n-3 PUFAs reduce ulcerative colitis
17. PUFA supplements do not improve intelligence in low birth weight children
18. Fish oil supplementation during <12 weeks improves insulin sensitivity among people with metabolic disorders
19. Dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs declines hip fracture risk
20. Children and adolescents with ADHD have a deficiency in n-3 PUFAs levels
21. Omega-3 supplementation decreases risk of cardiac death
22. N-3 PUFA supplementation improves immune function and reduces the level of inflammation in gastrointestinal cancer patients postoperatively
23. No association between fish intake and pancreatic cancer
24. Higher plasma DHA and EPA levels reduce advanced age-related macular degeneration
25. Skim milk, poultry and non-meat animal products reduce age-related eye disease
26. High fish consumption decreases risk of age-related macular degeneration
27. Omega-3 fatty acids consumption reduce recurrent venous thromboembolism
28. Consumption of whole grains, fish, vegetables and fruit decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases
29. 100-g/d fish consumption decreases liver cancer
30. A higher fish consumption reduces coronary heart disease
31. Weekly 175-350 grams oily fish lower cardiovascular disease among patients with vascular disease
32. 20g/d of fish consumption reduce risk of CVD mortality
33. EPA/DHA ratio of < 1 reduces risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting
34. EPA and DHA supplements reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases
35. No more than 175 mg/d dietary DHA intake reduces endometrial cancer
36. A higher circulating DHA is associated with a lower metabolic syndrome risk
37. Fish consumption reduces metabolic syndrome
38. n-3 PUFA supplements reduce waist circumference in overweight and obese adults
39. Maternal probiotic supplements during pregnancy and lactation reduce eczema during childhood
40. 1 time/week fish consumption from 6-9 months reduces asthma and wheeze in children up to 4.5 years old
41. Fish consumption during pregnancy is not associated with risk of asthma and other allergy-related diseases from infancy to mid childhood
42. At least 4 servings/week fish is associated with decreasing memory decline
43. Weekly 100 grams fish reduces dementia of Alzheimer type
44. Daily 500mg n-3 PUFA during 12 months improve cognitive functions 
45. At least 580 mg/day DHA or 1 g/day DHA/EPA improves memory function in older adults with mild memory complaints
46. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish consumption reduce breast cancer in Asian patients
47. Marine oil supplements alleviate pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients
48. White meat and fish consumption reduce risk of hepatocellular carcinoma
49. 40 g/day of pickled vegetable increase gastric cancer
50. Higher consumption of saltwater fish may decrease risk of thyroid cancer

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• EPA and DHA are n-3 fatty acids or omega-3 fatty acids.
• In humans, EPA and DHA are synthesized from the n-3 essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3). Therefore, they are not strictly essential for the human body.
  However, the human body converts only 10-15% of ALA to EPA and EPA to DHA. For this reason, EPA and DHA are also regarded as essential fatty acids.
  The omega-3 conversion efficiency is greater in women, possibly because of the importance for meeting the demands of the fetus and neonate for DHA.
• Oily fish and various other seafood are excellent dietary sources of EPA and DHA.
  Oily fishes are sardines, herring, anchovies, salmon, trout, eel and mackerel.
• Oily fishes contain more EPA and DHA than no-oily fishes.
• DHA plays a very important role during fetal development, early infancy and old age.
  DHA is the most abundant omega-3 fatty acid in the brain and retina.
  DHA comprises 40% of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the brain and 60% of the PUFAs in the retina.
• High concentrations of DHA are found in the brain and increases 300-500% in and infant's brain during the last trimester of pregnancy.
  Women are advised to take 200 mg DHA per day during pregnancy.
• In general arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids act in a pro-inflammatory way, while EPA-derived eicosanoids act in a anti-inflammatory way.
  Arachidonic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid found in foods such as chicken, duck, egg yolks, turkey, beef and pork.
  The human body can convert linoleic acid (LA) to arachidonic acid (AA).
• Recommendations of EPA and DHA intake from national and international authorities range 200-650 mg per day and are based on the convincing inverse relationship observed between its consumption and a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• 200-650 mg EPA and DHA per day corresponds to 1-2 servings of (fatty) fish per week.
  1 serving is 100-150 grams of fish.
• The WHO recommends 200-1000 mg EPA and DHA per day.
• The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) recommends intakes values of 250 mg per day of EPA and DHA.
  EFSA argues that the most recent evidence shows that, when only healthy subjects are considered, the intake of EPA and DHA is negatively related to cardiovascular disease risk in a dose-dependent way up to 250 mg/day.
• EPA and DHA in combination with proteins, iodine and vitamin A and D give more protection against heart disease than EPA and DHA alone.
• Fish oil supplements only contain EPA and DHA while fish also contains proteins, iodine and vitamin A and D.
• ALA has less potent health benefits than EPA and DHA.
• EPA (20:5(n-3)) and DHA (22:6(n-3)) are highly unsaturated fatty acids because of they contain 5 and 6 double bonds on their long structural chain.
  By virtue of the presence of double bonds, unsaturated fatty acids are particularly susceptible to oxidation.
• Vitamin E in fish oil supplements protects EPA and DHA against oxidation.
• It is not harmful combine fish with nitrate-rich vegetables. It is also not harmful to reheat nitrate-rich vegetables.
• EFSA has set tolerable upper limit intake of EPA + DHA at 5 g/day.
  EFSA has set tolerable upper limit intake of EPA at 1.8 g/day.
  EFSA has set tolerable upper limit intake of DHA at 1 g/day.