Most people know that inflammation is what makes arthritis and headaches hurt. That’s why many people use NSAIDS — Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs — like Ibuprophen to treat pain. Many people also know that conditions like Heart Disease also have an inflammatory component. That’s one of several reasons why aspirin therapy is recommended for many people at risk of a heart attack. We have talked several times about inflammation, but can you control it without popping pills daily?

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A new study following the dietary habits of over 200,000 people suggests that diets high in a specific type of polyunsaturated fat called linoleic acid may have much higher incidence of a painful disease called ulcerative colitis. While red meat contains some linoleic acid, you will also find it in many margarines and cooking oils including safflower, hemp, sunflower, corn, wheat germ, cottonseed, soybean, walnut, and sesame oil. EMaxHealth points out “Given that many foods, especially fast foods, are fried in such oils, it can be easy for individuals to consume high levels of linoleic acid.”

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This has been a banner year for fish oil. A new paper in the journal Neurology, shows a link between eating fish three times per week greatly improves the health of aging brains. How? Apparently the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in fatty fish are associated with a lower incidence of “subclinical brain abnormalities.” What are those? Those are the small changes that are often associated with declining brain and neurologic function with age. I already recommend one gram of fish oil supplementation per day to anyone looking to Age Against the Machine. This study just further supports that recommendation.

So much of anti-aging and regenerative medicine thinking hinges on the idea of reducing inflammation. Lacking the right hormones or being overweight can lead to inflammatory states that increase the risk of “age related” disease like heart disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and even diseases like Alzheimer’s. Because of this, there’s lots of scientific work being put into looking at inflammatory markers and how to control them. The thinking has been since fish oil (specifically the EPA+DHA fatty acids) reduce inflammation to the point they are effective supplements to reduce this inflammatory cascade. This fish oil fraction has been shown to impact things like serum triglycerides in a positive way so the thinking is that they are valuable to supplement.

This month, the Journal of Nutrition has a couple of studies that relate directly to fish oil. Some Japanese researchers demonstrated that fat metabolism is upregulated when the diet of mice is supplemented with fish oil. The same issue also contains a study that demonstrates that weight loss of about 10kg is more effective at reducing inflammatory markers than fish oil supplementation for obese men. A goldmine of fish oil data, the journal also has a piece on human monocytes (cells involved in the inflammatory process) that are inhibited by use of fish oil. The study is a little soft but the effect is definitely there.

The world of supplements is full of plenty of bunkum but the value of fish oil supplementation is clear and getting clearer. The more we understand about fish oil fatty acids and how they impact human metabolism the more refined the recommendations will get to be. For now, some supplementation is probably better than none. Check the contents of your fish oil supplements to make sure they have as much of the EPA+DHA fatty acids as possible since that seems to be where the metabolic action is.