Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
Heart attacks are scary — in just a split second, you can go from feeling like a healthy, vivacious person to a feeble, old shell of yourself.
And while that’s a hard reality to face, it’s better than the alternative — death.
Every year, about 735,000 people in the U.S. suffer a heart attack, and while some are lucky enough to survive, many don’t. This means every heart attack could be a roll of the dice with death.
Fortunately, scientists have discovered a nutrient that may stack the odds in your favor and keep your ticker in tiptop shape.
This heart-helper is omega-3 fatty acid. And it’s once again proving to be vital for heart health.
In a recent meta-analysis, researchers analyzed the link between omega-3 intake and heart disease over time using 19 studies from 16 different countries and over 45,000 participants.
After taking a closer look, the scientists found that people who regularly ate food-based omega-3 fatty acids were 10 percent less likely to suffer from a fatal heart attack. Even better, those who had the highest levels of omega-3s were about 25 percent less likely to die from a heart attack.
Interestingly, this study didn’t reveal a link between fatty acid intake and the risk of nonfatal heart attacks, which suggests that omega-3s are more helpful at protecting you against heart attacks that result in death.
While these results back up many studies that show omega-3s are good for your heart, they’re significant because they show you can lower your risk of dying from a heart attack by a quarter!
You can get omega-3s by eating wild-caught seafood and certain plants like avocado. However, if you don’t have a taste (or budget) for seafood, your best bet is to take a high-quality omega-3 supplement.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: nmoore@lfb.org – and click here to like us on Facebook.
Sources
[2] ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Biomarkers and Coronary Heart Disease
[3] Consumption of omega-3s linked to lower risk of fatal heart disease
