Harvard University Researchers estimate that omega-3 fatty acid deficiency kills 72,000-96,00 American annually, potentially ranking as the sixth biggest killer of Americans. This is more deadly than excess trans fat intake, which claimed an estimated 63,000-97,000 American lives the same year.

Omega-3 fatty acids promote health and wellness in a variety of ways, suggests the latest research.

Depression: Daily supplements of omega-3 fatty acids may improve measures of depression in seniors with mild to moderate depression. Treatment with omega-3 fatty acids was clinically more effective in treating depression in comparison with the placebo.

Heart Function: Among patients with heart failure, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improved heart function and exercise capacity. After a year, those patients receiving the omega-3 supplement showed a 10.4 percent increase in heart function compared with a 5 percent decrease among those taking placebo. In addition, blood oxygen levels increased 6.2 percent in the omega-3 patients and decreased 4.5 percent in the placebo patients. Moreover, the team at Northwestern University observed that exercise time went up 7.5 percent in those receiving supplements, while it went down 4.8 percent in the placebo group. Finally, the hospitalization rate for the omega-3 patient group was 6 percent during the year, compared with 30 percent for the placebo group.

Vision: In a study by Sheila West from Johns Hopkins school of Medicine, patients with Age related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Caucasian Americans, were found to consume significantly less omega-3s and fish than those who did not have AMD.

Brain Function: Matthew Muldoon, of University of Pittsburgh and his team found that healthy, middle-aged men and women with higher blood levels of DHA (a type of omega-3 fatty acid) performed better on tests of reasoning and memory and vocabulary. The team monitored dietary bio-markers of specific types of omega-3 fatty acids and found that ALA, EPA, and DHA correlated to five major aspects of cognitive performance.

Memory/Cognition: Researchers found that older adults with mild cognitive impairments taking DHA supplementation for 24 weeks displayed improved memory and learning skills compared to those who did not take supplementation.

Gum Disease: Harvard Medical School's Asghar Naqvi found that those subjects who consumed the most DHA had a 20 percent reduced risk of developing periodontitis.

Breast Cancer Risk: Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Washington found that regular use of omega-3 supplementation slashes breast cancer risk. Women who regularly used fish oil supplements containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids had a 32 percent reduced risk of invasive ductal breast cancer, the most common type of the disease.

Hearing Loss: Paul Mitchell, from the university of Sydney found that two servings of fish weekly reduced hearing loss in subjects ages 50 years and older, compared to subjects who ate less than one serving of fish per week.

Obesity: More healthy fat, means less fat on YOU. Healthier fats are still fats; but evidence suggests that in moderation, they can actually improve our health in many ways, rather than the other way around.

Now that's some good news. Talk to your doctor or other health care practitioner to learn more.

Here's to a healthy, happy New Year in 2012!

Source of Article: Toyourhealth.com May 2011