June 18, 2013 — Researchers from Michigan Technological University, New York Medical College and the Mayo Clinic found that taking fish oil pills seemed to be protective against the effects of mental stress on the heart, particularly heart rate and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (key in the fight-or-flight response). Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown in research to hold numerous health benefits.
"In today's fast-paced society, stress is as certain as death and taxes," study researcher Jason Carter, a researcher at the university, said in a statement. "Moreover, our eating habits have deteriorated. This study reinforces that fish oils may be beneficial for cardiovascular health, particularly when we are exposed to stressful conditions."
The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, included 67 people without hypertension who were assigned to take either 9 grams of a fish oil supplement for eight weeks, or a placebo of olive oil for eight weeks. Before starting the supplements and at the end of the study period, all the participants underwent blood pressure, heart rate and other testing.
At the end of the study, researchers had the study participants do an arithmetic test, during which their stress responses were measured. They found that the participants who took the fish oil supplements had blunted the reactivity of the muscle sympathetic nerve activity, as well as the effects of mental stress on heart rate. However, fish oil did not seem to have an impact on the reactivity of blood pressure to mental stress.
"These findings support and extend the growing evidence that fish oil may have positive health benefits regarding neural cardiovascular control in humans," the researchers wrote in the study.
Read the full story at the Huffington Post