Saving Seafood

FDA panel endorses wider use of fish-oil drug to protect against heart problems

November 15, 2019 — A panel of experts unanimously recommended Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration allow wider use of a fish oil-based drug to treat people at high risk for heart attacks and strokes even when they are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The 16-0 endorsement of the FDA advisory committee puts Dublin-based Amarin Corp. one step closer to widespread distribution of Vascepa, a drug the company has said could be worth billions of dollars annually. The FDA, which usually follows such guidance, could make a long-awaited final decision next month.

“There’s a definite need for additional therapeutic approaches,” said Kenneth D. Burman, chief of the endocrine section at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, who chaired the panel. Despite some side effects, he said, “this seems a very useful new agent for addition to the armamentarium for the treatment of these patients.”

The drug, a purified version of the Omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, is aimed at some of the more than 40 million people in the U.S. who take statins to control their LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and have adopted lifestyle changes, yet remain at risk of cardiovascular problems because of elevated triglyceride levels.

Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. When their levels are too high, generally more than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood, the result can be deaths, heart attacks, strokes, unstable angina or the need for cardiac surgery.

A landmark 2018 study, led by a researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and sponsored by Amarin, showed that patients who took four grams of Vascepa daily fared 25 percent better in staving off those events than those given a placebo. The researchers spent more than six years following more than 8,000 middle-aged and older patients in 11 countries who had coronary artery disease or diabetes and at least one other risk factor, such as high blood pressure.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Fish Oil Supplements May Do Your Heart Good

October 1, 2019 — Millions of Americans pop a fish oil supplement each day, hoping to bolster their heart health. Now, research suggests they may be on the right track.

The most up-to-date review of data from 13 prior studies found daily omega-3 fish oil supplement use tied to a significant lowering of risk for heart attack, according to a team led by Dr. JoAnn Manson. She is a professor of epidemiology at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston.

Daily use of the supplement — typically about 840 milligrams per day — was also linked to a lower overall risk of dying from heart disease, the review found.

In total, the 13 studies involved data on more than 120,000 adults, a sample size that is 64% larger than any other yet conducted, the researchers said.

Although the findings are encouraging, fish oil remains just one factor in heart health, Manson said in a school news release.

Read the full story at U.S. News

US kids aren’t eating enough seafood, study says; here’s how to add more

May 21, 2019 — The humble tuna sandwich, once a lunchbox staple, is making less frequent appearances in school cafeterias across the nation. American children are eating relatively little fish and shellfish in comparison to meat, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The report, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, explores both the health benefits and the risks associated with eating what once swam in the sea while informing parents of the safest, most sustainable choices for their children.

Read the full story at CNN

Eating Fish May Help City Kids With Asthma Breathe Better

April 1, 2019 — It’s long been known that air pollution influences the risk — and severity — of asthma. Now, there’s emerging evidence that diet can play a role, too.

A new study finds that higher consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and lake trout, and in some plant sources such as walnuts and flaxseed, is linked to reduced asthma symptoms in city kids who are exposed to fairly high levels of indoor air pollution.

“We know that asthma is a disease that’s driven by inflammation,” explains Dr. Emily Brigham, a pulmonologist at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the study. As our bodies digest fish, the omega-3 fatty acids generate byproduct molecules known as “pro-resolving mediators” that make their way into our lungs. “They help to resolve inflammation,” Brigham says.

Given this anti-inflammatory effect, Brigham and her colleagues had a hunch that diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids may help attenuate the effects of air pollution on kids’ symptoms. To study this, they tracked the diets and indoor air pollution levels (from sources including smoke, dust and allergens) in the homes of 135 children, mostly African-American and all with asthma, in Baltimore, Md.

They measured two types of indoor air pollution, made up of different sizes of particulate matter: PM2.5 (fine inhalable particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller), and the somewhat larger PM10. These particulates are all too small for us to see, but they can make their way into our airways, and the smaller size — PM2.5 — can lodge deeply inside our lungs.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio

Fatty Acid Dynamics In The Fish Gulf Menhaden

March 6, 2019 — “Essential fatty acids” are critical to organismal growth and development and, because they cannot be synthesized, they must be obtained through the diet. The role of essential fatty acids have been known to the medical community for decades – these components of the diet play a critical role in human health, growth, and development.

The well known omega-3 fatty acids are one example and are used to reduce the risk of heart disease, pain from rheumatoid arthritis, and depression. Other animals, like fishes, also rely on essential fatty acids for their growth and development, and the importance of fatty acid composition is critical in the success in aquaculture because they play an important role in growth, reproduction, and swimming abilities of fishes.

Omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA have recognized physiological functions and are critical during endogenous and early exogenous feeding. Poor growth and survival may occur without sufficient levels of essential fatty acids. Because these biological precursors are so important to organismal development, we sought to describe the intra-annual changes in the fatty acid composition of Gulf Menhaden. This small fish is termed a “forage fish” because it is thought to be a major prey item, and a major ecological role, to a variety of avian, fish, and mammal predators. The Gulf Menhaden stock also supports the largest commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. This fishery is a called a “reduction” fishery because it converts the live fish to both fish oil and fish meal. Fish oil from Gulf Menhaden is rich in EPA and DHA and is widely used for human consumption. Similarly, the fish meal produced is used in a variety of aquaculture and agriculture applications. The implications of seasonal variation in the characteristics of fish oil and fatty acid composition have implications to the dynamics of the reduction fishery as well as to the predators that rely on Gulf Menhaden. In this work, we describe general and specific characteristics of oil content and fatty acid composition of Gulf Menhaden.

Read the full story at Science Trends

 

Studies: Omega-3s temper premature births, heart attacks

November 21, 2018 — New research linking omega-3 fatty acids with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases as well as the reduction of dangerous premature births is expected to have benefits for the seafood industry.

In a study of people who took Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fish oil, researchers found that subjects were 28 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks than those taking a placebo. Additionally, people who ate fewer than 1.5 servings of fish weekly reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 19 percent when taking Lovaza.

The research was presented at the recent American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The use of fish oil did not significantly reduce risk for those eating more seafood, but the average overall showed a reduced risk,” Dr. Tom Brenna, a professor of pediatrics, chemistry, and nutrition at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, and chair of Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Scientific and Nutrition Advisory Council, told SeafoodSource. “The message here is, ‘If you don’t eat fish, take supplements.'”

Alongside the Lovaza study, a new Cochrane Review of 70 studies worldwide found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced dangerous preterm births by 42 percent.

The extensive review of published studies, which included 20,000 pregnant women, also revealed an 11 percent reduction in preterm births, and a 10 percent reduction in risk of having a low-birthweight baby. The researchers reviewed studies involving fish oil supplements as well as seafood.

“This study is further evidence that health professionals should be actively promoting fish and omega-3s among pregnant women as they have possibly the most to gain from eating more fish,” Jennifer McGuire, a registered dietitian for the National Fisheries Institute, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Major Chinese fish oil producer and exporter Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical approved Friend of the Sea

November 19, 2018 — The following was released by Friend of the Sea:

Chinese manufacturer Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has obtained Friend of the Sea certification for refined fish oil and softgel from Engraulis rigens sourced from FAO Area 87 (Southeast Pacific).

Friend of the Sea’s standard for sustainable fish oil and Omega-3 certifies that the oil originates only from fisheries that are compliant with Friend of the Sea’s sustainable fishing requirements, including good fishery management, selective fishing gears and social responsibility, and that a full chain of custody is in place throughout the supply and production chain.

Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical Co. Ldt., which processes 20000 tons of crude fish oil and produces 10000 tons of refined fish oil, is one of the largest world’s manufacturer of refined fish oil. While being exported to America and Europe, the finished fish oil also guarantees material supply of stringent standard’s fish oil preparation and products for Yuwang itself.

“We decided to join the Friend of the Sea project because we are eager to give our contribution in conserving the marine habitats and protecting them for future generations,” claims Albert Ho, Business Manager at Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical.

“The approval of Shandong Yuwang Pharmaceutical as a Friend of the Sea certified company consolidates the presence of our certification in China and is the confirmation that more and more fish oil manufacturers are committed towards environmental sustainability” comments Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea.

Should You Keep Taking Those Fish Oil And Vitamin D Pills?

November 16, 2018 — Nearly 19 million Americans take fish oil supplements and some 37 percent of us take vitamin D. Many may be motivated by research that has suggested these pills can protect heart health and prevent cancer. On Saturday, NPR published a story on long-awaited research on both supplements that called those claims into question.

The findings of the trial, called VITAL, were complex. When researchers looked at cancer and overall cardiovascular events, they found no protective benefit from taking vitamin D or fish oil supplements. But when they looked only at heart attacks, they did find a benefit, especially for African-Americans and people who eat little fish. (Researchers say further study is needed to see whether those benefits hold up.)

The story prompted a wave of questions from our readers and listeners. Many of you wrote in asking, essentially, should I stop taking these supplements?

To get answers to some of your questions, we spoke with Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who headed the VITAL trial. We also turned to Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes, senior scientist and director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University School of Medicine.

The findings of the VITAL study cast doubt on benefits of fish oil for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Should people just throw out their pills?

JoAnn Manson: No. For those already taking supplements, our findings do not offer a clear reason to stop. If you want to consider starting, our recommendation is to talk with your health care provider, but this does not need to be done on an urgent basis. We do caution against taking very high doses, but at the level fish oil [was taken] in our study there were no significant adverse effects. In addition, while fish oil did not reduce the risk of stroke or other cardiovascular problems, it did reduce the risk of heart attack by 28 percent and that is a significant finding.

Previous research suggests fish oil may have greater benefits for heart health than for reducing stroke, because there are some mechanisms — such as reducing irregular heart rhythm — which would be more important for heart attack than for stroke.

Read the full story at NPR

Fish-oil drugs protect heart health, two studies say

November 12, 2018 — Two major studies released Saturday provide evidence that medications derived from fish oil are effective in protecting people from fatal heart attacks, strokes and other forms of cardiovascular disease.

The large, multiyear research efforts tested different formulations and quantities of drugs made with Omega-3 fatty acids on two groups of people: one that suffered from cardiovascular disease or diabetes and another that represented the general population. Both studies found that people who took the drugs every day enjoyed protection against some heart and circulatory problems compared with those given a placebo.

In a look at another commonly consumed supplement, vitamin D, researchers found no effect on heart disease but saw a link to a decline in cancer deaths over time.

The research was released Saturday at the American Heart Association’s 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 43 million people in the United States take statins to lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, and the drugs are credited with reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. But heart disease remains the leading killer of Americans. In recent years, a long, steady decrease in heart disease deaths has slowed. So researchers are seeking other ways to combat cardiovascular disease beyond known protective factors such as changes in diet, exercise and smoking habits.

One of the studies unveiled Saturday, named by the acronym REDUCE-IT, determined that people with cardiovascular disease who were already taking statins stood less chance of serious heart issues when they were also given two grams of the drug Vascepa (icosapent ethyl) twice a day.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Nutrition researcher: The human diet needs more shellfish

October 29, 2018 — Numerous studies have shown that eating seafood is good for human health, but Professor Baukje de Roos, deputy director of the Rowett Institute at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen and an internationally recognized nutrition scientist, believes that shellfish are some of the most important contributors of essential nutrients and should be given a great place in the diet.

Professor de Roos, who is currently researching the effects of farmed seafood on heart health and micronutrient status, updated delegates at the recent Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference in Oban, Scotland, on the major health benefits of seafood and outlined the important involvement of shellfish.

Professor de Roos reminded her audience that omega-3 fatty acids help to protect against stroke and lower the risk of mortality from coronary heart disease, while vitamin D is essential for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones; and vitamin B12 is involved in the functioning of the nervous system, the formation of red blood cells, and in energy production.

Read the full story at Seafood Source