Fatty acid supplement lowers inflammation.

• Position: Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can lower inflammation in healthy, but overweight, middle-aged and older adults, suggesting that regular use of these supplements could help protect against--and treat--certain illnesses, maintains a study by Ohio State University, Columbus.

Four months of omega-3 supplementation decreases one protein in the blood that signals the presence of inflammation by an average of more than 10% and leads to a modest decrease in one other inflammation marker. In comparison, participants taking placebos as a group saw average increases of 36% and 12%, respectively, of those same markers.

Chronic inflammation is linked to numerous conditions, including coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes. arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as the frailty and functional decline that can accompany aging.

"Omega-3 fatty acids may be both protective so that inflammation doesn't go up, as well as therapeutic by helping inflammation go down," emphasizes Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology and lead author of the study. "This is the first study to show that omega-3 supplementation leads to changes in inflammatory markers in the blood in overweight but otherwise healthy people. In terms of regulating inflammation when people are already healthy, this is an...