Omega 3 and 6 supplements may protect obese people from type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.
After just 12 weeks of having such supplements added to their diets, obese rats have lower glucose levels and improved glucose control, a study found today.
Omega 3, which is in salmon, and omega 6, which is found in nuts, influence the expression of 135 genes that control the release of proteins that determine insulin production, the research adds.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when people’s bodies do not make or use insulin properly, leading to raised blood-sugar levels. It is associated with carrying too much weight.
Consistently high blood-glucose levels damage blood vessels, which can lead to kidney disease, nerve damage and blindness.
Omega 3 and 6 supplements may protect obese people from type 2 diabetes (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers, from the University of Guelph, Ontario, analysed the muscles and DNA of rats who were fed different diets.
Obese rodents were given food supplemented with either omega 3 or 6 fatty acids.
These were compared against obese animals, and those of a healthy weight, who were fed a normal diet.
The findings were published in the journal Physiological Genomics.
Omega 3 protects against sight loss
This comes after research released last December suggested eating plenty of salmon, sardines and mackerel may protect against sight loss.
A chemical in oily fish boosts the survival of cells that are critical to vision, protecting against age-related sight decline, a study by Louisiana State University found.
Omega-3 oils ‘precondition’ cells in the eye to withstand ‘stress’, such as a loss of blood supply, according to researchers.
In laboratory tests, human eye cells exposed to constant light withstand damage if they are supplemented with such oils, the research adds.
Although fish oil also contains omega-6 AA, which is inflammatory and could therefore cause damage, omega-3 DHA is thought to alter the former oil’s action.
In laboratory experiments the researchers exposed human retinal cells, as well as those of living rats, to constant light. Prior omega-3 DHA supplementation saved these cells from destruction.