FISH DIET, FISH-OIL AND DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID-RICH OIL LOWER FASTING AND POSTPRANDIAL PLASMA-LIPID LEVELS

Objective: The present study was carried out to clarify the effects of fish diet, fish oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) rich oil on fastin g and postprandial lipid levels in healthy male students. Design: The study was a randomized single-blind study with a control and three stu dy groups. Setting: The study was carried out in the Departments of Ph ysiology and Clinical Nutrition of University of Kuopio. Subjects: Hea lthy male volunteers were recruited for the study from the university student population. Fifty-nine subjects entered and 55 completed the s tudy. Interventions: For 15 weeks the subjects in the fish diet group ate 4.3 +/- 0.5 fish containing meals per week and those in the fish o il and DHA-oil groups ate 4 g oil per day. Fish diet provided 0.38 +/- 0.04 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 0.67 +/- 0.09 g DHA, fish oil 1.33 g EPA and 0.95 g DHA and DHA-oil (EPA-free) 1.68 g DHA per day. R esults: Fasting plasma triglyceride levels decreased in all test group s in 14 weeks when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Total pla sma cholesterol levels did not change but the HDL(2)/HDL(3)-cholestero l ratio increased in all test groups by over 50% (P ( 0.05). The postp randial total and chylomicron triglyceride responses, measured as area s under the response curve, were lowered in 15 weeks by the fish diet and fish oil (P ( 0.05), the same tendency (P < 0.1) being seen in DHA -oil group. Conclusions: These results show that both fasting and post prandial triglyceride concentrations can be decreased with moderate in takes of long-chain n - 3 fatty acids either from a fish diet or fish oil and that also pure DHA has a hypotriglyceridemic effect.