Fish Oil Favorably Linked to Diabetes

TRONDHEIM, Norway—High doses of fish oil reduced the size and concentration of several lipoprotein subclasses in type II diabetes patients while lowering patients’ insulin sensitivity according to study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (ePub, ahead of print, Feb. 2007, DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602703). In the two-armed, parallel, placebo-controlled and randomized.study, researchers measured fish oil’s effects on lipoproteins by use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic and isoglycemic clamps., Patients (n=12) were given either 5.9 g/d (median intake) total n-3 fatty acids (FA), or 8.5 g/d corn oil as placebo. After the nine-week intervention, substantial differences were noted in the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) size, particle concentrations of large VLDL, and small high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the fish oil group compared to placebo (oxidized LDL was unaffected). Researchers concluded a high intake of n-3 FA favorably affects several lipoprotein subclasses and lowers insulin sensitivity in type II diabetics. There was however, no correlation between the decrease in insulin sensitivity and the effects on lipoprotein subclasses.