Fish Oil: Is Fish Oil Safe For Diabetics?

Two out of three diabetics have hypertension (high blood pressure), which greatly increases their risk of heart disease, stroke, nerve disease, as well as vision and kidney problems. Diabetes and hypertension are a deadly combination.

That’s why doctors warn diabetics to keep their blood pressure low. Anything over 130/80 stresses the heart, making it work too hard.

The guidelines for preventing and controlling hypertension are the same for both non-diabetics and diabetics.

It’s vitally important to maintain a healthy weight by eating a low calorie, low glycemic diet that’s high in fruits and vegetables, moderate in total fat and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It’s also important to limit the intake of both salt and sugar. Moderate exerciseis also highly recommended. And, of course, no smoking.

Including fish in the diet on a regular basis and/or taking a good fish oil supplement have also been shown to help lower blood pressure.

But there’s been a consideration about recommending fish oil. to diabetics. For some reason, some doctors believed fish and fish oil could aggravate problems with glucose tolerance.

Norwegian scientists, however, have now put that idea to rest. They’ve clearly demonstrated that fish and fish oil have no adverse effect on glucose tolerance for hypertension patients. (Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 123, 911-18)

Researchers at the University of Tromso in Norway randomly assigned nearly 80 obese volunteers with hypertension into two groups. The first group got fish oil supplements for 16 weeks. The second group got a placebo made from corn oil.

The fish oil patients significantly decreased their blood pressure, blood triglycerides and VLDLs (very low density lipoproteins), which is good for heart disease protection. The corn oil group showed no improvement over the course of the study.

But there’s even better news from this research project. And that is fish oil had no detrimental effect on glucose tolerance. This is important for diabetics, especially those with high blood pressure.

Dr. William Connor of the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, in an accompanying editorial, recommended that all diabetics eat wild caught salmon or other fatty fish such as sardines or herring, at least twice a week.

As an alternative or as extra added insurance, Dr. Connor also recommended people with diabetes should take daily fish oil supplements containing one gram of combined omega 3 DHA and EPA fatty acids.

The American Heart Association agrees. They offer the same advice to everyone, including diabetics, who want to prevent heart disease and stroke. Sound like pretty good advice, don’t you think?

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