Omega 3s and Aging, from Rhonda Patrick

This is a recent post from Rhonda Patrick on the importance of getting enough Omega 3 Fatty Acids.

Omega 3 fatty acids s help to decrease inflammation which can be linked to aging in general. Why? If you look at the graphic below it gives clues, but according to the science and to Patrick in general “Along with their anti-inflammatory effects, omega-3s improve brain structure and function, modulate immune responses, enhance mitochondrial function, and strengthen the membranes in our nervous system. It’s unlikely that just one of these explains why dietary omega-3s slow aging. “

Around 80% of the world and 90% of people in the United States don’t consume enough omega-3 fatty acids. That’s a problem.
Low omega-3 levels are associated with a 5-year decrease in life expectancy. Even more startling is the fact that having a low omega-3 index carries the same mortality risk as smoking!

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats that play critical roles in neurodevelopment, cognitive function, immune response, inflammation control, cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, and as we’ll discuss to day, healthy aging.
She’s convinced that omega-3 supplementation is foundational for long-term health—it’s why she developed the Omega-3 Supplementation Guide.

The take home message was that you need to take 1 g per day

Women benefit more than men

2. People over 60 get the most benefit

3. People with high blood pressure get more benefit than people without high blood pressure.

Rhonda Patrick’s website is Found My Fitness

The formulation I take is DoNotAge a 30 day supply sells for $33.

Omega-3’s and “inflammaging”

One reason that omega-3s are so beneficial is that they quell chronic low-grade inflammation—a process that contributes to several of the hallmarks of aging.
“Inflammaging” is a real culprit and omega-3s can help to slow its progression or stop it altogether. This might be due to omega-3-derived bioactive molecules called specialized pro-resolving mediators or SPMs, which exert beneficial effects on vascular and systemic inflammation.

Souza PR, et al. Enriched Marine Oil Supplements Increase Peripheral Blood Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators Concentrations and Reprogram Host Immune Responses: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Circ Res. 2020.

Along with their anti-inflammatory effects, omega-3s improve brain structure and function, modulate immune responses, enhance mitochondrial function, and strengthen the membranes in our nervous system. It’s unlikely that just one of these explains why dietary omega-3s slow aging. Rather, omega-3s touch on all of these pathways to exert a cumulative or synergistic effect on the aging process.
But is there evidence that omega-3s actually slow or prevent aging?

Essential fatty acids and biological age

Using the DNA-methylation-based clock known as GrimAge, Dr. Steve Horvath and colleagues observed that a high-dietary omega-3 intake was associated with a slower rate of biological aging, putting individuals at a lower risk of dying in the ensuing years.
This is supported by a more recent investigation, which found that participants with higher dietary intakes of omega-3 fatty acids had lower biological age acceleration—they aged more slowly than people with lower omega-3 intakes.
The study also investigated some important questions such as what was the optimal omega-3 intake and whether there was a point at which the benefits of omega-3s on aging started to diminish.
To answer these questions, let’s take a more detailed look at the study and then explore its implications.

More omega-3s, less aging

To unravel the connection between omega-3 intake and aging, the researchers utilized a measure of biological aging known as Phenotypic Age Acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel), which estimates someone’s rate of biological aging by utilizing biomarkers like glucose, albumin, creatinine, and red blood cell characteristics.
PhenoAgeAccel was developed to measure the difference between someone’s chronological age (how old one is in years) and their biological age. Someone who is biologically younger than their chronological age is experiencing a slower rate of aging. That’s a good thing—it means they’re in better health and vitality than someone with a faster (or more positive) biological age acceleration. We’d all like to move slower toward old age, not faster.
Participants in the study provided information on their dietary omega-3 intake by filling out two dietary recalls, which provided the total of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), eicosatetraenoic acid (ETA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from the diet.
Among all of the participants, a higher omega-3 intake was associated with a lower age acceleration. This was also the case for males and females.

Above an intake of 1.103 grams of omega-3s per day, the benefits of omega-3s on age acceleration started to level off and the association wasn’t as strong and not statistically significant. To me, this suggests that if your intake is below this amount, you should increase your intake. If it’s at or above this level, it’s likely good enough…at least in the context of biological aging.
For males in the study, a lower threshold of 0.461 grams per day was identified, above which the association between omega-3 intake and age acceleration weakened. However, no omega-3 intake threshold was observed for females.

Who benefits the most?

A relevant question to explore is whether omega-3s might be associated with biological aging among people in different demographic groups or who differ in other health-related characteristics.
This study revealed a few interesting findings here:

Females might derive a greater benefit from omega-3s than males.
Adults older than 60 derive the greatest benefit from a higher omega-3 intake compared to younger age groups.
People with high blood pressure derive more benefits from higher omega-3 intakes than people without high blood pressure.

On the other hand, smoking and drinking habits, physical activity levels, dietary quality, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, and BMI didn’t influence the relationship between omega-3 intake and aging.
So while I believe that everyone can benefit from increasing their omega-3 intake, this study would suggest that taking a personalized approach to supplementation might be the ideal strategy. One size may not fit all when it comes to omega-3. Consider your risk factors and lifestyle.

Final thoughts

Even though this study provides evidence of a threshold effect for omega-3 intake at just around 1 gram per day, I think most people would benefit from a higher intake through diet and supplements—2 to 3 grams per day—to achieve an omega-3 index of around 8% or more, which has been associated with a an 18% lower risk for all-cause mortality and a 13–20% lower risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer. I also bring this up because we don’t know if the participants in the study were supplementing with omega-3s in addition to what they were getting through their diet. If they were using supplements, then total intake was likely higher than that reported here.
A food-first approach to obtaining omega-3 fatty acids is ideal—fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are the best sources. But unless you’re eating oily fish daily, it’s going to be hard to consume 2–4 grams of omega-3s every day.

That’s why most people will benefit from taking a quality omega-3 supplement by selecting a third-party validated product in triglyceride or phospholipid form or opting for a prescription omega-3 product. For help on choosing an omega-3 supplement and other details on omega-3s, download the free Omega-3 Supplementation Guide.

For an even deeper dive into omega-3s, check out our topic page!

Don’t disregard omega-3 fatty acids—they just might be the key to a longer, healthier life!

Additional references

To hear more about the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids, check out my members-only Q&A session #39.