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INTRODUCTION The consumption of saturated fatty acids (SFA) is often related to the development of chronic diseases, especially coronary heart disease (CHD) and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), (1,2) despite conflicting [...], BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA) are better absorbed when they are combined with high-fat meals. However, the role of different dietary fats in modulating the incorporation of n-3PUFA in blood lipids in humans has not been previously explored. Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6PUFA) are known to compete with n-3PUFA in the metabolic pathways and for the incorporation into phospholipids, whereas saturated fats (SFA) may enhance n-3PUFA incorporation into tissues. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a randomized parallel-design trial, we aimed to investigate the long-term effects of n-3PUFA supplementation in subjects consuming a diet enriched with either SFA or n-6PUFA on fatty acid incorporation into plasma and erythrocytes and on blood lipid profiles (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides). RESULTS: Dietary supplementation with n-3PUFA co-administered with SFA for 6 weeks resulted in a significant rise in total cholesterol (0.46 [+ or -] 0.60 mmol/L;P = 0.020) and LDL-C (0.48 [+ or -] 0.48 mmol/L;P = 0.011) in comparison with combination with n-6PUFA. The diet enriched with SFA also induced a greater increase in eicosapentaenoic acid (2.07 [+ or -] 0.79 vs 1.15 [+ or -] 0.53;P = 0.004), a smaller decrease in docosapentaenoic acid (-0.12 [+ or -] 0.23 vs - 0.30 [+ or -] 0.20;P =0.034) and a similar increase in docosahexaenoic acid (3.85 [+ or -] 1.14 vs 3.10 [+ or -] 1.07;P = 0.128) percentage in plasma compared with the diet enriched with n-6PUFA. A similar effect was seen in erythrocytes. N-3PUFA supplementation resulted in similar changes in HDL-C and triglyceride levels. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that dietary substitution of SFA with n-6PUFA, despite maintaining low levels of circulating cholesterol, hinders n-3PUFA incorporation into plasma and tissue lipids. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2016) 70, 812-818; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2015.213; published online 13 January 2016

Introduction Inflammation plays an important role in all stages of atherosclerosis. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) is an acute-phase inflammatory mediator mainly regulated by interleukin (IL)-6 in the liver and [...], High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a marker of low-grade sustained inflammation. Omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma n-3 fatty acid concentration is related to hs-CRP concentration. A total of 124 free-living adults, were divided into tertiles of plasma hs-CRP (3.0mg/l). Body composition and anthropometric measurements were recorded. Hs-CRP was analysed using immunoassays and fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography. Plasma hs-CRP concentration was negatively correlated with total n-3 fatty acids (P=0.05), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; P=0.002) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; P=0.01). The highest hs-CRP tertile (>3.0mg/l) had significantly lower concentrations of total n-3 fatty acids, EPA and DPA, when compared with the other tertiles (P doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.20; published online 8 April 2009 Keywords: C-reactive protein; omega-3 fatty acids; cardiovascular disease; inflammation

Fish oils rich in (n-3) long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) can reduce circulating triglycerides and raise HDL-cholesterol. Phytosterols have been shown to reduce total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol in normocholesterolemic and hyperlipidemic populations. [...]

2008;42:94-102. Antioxidant-rich diets are associated with reduced asthma prevalence. However, direct evidence that altering intake of antioxidant-rich foods affects asthma is lacking. The objective was to investigate changes in asthma [...]