March 18, 2008 – The essential fatty acids in fish could help reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes associated with menopause, according to Quebec researchers1.
The team of the DD Sylvie Dodin2 found that women who took a marine-source omega-3 supplement reduced the frequency of hot flashes by 55% in the omega-3 group, compared to 25% in women in the placebo group. In addition, the intensity of hot flashes in participants who took omega-3 supplements eased during the clinical trial.
“This is the first time that we have demonstrated, during a clinical trial with placebo, that omega-3 can help relieve hot flashes,” says one of the researchers, Michel Lucas, also epidemiologist and nutritionist at the Laval University.
It is possible that the action of omega-3s on serotonin and norepinephrine levels in postmenopausal women contributes to reducing hot flashes, say Quebec researchers. The action of fish oils on these two neurotransmitters could also prove useful in countering the psychological distress or depression that can accompany menopause, they add.
For two months, 120 women aged 50 to 55 took, three times a day, a placebo or an omega-3 supplement containing 350 mg of EPA and 50 mg of DHA.
In the land of the rising sun
So far, researchers have mainly focused their studies on soy after finding that Japanese women, who consume a lot, suffer very few hot flashes associated with menopause.
In Japan, we also eat more fish than in Quebec. Consumption of marine-sourced omega-3s is three times higher there than here, which may also contribute to Japanese women experiencing much less hot flashes around menopause.
Sardines, salmon, herring, mackerel, rainbow trout and tuna are excellent sources of omega-3 from marine sources.
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Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Medical News.
1. Results presented by DD Sylvie Dodin at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in the fall of 2007, in Dallas. The results will be published shortly.
2. DD Sylvie Dodin holds the Lucie and André Chagnon Chair for teaching an integrated approach to prevention, at Laval University, in Quebec.