IT CAN HELP YOUR BODY FIGHT OFF NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF STRESS
People are not hesitant to try anything if it will allow them to ward off the negative effects of aging. A brand new study published in the scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry affirms that taking this one supplement that we all know about can help slow down the aging process significantly.
Ohio State University researchers performed a study on 138 participants ages 40 to 85 – an age span group that where the speed of aging is considered to be the fastest, mainly due to being sedentary and usually overweight. Participants were divided in 3 groups, one taking 2.5 grams of Omega-3s each day, the other taking 1.25 grams of Omega-3s daily, and a placebo group.
Four month into the study, the subjects were given a 20-minute basic math and speech test that is known to fire-off an inflammatory stress response in subject who take it. The results showed that those subject that were given the highest dosage of Omega-3s experienced far less stress damage to their bodies than the group who took the placebo. The Omega-3s supplemented groups (both groups) had 19 percent lower cortisol levels and 33 percent lower pro-inflammatory protein levels.
This finding made researchers conclude that there is a direct relationship between higher doses of Omega-3s and resilience to stress. According to them, the supplement can help our body efficiently decrease the harmful effects of stress on the level of our cells by ways of protecting those parts of the cell that tend to shrink due to aging processes.
Annalise Madison, a lead author of the study, said that introducing Omega-3 supplementation into our daily regimen is such a simple thing that could have an immense positive effect on fighting off stress-induced negative effects on our aging.
The very fact that the positive results were in direct relation with the dose administered, it’s confirmed that the higher the Omega-3 dosage, the greater the health benefits.
However, the study didn’t just find the positive effects Omega-3s have on aging, but also that by helping in reduction of the stress-related inflammation, they can help to fight off depression symptoms that might appear in some people constantly exposed to increased stress levels.
It is known that third of the people suffering from depression have heightened inflammation levels. According to professor of psychiatry Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD, people with depression who do have heightened inflammation can benefit from Omega-3 supplementation. For depressed people who do not have heightened inflammation, Omega-3s may not be particularly useful.
Also, this isn’t the first study that linked Omega-3s and healthy aging benefits. A 2018 study published in BMJ conducted on 2,622 people from 1992 to 2015, where blood levels of Omega-3s were measured , showed that those with higher levels were 18 percent less likely to show symptoms of unhealthy aging. Heidi T.M. Lai, PhD, the lead author of this study said that adults who have higher levels of Omega-3s were far more likely to not only live longer but healthier lives too.
