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Updated October 17th, 2021 at 17:53 IST

Food intake of fatty acid found in nuts, seeds, plant oil lowers death risk: Study

A high intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found mostly in nuts, seeds and plant oils, lowers the risk of death from all causes. Read further.

Reported by: Rohit Ranjan
Food intake
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A new study which was published in the British Medical Journal (The BMJ) suggests that a high intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found mostly in nuts, seeds and plant oils, is linked to a lower risk of death from all causes, particularly heart and blood vessel illness. Higher ALA intake was linked to a slightly higher risk of cancer death, but the researchers stressed that more study is needed to confirm this.

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid found in plants such as soybeans, almonds, canola oil and flaxseed. Previous research has linked a high ALA intake to a lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease, but the results of other studies on ALA and death risk have been inconsistent. A multinational team of researchers examined the findings of 41 studies published between 1991 and 2021 on the connections between ALA and the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer to resolve this issue.

Studies included approximately 120,000 people from age group 18 to 98

These studies included approximately 120,000 people ranging in age group 18 to 98 who were tracked for two to 32 years and had their age, weight, smoking status, alcohol intake, and physical activity taken into consideration. After rigorously assessing each trial for bias, the researchers discovered that high ALA consumption was connected to a 10%, 8%, and 11% lower risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and coronary heart disease, respectively. This amounts to 113 deaths per 10,000 person-years from all causes, 33 deaths from cardiovascular disease, and 23 deaths from coronary heart disease.

Dietary ALA intake and cardiovascular disease mortality were found to have a dose-response impact, with a 1g per day increase in ALA consumption related to a 5% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. ALA levels in the blood have also been linked to a lower risk of death.

More research is needed to confirm the higher risk

The implementation of strict research inclusion criteria, as well as a thorough and systematic evaluation of study quality, implies that their findings are reliable. As a result, the researchers claim that this research contributes to the body of data for polyunsaturated fatty acids' possible health advantages. However, despite the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, it appears that intake recommendations should be set with caution, as ALA consumption may modestly raise the risk of cancer death. According to the researchers, more research is needed to confirm the higher risk.

Inputs from ANI

Image: Unsplash

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Published October 17th, 2021 at 17:53 IST

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