Fish Oil safety concerns

By Stephen Daniells, 01-Mar-2010

Related topics: Antioxidants, carotenoids, Minerals, Nutritional lipids and oils, Phytochemicals, plant extracts, Proteins, peptides, amino acids, Vitamins & premixes, Cognitive and mental function, Energy & endurance

A cocktail of vitamins, minerals and herbals may delay the major aspects of the ageing process and extend lifespan by 10 per cent, according to a mouse study from Canada.

Mice fed a supplement containing 30 dietary ingredients did not experience a 50 per cent loss in daily movement like other non-supplemented animals, according to findings published in the current issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

The benefits were linked to increases in the activity of mitochondria, the power plants of the cells, as well as by reducing levels of free radicals produced by the mitochondria, say researchers from McMaster University, led by David Rollo.

“For ageing humans maintaining zestful living into later years may provide greater social and economic benefits than simply extending years of likely decrepitude,” said Rollo.

“This study obtained a truly remarkable extension of physical function in old mice, far greater than the respectable extension of longevity that we previous documented. This holds great promise for extending the quality of life of ‘health span’ of humans,” he added.

However, it is not known if the effects would be repeated in humans and years of clinical trials would be necessary before any firm conclusions could be drawn, cautioned the researchers.

Study details

Rollo and his co-workers used bradykinesis, or declining physical movement, as a biomarker of ageing and mortality risk. Mice were divided into two groups: One was fed a normal diet, while the other was supplemented with a cocktail of dietary supplement ingredients.

“Dosages were derived from recommended human doses adjusted for body size and the 10-fold higher metabolic rate of mice,” explained the researchers.

Results showed maintenance of youthful levels of locomotor activity into old age in the supplemented animals, whereas old non-supplemented mice showed a 50 per cent loss in daily movement, said the researchers. This was accompanied by a loss of mitochondria activity, and declines in brain signalling chemicals relevant to locomotion, such as striatal neuropeptide Y. This chemical is associated with a range of functions, including maintaining energy balance, as well as effects in memory and learning.

No such declines were observed in supplemented animals, said the researchers.

“Although identifying the role of specific ingredients and interactions remains outstanding, results provide proof of principle that complex dietary cocktails can powerfully ameliorate biomarkers of aging and modulate mechanisms considered ultimate goals for aging interventions,” stated Rollo and his co-workers.

The researchers confirmed that development of new and “hopefully more effective supplements” is ongoing.

The supplement was composed of vitamins B1, B3 (niacin), B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginko biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil.

The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Source: Experimental Biology and Medicine
2010, Vol. 235, Pages 66-76, doi:10.1258/ebm.2009.009219
“Dietary amelioration of locomotor, neurotransmitter and mitochondrial aging”
Authors: V. Aksenov, J. Long, S. Lokuge, J.A. Foster, J. Liu, C.D. Rollo
The full journal paper is available free to access here .
+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*+*+*+*+*=

THE COD LIVER OIL IS VERY HIGH IN VIT D BUT LIVERS IN GENERAL ARE TOXIC WAREHOUSES.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180945.php

With concern over mercury contamination of tuna on the rise and growing information about the health effects of eating contaminated fish, scientists would like to know exactly where the pollutant is coming from and how it's getting into open-ocean fish species.

A new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology uses chemical signatures of nitrogen, carbon and mercury to get at the question. The work also paves the way to new means of tracking sources of mercury poisoning in people.

The study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, Harvard School of Public Health, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research in Norway, appears in the journal's March 1, 2010 issue.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element, but some 2,000 tons of it enter the global environment each year from human-generated sources such as coal-burning power plants, incinerators and chlorine-producing plants. Deposited onto land or into water, mercury is picked up by microorganisms, which convert some of it to methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish and the animals - and people - that eat them.

The primary way people in the United States are exposed to methylmercury is by eating fish and shellfish. Health effects include damage to the central nervous system, heart and immune system, and the developing brains of young and unborn children are especially vulnerable.

In the current study, the researchers wanted to know if tuna and other open-ocean fish pick up methylmercury by eating contaminated fish that live closer to shore or by some other means. They studied 11 species of fish, including red snapper, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel and two species of tuna. Seven of the species studied live in the shallow, coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico; the two tuna species live far out in the ocean and are highly migratory; the remaining two species spend parts of their lives in both habitats.

It's no mystery how the coastal fish acquire methylmercury, said Joel Blum, who is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Geological Sciences at U-M. "We know that there's a lot of mercury pollution in the coastal zone. A large amount of mercury comes down the Mississippi River, and there's also air pollution and deposition of mercury from the highly industrialized coastal Gulf region." In this environment, methylation occurs in the low-oxygen conditions of the lower water column and sediments, and the methylmercury wends its way up the food web, becoming more concentrated at each step along the way.

"It's much less clear how methylmercury gets into open-ocean fish species, some of which don't come anywhere close to shore but can still have very high levels," said the study's lead author, David Senn, formerly of the Harvard School of Public Health, and now a senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Scientists have proposed three possibilities.

One is that open-ocean fish visit coastal areas to feed, picking up methylmercury from the coastal food web. Another possibility is that small organisms that acquire methylmercury in coastal regions are washed out to sea, where they enter the open-ocean food web. In the third scenario, mercury is directly deposited into the open ocean, where it undergoes methylation.

By looking at three chemical signatures in the fish - nitrogen isotopes, carbon isotopes and mercury isotopes - Senn, Blum and colleagues learned that coastal fish and open-ocean fish are feeding from two separate food webs.

"That rules out the first explanation, that these tuna were getting their methylmercury by feeding off coastal fish," Senn said.

"We think it's unlikely that the mercury is being methylated in coastal sediments and then washed out to the open ocean, so the most likely alternative is that there is deposition and methylation of mercury in the open ocean," Blum said. The finding runs counter to the long-held view that the open ocean is too oxygen-rich to support methylation, but it is consistent with recent studies suggesting more methylation may be occurring in that environment than was previously thought.

"It turns out there are probably low-oxygen microenvironments on tiny particles of organic matter, where methylation may be able to occur," Blum said.

One of the biggest differences the researchers found between coastal and open-ocean fish was in their mercury "fingerprint." The fingerprint is the result of a natural phenomenon called isotopic fractionation, in which different isotopes of mercury react to form new compounds at slightly different rates. In one type of isotopic fractionation, mass-dependent fractionation (MDF), the differing rates depend on the masses of the isotopes. In mass-independent fractionation (MIF), the behavior of the isotopes depends not on their absolute masses but on whether their masses are odd or even.

The researchers found that open-ocean fish have a much stronger MIF fingerprint than do coastal fish, a discovery that opens the door to new ways of analyzing human exposure to mercury.

"We can do an isotopic analysis of the mercury in your hair, and by looking at this mass-independent signal, tell you how much of the mercury is coming from inorganic sources, such as exposure to mercury gas or amalgams in your dental fillings, versus how much is coming from the fish that you eat," Blum said. "We think this could become a widespread technique for identifying sources of mercury contamination."

Senn and Blum's coauthors are Edward Chesney of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium; Michael Bank and James Shine of Harvard School of Public Health; and Amund Maage of Norway's National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research.

The research was funded by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant to Harvard School of Public Health and by the University of Michigan.
++++++++++++++++
THIS FROM THOM HARTMANN MARCH 7th 2010
In a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, every single fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the United States was found to be contaminated with mercury. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, "This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams." It's very damaging to the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, and can have severe effects on adults. Mercury enters the environment as atmospheric emissions from industrial processes, mostly from the burning of coal for electricity. It eventually concentrates in rivers, lakes and oceans, where it enters the aquatic food chain. There is no such thing as clean coal, even though our President used the phrase in his state of the Union address. And we're now seeing an epidemic of autism in the United States that may be connected to contaminated Chinese toys, or to mercury, or both. Welcome to the brave new corporate world.

Supplements of omega-3s, vitamins and minerals for prisoners may reduce the number of violent and aggressive episodes in prisoners, according to a new study from The Netherlands.

Nutritional supplements containing vitamins, minerals, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids were associated with a 34 per cent reduction in violent incidents, according to findings of a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial with over 200 young adult offenders published in Aggressive Behavior.

On the other hand, a 14 per cent increase in the number of reported incidents in participants in the placebo group were reported by the Dutch scientists, led by Ap Zaalberg from the Dutch Ministry of Justice.

“The prospect of influencing aggression and rule-breaking behavior with nutrients in moderate doses is important enough to warrant further research,” wrote the researchers. “This is particularly true as adequate supplementation may also have beneficial effects on mental health and cognitive functioning.”

Despite the reductions in violent incidents, which were documented by the prison staff, no significant differences were reported by the prisoners themselves when asked to rate their aggression or general health.

“Yet, the results in terms of a substantial reduction in reported incidents seem promising, as this outcome measure in particular may have practical relevance,” wrote Zaalberg and co-workers.

Commenting independently on the research, Professor Michael Crawford, director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University told NutraIngredients that the study follows on from a study in England by Bernard Gesch at Oxford University (Br J Psychiat, 2002, Vol. 181, pp 22-28) which found that supplementation of young violent offenders with fatty acids and micronutrients reduced violent offences by some 39 per cent or more.

Dr Gesch’s study was a double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which used the outcome measure was that used by the UK Home Office and Prisons to assess behaviour for legal purposes such as parole. “The measures were pretty robust,” said Prof Crawford.

Milestone research

The area of fatty acid supplementation and aggression was described as “an important development, and about to become more important”, by Prof Jack Winkler, director of the Nutrition Policy Unit at London Metropolitan University.

Talking to NutraIngredients, Prof Winkler said the Zaalberg study extended the data of Gesch and confirms the basic finding: “A good diet reduces aggression,” he said.

With only 200 subjects, the Dutch study would still be classed as small, said Prof Winkler, and “sceptics” have already “nit-picked it on methodological grounds”.

Answers may be forthcoming, said Prof Winkler, noting that Oxford University researchers are currently conducting a double blind, randomised, controlled trial at three locations and planned to include 1,000 subjects. The study is funded by the Wellcome Foundation and supported by the UK Department of Justice and the Prison Service.

“In my view, this could be milestone research, the research that finally makes the world take seriously the connection between diet and mental ill health, in all its forms,” said Prof Winkler.

No challenge to the methods of the new Oxford study has come forward, noted Prof Winkler. “If the results turn out similar to the Gesch and Dutch studies, then it could be a significant breakthrough,” he said.

Professor Crawford added that the link between diet and aggressive behaviour “makes sense on the basis of evidence of links between major depression, suicide and homicide reported by Dr Joseph Hibbeln at the National Institutes of Health in the USA and of course our stuff demonstrating the absolute dependence of the brain on the long chain essential fatty acids.”

Source: Aggressive Behavior
March/April 2010, Volume 36, Issue 2, Pages 117-126
“Effects of nutritional supplements on aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathology among young adult prisoners”