More Fish Oil, Less Vegetable Oil, Better for Your Health

Including more fish oil than vegetable oil in your diet may help protect your tissues and organs from inflammation, according to University of Michigan researchers. In your body, both fish oil and vegetable oil are converted into chemicals called prostanoids. Though these compounds help to control blood pressure and prevent allergies, when produced in excess they increase inflammation, pain, swelling, and redness in body tissues.The researchers found that prostanoids from fish oil and vegetable oil are not the same. Those made from fish oil are “less effective at causing pain and swelling than those made from vegetable oil,” researchers said.Meanwhile, adding fish oil to your diet effectively decreases the amount of prostanoids made from vegetable oil, though sometimes in unexpected amounts.In the study, researchers looked at the effects of both fish oil and vegetable oil in cultured cells. Both oils are converted into prostanoids by cyclo-oxygenases (COX) enzymes, types 1 and 2.In reactions that involved COX-1, if more fish oil was present it bound to COX-1 preferentially and limited vegetable oil’s access to the enzymes. However, in reactions involving COX-2, an increased amount of fish oil did not change the binding process, so more vegetable oil was converted to prostanoids.The findings suggest that the body naturally regulates levels of prostanoids produced by fish and vegetable oils, but the researchers are still investigating exactly why COX-1 and COX-2 act differently. They hope that, upon further investigation, they will be able to design new anti-inflammatory drugs that will bind to COX-2 and decrease the levels of prostanoids from vegetable oils.

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Journal of Biological Chemistry August 3, 2007, Vol. 282, Issue 31, 22254-22266
Science Blog July 27, 2007