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Effect of ALA‐Enriched Food Supply on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Males
Author(s) -
Sioen Isabelle,
Hacquebard Mirjam,
Hick Gaëlle,
Maindiaux Veronique,
Larondelle Yvan,
Carpentier Yvon A.,
De Henauw Stefaan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/s11745-009-3307-5
Subject(s) - lipidology , polyunsaturated fatty acid , blood pressure , medicine , clinical chemistry , clinical nutrition , cholesterol , alpha linolenic acid , waist , diastole , zoology , fatty acid , endocrinology , food science , obesity , chemistry , biology , docosahexaenoic acid , biochemistry
The outcome of a total dietary approach using a wide range of n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) enriched food items on cardiovascular diseases called for further investigation. The study objective was to assess the effect of an ALA‐enriched food supply on cardiovascular risk factors in healthy males. A dietary intervention (single‐blind field trial with pre‐ and post‐measurements) was performed with 59 healthy males in a Belgian prison. Over a period of 12 weeks they were supplied with an n‐3 enriched diet (containing 6.5 g n‐3 PUFA/day compared to 4 g n‐3 PUFA/day in the standard diet) that was substituted for their regular diet, increasing mainly the α‐linolenic acid intake (from 2.8 to around 5 g/day). The results indicated no impact on subjects waist circumference, weight and BMI or systolic blood pressure. In contrast, the diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased during the intervention period (from 74.6 ± 8.2 to 71.7 ± 10.1 mmHg; P < 0.02). Moreover, the HDL‐cholesterol level increased in non‐smoking participants (from 0.97 ± 0.25 to 1.06 ± 0.23 mmol/l; P < 0.03). In summary, the study demonstrated that enrichment of commonly eaten food items with n‐3 fatty acids provides the opportunity to increase the n‐3 fatty acid intake and to decrease the n‐6/n‐3 ratio which results in a decreasing diastolic blood pressure and an increase of HDL‐cholesterol (in non‐smokers).