Pigs Enriched with Fish Oil?
A good friend of mine is from Minnesota, a small town town up near the Canadian border where it’s beyond cold. He hightailed it out of there, soon after graduating from high school, and has lived in Florida for quite a while.
He does make it back to Minnesota every once in a while and plans his visits for the summer, when at least it’s halfway warm. I heard from him today and he told me about a study that was done at the University of Minnesota.
I wondered if perhaps the study was performed on the voters in Minnesota to determine why in the world they would elect both Al Franken as senator and Jesse Ventura as governor.
Researchers at the U managed to isolate a a gene from a species of nematode worm that codes an enzyme involved in the conversion of omega 6 fats…found in many grains…into heart healthy omega 3s. The idea was not to produce omega 3 enriched pigs for consumption, although that may be a future possibility.
You might not know that the pig has a circulatory system that is quite similar to ours, and the scientists at the University of Minnesota were trying to find out if there are different effects when the omega 3s are produced internally, than when they are taken in via a person’s diet.
Omega 3s are a hot topic right now because there have been many studies that have shown that they decrease the risk of heart attack and sudden death — possibly by slowing down the heart rate. These omega 3 fatty acids are found in pharmaceutical grade fish oil.
A landmark Italian study documented a significant reduction in the death rate, by heart attack patients taking fish oil every day. The study lasted 3 1/2 years, and the death rate was cut in half.
Omega 3s also raise HDL or “good” cholesterol.
They lower triglycerides.
There is even data that shows that omega 3s can help lower the risk of eye problems such as macular degeneration.
DHA, (docosahexaenoic acid), has been linked with protection from dementia.
EPA, (eicosapentaenoic acid), affects the suppleness of the arteries.
Omega 3s are found naturally in fish that are on the bottom of the food chain, such as anchovies and sardines. Salmon is not an optimal source, which is why the University of Minnesota researchers were looking into the possibility of producing pigs that are enriched with omega 3s.
So will we ever have pigs that contain omega 3s?
There is no concrete answer right now, but isn’t it fun to think about getting your daily doses of EPA and DHA from your breakfast bacon, or your barbecued ribs? Until we know for sure, don’t forget to take your fish oil the sensible way: by soft gel.