OMEGA-3S BENEFIT INFLAMMATORY IMMUNE RESPONSE.

According to research out of Texas A&M University, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3) present in fish oil appear to beneficially modulate the immune response toward more passive and less inflammatory activity. Researchers examined the effect of omega-3s on T cell function in mice by feeding the animals a control diet (5% corn oil, providing omega-6 fatty acids) or a fish oil diet (4% corn oil with 1% fish oil, providing omega-3s) for two weeks. Spleen CD4+T cells were cultured and analyzed for the impact of the dietary changes. Fish oil intake increased the percentage of Th2 polarized cells and surpressed Th1 cell proliferation, shifting the Th2/Th1 balance toward a more humoral immune response. (Ping Zhang, et al., “Dietary (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Modulate Murine Th1/Th2 Balance toward the Th2 Pole by Suppression of Th1 Development,” The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr, 135:1745-1751, July 2005).