Brain In The News

What is Your Omega-3 Score? A New Test Gives You the Answer

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October 12, 2009

By Daniel G. Amen, MD      

For years, I have been writing about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, found in salmon, mackerel, and sardines, as well as in fish oil supplements. Scientific evidence has found that increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids by eating more fish or by taking fish oil supplements has many positive effects on the brain and body. I personally take fish oil supplements every day and recommend them to ALL of my patients. But I often wondered how to know if I was getting — and if my patients were getting — adequate amounts of omega-3. Now there is a new omega-3 test where we can measure the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in your blood. The test involves a simple finger prick to get a few drops of blood that are sent off to a lab in Canada. There is no fasting required to get your omega-3 score. The omega-3 test gives you four scores that correlate to your level of risk for sudden death, heart disease, death from fatal ischemic heart disease, and sudden heart attack. Your omega-3 score results come in an easy-to-read and easy-to-interpret form that shows you if your risk is low, moderate, high, or very high. It also tells you what percentage risk reduction there is for each of the four categories if your omega-3 test scores are above a certain number. When I took the omega-3 test, I was very happy with the robust numbers. My omega-3 score showed I had a significantly decreased risk for heart disease. An omega-3 score above seven is good. My omega-3 score was nearly 11. When several of my nieces and nephews took the omega-3 test, I was horrified at how low they were, which put them at greater risk for both physical and emotional problems. It is an easy fix. They just needed to eat more fish or take fish oil. I was so impressed with the omega-3 test that I have decided to offer the omega-3 test to all of our patients here at the Amen Clinics. For more information about omega-3 testing, check out the Nutrasource Diagnostics website at www.nutrasource.ca. To your brain health, Daniel

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