Fish Oil Improves Heart Function in Overweight Persons
The heart beat tends to be more irregular in healthier hearts than in less healthy hearts, which tend to be locked into a rigid rhythm. Exercise is known to increase heart rate variability. There is also some evidence that fish oil may increase heart rate variability.
In a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers from the University of Adeliade, Australia, studied the independent and combined effects of exercise and fish oil supplementation on heart rate variability and coronary heat disease risk factors in overweight subjects. Sixty-five subjects were divided into four groups. One group received a daily fish oil supplement and exercised for 12 weeks, a second group received the same supplement and did not exercise, a third group received a placebo and did exercise, and the fourth group received a placebo and did not exercise.
The authors of the study found that fish oil supplementation signficiantly increased heart rate variability and reduced heart rate at rest and during submaximal exercise indpendently of exercise. They speculated that the improvement in heart rate variability resulted from better parasympathetic nervous system control of the heart. |
