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Despite what supermarket fliers and overzealous food marketing may have you believe, a low-fat diet isn’t really in your best interest. While watching your fat intake can help you lose weight, as fat contains nine calories per gram compared to the four from both protein and carbohydrates, dietary fat shouldn’t be seen as the enemy. It seems that for every reason to fear fat, there is a caveat. As illustrated in the aforementioned example, fat is dense when it comes to calories, but it also tends to increase feelings of satiety, so you may be prompted to eat fewer calories if you favor fats over carbohydrates. Similarly, a high intake of saturated fat has been linked to increased Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol – not a good thing. But there is also scientific data indicating that saturated fat can increase levels of testosterone, leading to increases in muscle mass. As you can see, fat is a tricky subject.

One particular type of fat that has been praised for its health benefits is the Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3s are most often found in fish such as salmon, snapper and halibut, as well as walnuts, flax seeds and even summer squash. Previous research has indicated a plethora of benefits to be had from Omega-3 fatty acids, such as reduced inflammation throughout the body, inhibition of artery thickening, prevention of cancer cell growth, and reduced risk of obesity (1).

But that’s not all – the good news keeps on coming for this fat-fighting fatty acid. A study published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Pathology indicated that there were other benefits to be reaped from Omega-3s as well. In this study, the researchers wanted to see if a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids would have any effect on age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness in elderly people across the world.

In the study, the researchers prepared two diets – one containing a high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids, and one containing a low concentration – and monitored progress for eight months. However, it did not take long for researchers to notice significant differences – the diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids produced a regression (decrease) in retinal lesions (damage to the eye tissues) of 57 percent of subjects in just 12 weeks, compared to only four percent of subjects in the low-Omega-3 diet group indicating a regression. The improvements increased as time went on, with 90 percent of the subjects in the high-Omega-3 group showing a reduction in lesions at 27 weeks, compared to just 16 percent of the low-Omega-3 group. The researchers noted that their results were in line with earlier studies and suggested that this study "provides a useful tool to evaluate therapies that might delay the development of AMD (age-related macular degeneration" (2).

SOURCES:

1. WHFoods: Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

2. Tuo, Jingsheng, et al. A High Omega-3 Fatty Acid Diet Reduces Retinal Lesions in a Murine Model of Macular Degeneration. The American Journal of Pathology, 2009; 175(2): 799-807

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