Bones: stronger thanks to Omega 3 ali from fish

Food-derived Omega 3eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may protect against bone loss in weightlessness. The news comes from NASA laboratories in Houston, U.S., where Sara Zwart and her staff demonstrated the association between consumption of Omega-3-rich fish during space missions and the effects of being outside the Earth's atmosphere, which are harmful to the human body. According to the authors of the discovery, published in the pages of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, EPA can also perform the same protective function on the bones of individuals forced to spend a lot of time in bed.

Absence of gravity, an enemy to health

After a space mission, astronauts have to deal with their health. In fact, periods of being in space cause a loss of bone tissue. A molecule known as NF-kappaB is involved in this process. This protein regulates several processes, such as bone resorption, muscle loss and immune function. By measuring the expression of the gene encoding for NF-kappaB, Zwart and colleagues showed that even after short-duration missions its levels increased by nearly 500 percent. To this data, obtained by studying 7 men and 3 women who spent 12 to 16 days aboard a shuttle, the authors added those from research conducted on astronauts who participated in longer missions or stayed on the Russian Mir space station. These astronauts filled out questionnaires regarding their diet and underwent bone analysis. The researchers thus found that consumption of higher amounts of fish was associated with less bone loss in weightlessness. Not only that, the authors pointed out that similar results were also obtained on people confined to long periods in bed.

A confirmation from cells

The discovery made by Zwart and colleagues is also supported by experiments conducted on cells. Indeed, the researchers explained that EPA administration reduces NF-kappaB activation at the cellular level. Based on all these findings, the authors came to hypothesize that inhibition of NF-kappaB activation by Omega-3 could have beneficial effects on bones, other organs and processes regulated by NF-kappaB and compromised by spaceflight, particularly muscles and the immune system. Not only that, research has already gone further by studying the role of these fatty acids in preventing radiation-associated forms of cancer to which astronauts are exposed. The early results obtained are encouraging.

Changing menus to decrease risks

According to the authors, the data collected during this research will have a significant impact on both future space missions and the health of the entire population. A simple menu change and increased fish consumption may be all that is needed to benefit from Omega-3s.  

Source

1. Zwart SR, Pierson D, Mehta S, Gonda S, Smith SM, "Capacity of omega-3 fatty acids or eicosapentaenoic acid to counteract weightlessness-induced bone loss by inhibiting NF-kappaB activation: from cells to bed rest to astronauts," J Bone Miner Res. 2010 May;25(5):1049-57