34 Considerations for Buying an Omega-3 Test

EPISODE #34 - Considerations for Buying an Omega-3 TestRecording date: April 8, 2024 Broadcast date: May 16, 2024Hosts: Drs. Harris and JacksonGuest: Dr. Kevin Maki Background and key takeaways: Dr. Kevin Maki is the founder and chief scientist of Midwest Biomedical Research where they specialize in designing and conducting clinical trials related to cardiometabolic health, clinical nutrition, and cognitive function. And he's also an adjunct professor and dean's eminent scholar at Indiana University in the School of Public Health in Bloomington, and the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. ·      What’s the difference between all of the omega-3 tests out there; a new research paper published in the Journal of Nutrition wanted to answer that very question — Journal of Nutrition: Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status in Humans: A Narrative Review of Commercially Available Options·      Why clinical trials need to assess omega-3 status to reach better conclusions about the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) for certain health benefits·      Why in the near future clinicians will be routinely assessing omega-3 status; and why for people with low status, doctors can recommend an intervention to raise the status·      Why choosing the Omega-3 Index to test omega-3 status makes the most sense, but if the ultimate goal is to get people testing their omega-3 status in the first place, then testing is better than not testing at all·      What are some important considerations for buying an omega-3 test? The availability, the convenience, the cost, insurance coverage, the simplicity of the results…·      Why the arachidonic acid to EPA ratio is a useful test ·      Why it is virtually impossible to compile and compare studies if researchers are not using the same metrics to do baseline and ending omega-3 status·      Why you cannot tell what your omega-3 level is just by the omega-3 products you are taking (i.e. omega-3 supplements and/or fish) — i.e., why you can’t guess what you should test·      Why we need more clinical trials that recruit people with low status and then have an intervention to increase the status up to optimal levels·      What is the difference between measuring omega-3s in plasma vs. red blood cells·      Which tests are covered by insurance·      Why getting the Omega-3 Index into more mainstream channels will help the people who need it most — i.e., the ones with the lowest omega-3 levelsTo watch this episode, visit our YouTube channel.To read the full transcript from this OmegaMatters episode, visit https://omegaquant.com/omegamatters-broadcasts/.To learn more about omega-3 testing, visit: https://omegaquant.com/omega-3-index-complete/