Cardiovascular Risk and -Linolenic Acid Can Costa Rica Clarify?

Interest is increasing in the potential cardioprotective role of -3 (n-3) fatty acids (FAs). Most of the evidence supporting this hypothesis has been derived from studies of the longer-chain members of the n-3 family, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish oils.1 The value of the shorter-chain cousin, -linolenic acid (ALA), found in certain plant oils (flaxseed, soybean, canola, walnut) has been less clear.2 If ALA were able to do the same “heavy lifting” that EPA and DHA do, this would be welcomed news because the capacity to produce ALA is essentially limitless, whereas there are only so many fish in the sea. Campos and colleagues report in this issue of Circulation the results of a major study conducted in Costa Rica that provided new evidence that higher ALA intakes are associated with reduced risk for nonfatal myocardial infarction.3