N-3 fatty acids in health and disease. Introduction.

Abstract

Not more than 10 years ago, most of us knew very little about n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The message to both the patient and the physician with regard to fatty acids and fats in the diet was based largely on over‐simplified information. For example, saturated fats were said to be ‘bad’. A high consumption of saturated fats increased both blood cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). In contrast, the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet were thought to be basically ‘good’. They reduced serum cholesterol and may have delayed the development of atherosclerosis.The lesson learnt from the Greenland Eskimos did not really change this concept, but has taught us more about some of the mechanisms involved [1, 2]. Today a common interest in regard to the potential benefit of n‐3 fatty acids is shared by almost everybody interested in the treatment and prevention of CHD. The diverse effects of twenty‐carbon fatty acids of the n‐6 and n‐3 families on platelet and vessel wall function, prostaglandin synthesis and lipoprotein metabolism, make them of special interest in relation to thrombosis and atherosclerosis [3].