鱼油和亚麻籽油，哪个对高胆固醇更好?

根据《心血管研究》杂志2009年2月号发表的一项研究，鱼油能减少炎症，比亚麻籽油显示出更强的保护心脏的作用。In the study on laboratory animals, diets containing 0.7 percent, 2.3 percent or 7 percent fish oil or flaxseed oil produced improved heart function in the left ventricle of the heart, which pumps blood out to the body, and decreased levels of some markers of inflammation. Fish oil also increased production of the anti-inflammatory hormone adiponectin.

在一项比较亚麻籽油、橄榄油、鱼油和大豆油的研究中，鱼油比其他油产生更低的总胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇和甘油三酯。亚麻籽油产生的白细胞活性较低，这被认为与动脉斑块的形成有关。这项对实验室动物的研究发表在2010年6月的《巴西动物学报》上。

根据2010年7月发表在《脂质研究杂志》上的一项研究，鱼油比亚麻籽油更能预防动脉粥样硬化。In the study on laboratory animals, diets containing two levels of flaxseed or fish oil for 16 weeks resulted in lower LDL cholesterol levels in the fish oil group than the flaxseed group. While both oils lowered levels of certain plaque-causing compounds, fish oil was as much as 23 percent more efficient.

根据2010年9月发表在《油脂》杂志上的一项研究，要想获得亚麻油对心脏的保护作用，你必须摄入比鱼油多33.5倍的亚麻油。In the study on laboratory animals, diets containing 2.5 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent or 25 percent flaxseed oil were compared with diets containing 1 percent, 2.5 percent, 5 percent fish oil. While 100 mg of alpha linolenic acid from flaxseed produced 0.7 percent EPA and DHA in the heart, 100 mg of EPA and DHA from fish oil resulted in 24 percent EPA and DHA concentration in heart tissue. The researchers concluded that flaxseed has less protective effect on cardiovascular health than does fish oil.

马里兰大学医学中心建议使用鱼油来降低甘油三酯，但警告说鱼油可能会导致HDL和LDL胆固醇水平的轻微上升。研究人员已经成功地将鱼油与红曲米(一种具有降胆固醇能力的发酵大米)结合在一起，以降低胆固醇水平，类似于标准的他汀类药物。相反，亚麻仁油可能不会降低低密度脂蛋白水平或甘油三酯水平，很多关于亚麻仁油的研究显示了相互矛盾的结果。