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Wiley Companies Discusses Knowledge Discrepancy on Omega-3s and Immune Function

The company, specializing in fish oil and algal omega-3 products, believes a broader discourse is warranted.

Wiley Companies, which sells fish oil and algal based EPA and DHA products under the brand Wiley’s Finest, believes that conversations are lacking regarding the evidence substantiating the role of omega-3 fatty acids in immune function, and is calling for a greater educational front with the ability to reach consumers to represent the clinical evidence detailing its immune support properties.
 
“If polled, most Americans would not attribute EPA and DHA omega-3 as valuable nutrients for healthy immune function,” the company said in an announcement. “While understandable, this lack of knowledge is costly. Most Americans know that vitamin C supports immune health; most consume the daily intake recommendation in their diet and know to increase intake when their immune system is challenged.”
 
However, most Americans are not meeting their daily intake recommendations of EPA and DHA from their diet, and are not aware of the evidence supporting omega-3s’ role in supporting healthy immune function, they said.
 
From EPA and DHA, the body produces prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and resolvins, for example, which are linked to respiratory function, and the regulation of body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and inflammatory response. Other metabolites of omega-3s are shown to regulate B-cells, cytokines, and lymphocytes, the company said.
 
“EPA and DHA omega-3s are integral nutrients for healthy immune function,” Gretchen Vannice, director of Nutrition Education and Research at Wiley Companies, said. “I admit, we’ve been so focused on the well-documented benefits of omega-3s for heart and mental health, maternal and child health, even healthy vision, that we lose sight of the role of EPA and DHA as essential nutrients.”
 
Wiley Companies cited recent research suggesting that the vast majority of Americans consume 100 mg of EPA and DHA per day, which falls 60% short of the global minimum intake recommendation of 250 mg per day. The optimal dosage that the company recommends in order to achieve immune support benefits, however, is approximately 2,000 mg per day, Wiley Companies said.

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