Stressed out Scottish businessmen ‘turned Japanese’

Eleven Scottish businessmen from South Lanarkshire have been ‘turned Japanese’, to help them fight the strains and stresses of 21st Century life and the negative health effects caused by a bad day at the office.

The eleven guinea pigs were South Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce members, recruited after Dr Tom Gilhooly, of Glasgow Health Solutions, approached the Chamber to seek participants for a groundbreaking pilot study. This was aimed at further supporting the evidence that fish oils, also known as fatty acids or Omega-3s, can help fight heart disease.

As businesspeople in high-ranking commercial and industrial roles, these volunteers represented a typical cross-section of the business community, enduring stressful business situations. The aim was to measure their likelihood to resist cardiac problems at the start of the trial and to compare it to their situation after three months of Omega-3 supplementation, using MorEPA.

To create a benchmark, a blood and chemical test was taken from each Chamber of Commerce member. Such Essential Metabolic Fatty Acid tests are available through the Essential Health Clinic, in Glasgow, for those wishing to assess their level of essential fatty acid deficiency, but were new to these individuals.

Most Westerners are lacking in levels of Omega-3, as the modern diet strips out the fatty acids our ancestors would typically have found in their food supply. This is not the case in Japan, where a diet rich in fish and unprocessed foods continues to provide the population with the high levels of Omega-3 our bodies require.

Only two of the participants were in the highest quartile of the four quartiles typically used in such studies to assess where an individual’s nutritional health should be plotted with regard to their existing fatty acid supply. Low levels of fatty acid supplies showed in the sample taken from the other nine members.

All trial participants were given an appropriate daily dosage of MorEPA - an Omega-3 supplementation offering the purest of fish oils. These capsule-based, fish oil supplements were taken for three months. A second blood screen then followed, to assess any changes in nutritional health.

By the end of the three months, all but one of the participants had ‘turned Japanese’, their blood analysis showing they had now moved into the highest quartile of the population, measured in terms of nutritional health.

This has put these entrepreneurs and business brains in the same category as those living in a typical Japanese fishing village, where low incidences of cardiovascular disease are commonplace and Omega-3 levels extremely high.

The effect of Omega-3 supplementation on the South Lanarkshire Chamber members has been to considerably reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and to offer other side benefits, such as improved mood and concentration.

Whilst the role of Omega-3 fish oils in cutting the risk of heart-related illness is well documented, this is the first time such a trial has been run amongst a British-based business community.

Dr Tom Gilhooly says: “Our Scottish-based study ranks alongside others that have demonstrated the positive impact Omega-3s have on cardiac health, in one case reducing sudden cardiac death by 90 per cent.

“Importantly, it has also specifically addressed the situations in which businessmen commonly find themselves. It has shown that those suffering high levels of stress can significantly reduce their risk of this leading to a cardiac problem, by taking MorEPA Omega-3 supplementation. This is a good news message for many businesspeople.”

If you think you are a stressed businessman or indeed a stressed person of any kind and want to test your own level of Omega-3 deficiency, you can do so by booking a blood test through the Essential Health Clinic, with details available at www.essentialhealthclinic.com . You can also purchase the omega-3 supplement from www.healthyandessential.com

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