This week, we were totally blown away — yep, that’s ’70s slang, but hey, that’s where our roots are! — by five medical breakthroughs we think you should know about. These exciting developments aren’t quite ready for prime time, but they’ve got us psyched about the future. » 1. The “new” good fat! You’ve already heard plenty about DHA, the great-for-you omega-3 fatty acid in fatty fish and algae or fish-oil capsules. Now, research from Harvard Medical School, the Cleveland Clinic (where Dr. Mike is chief wellness officer) and universities in Hawaii and Japan discovered that omega-7 fatty acids found in purified palmitoleic acid have amazing powers, too. They squelched heart-threatening LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, boosted ticker-friendly HDLs, decreased fatty liver and improved cells’ ability to take in blood sugar in several well-designed studies.
Our take: Four studies are more than four times better than one, but we need more human trials before recommending omega-7s unconditionally. But we’re intrigued — enough so that at least Dr. Mike is taking 200 milligrams of purified omega-7 in capsule form, along with the 900 milligrams of DHA we each take daily. (Always tell your doc about the supplements you take!)
