Although the health effects of consuming polyunsaturated fatty acids are well-proven, they are not always consumed in sufficient quantities because the consumption of fatty fish is relatively low in Iceland. Matís and the company Grímur kokkur (www.grimurkokkur.is) have in recent years worked together on projects to enrich seafood from lean fish with omega oils.
In a Nordic project funded by Nordic Innovation, Grímur kokk developed artificial seafood dishes that were enriched with omega oils to increase the amount of omega 3 fatty acids and at the same time the health value of the dishes. The oil came from the company BioActive Foods in Norway but it is partly made from Icelandic fish oil. In collaboration with Alfons Ramel at the Laboratory of Nutrition, the University of Iceland and Landspítali, an intervention study was conducted to examine bioavailability (bioavailability) n-3 fatty acid added to prepared dishes and compared to omega powder consumed directly. The study involved 77 people over the age of 50, but was advertised for participants. One part of the participants ate traditional fish dishes from Grímur the chef, the other group ate fish dishes enriched with omega oil and the third group ate omega powder. The study lasted for four weeks and blood samples were taken before and after. Participants who received omega oil or omega powder received approx. the recommended daily dose of DHA and EPA fatty acids. Blood EPA levels doubled in those consuming omega and DHA also increased significantly. No change was measured in the blood of those who did not receive omega.
These research results have now been published in a scientific article in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2014) entitled: Bioavailability of long-chain n-3 fatty acids from enriched meals and from microencapsulated powder. The authors are Harpa Hrund Hinriksdóttir, Valgerður Lilja Jónsdóttir, Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, Emilia Martinsdóttir and Alfons Ramel. Matís, Grímur kokkur and BioActive Foods will continue research in this field in the EU project EnRichMar.
For further information Emilia Martinsdóttir at Matís.