Grant: Project Grant

Every 3 minutes a new case of diabetes is diagnosed in Canada, mostly type 2 diabetes (T2D). Diabetes increases the risk of having many other disease, such as heart disease, and about 65-80% of diabetic patients die from heart disease and stroke. T2D and heart disease develop because many risk factors such as aging, obesity and unhealthy lifestyle accumulate over years leading to their onset. Lowering blood LDL, commonly known as "bad cholesterol", is protective against heart disease. However human studies over the past 10 years have shown that the lower is blood LDL, the higher is the chance of developing T2D. This phenomena is happening whether blood LDL is lowered by widely used drugs against heart disease (statins), or by being born with certain genes, some of which are very common (~80% of people have them). The reason why lowering blood LDL is associated with higher risk for diabetes and how to naturally treat them with nutrients is unknown. We believe that blood LDL is low in some people because more LDL is entering into their tissues. We were the first to show that when LDL enters into human fat tissue it induces multiple defects that lead to its dysfunction. Fat tissue dysfunction induces the accumulation of risk factors for T2D. On the other hand, omega-3 is a unique type of fat that is found mostly in fish oil. We also were the first to show that omega-3 can directly treat the same defects that are induced by LDL entry into fat tissue. Thus the aim from this study is to establish in 48 overweight and obese subjects with normal plasma LDL; 1) if people with higher LDL entry into fat tissue have higher risk for T2D, and 2) if 6-month supplementation of omega-3 from fish oil can treat these people reducing their risk for T2D. This study is original and important as it aims to understand and treat a new risk factor for T2D using an inexpensive and widely accessible nutraceutical. It will help prevent T2D in large proportion of Canadians.