Eating omega-3 enriched chicken meat and eggs has been shown to lower blood pressure. This is according to new research published last month by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

In a double-blinded, randomised controlled trial, 161 adults were randomly allocated to eat at least three portions per week of chicken meat and eggs.

The chicken and eggs were either untreated or were enriched with algae-based omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Eating the enriched foods resulted in clinically relevant reductions in diastolic blood pressure.

The blood pressure reduction observed in the trial would be expected to translate into a 15% reduction in all cause and cardiovascular mortality, the research outlines.

Heart attack and stroke

High blood pressure or 'hypertension' is a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes and a common cause of premature death. An estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide are living with hypertension.

The chicken and eggs used in this research study came from birds fed with OmegaPro, an algae-based source of omega-3 PUFAs developed by Devenish Nutrition.

"These findings reinforce our understanding that chicken and eggs naturally enriched with omega-3 DHA and EPA may provide the same numerous health benefits as eating oily fish," Professor Alice Stanton of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and director of human health at Devenish said.

The paper was published in late September in Scientific Reports (one of Nature's Research Journals) and can be found here.