Omega Protein Announces Independent Panel of Experts Conclude Omega-3 Reduces Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease.

Health/Medical Writers

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2003

Omega Protein announced today that on the heels of the American Heart Association's endorsement of omega-3 fatty acid consumption for its beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) for both patients with preexisting CVD and those not suffering the disease, the news continues to be healthy for fish oil supplementation. During a recent symposium titled "Reducing Cardiovascular Heart Disease from Dysthymia to Depression," sponsored by Omega Protein (NYSE:OME) and held concurrent to the American Heart Association Committee meeting in Miami, Florida nationally recognized experts in the field of disease prevention discussed omega-3's vital role in health maintenance.

Joseph R. Hibbeln, M.D., who serves as Chief, Outpatient Clinic, Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biochemistry with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Rockville, MD presented "Omega-3 Fatty Acids as Factors Linking Cardiovascular Diseases to Depression and Aggression." Dr. Hibbeln links depression to increased risk for sudden cardiac death. "One gram per day of EPA added to the adjunctive treatment gives positive responses to unipolar depression," said Hibbeln. According to Hibbeln, depression is becoming recognized as an emerging risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), and proposes that the cardioprotective effects of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may be at least partly mediated by a neurological mechanism. "A 2:1 ration of EPA:DHA is a good ration for fish oils consumed in the diet," he concluded.

During his presentation, "Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with Omega-3 Fatty Acids," William S. Harris, Ph.D., Co-director of the Lipid and Diabetes Research Center at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City and Professor of Medicine at Kansas University Medical Center, noted that in the GISSI Prevenzione study, less than one gram of EPA+DHA daily reduced the risk for sudden cardiac death by 45% and total mortality by 20% in post-myocardial infarction patients. Current evidence, Harris maintains, points to increased resistance to the development of fatal arrhythmias as the most likely mechanism of action to explain these findings. "Omega-3 certainly reduces blood pressure," Harris noted. "Omega-3 increases resistance to fatal arrhythmias," he continued.

In "Restoring the Tissue Omega-3: Omega-6 Fatty Acid Balance to Optimize Health," William E. Lands, Ph.D., former Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois, surmised that a nutritional intervention to reduce the intake of omega-6 while increasing the consumption of omega-3 enhanced foods may be expected to reduce the risk for a host of chronic diseases plaguing the western world today. "Look at your balance of omega-3 and omega-6. Eat more omega-3 and less omega-6," commented Lands.

A November 2002 Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) concludes "Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown in epidemiological and clinical trials to reduce the incidence of CVD." In summary the report states "Evidence from prospective secondary prevention studies suggests that EPA+DHA supplementation ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 g/d (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces subsequent cardiac and all-cause mortality."

Omega Protein manufactures OmegaPure(TM), the only fish oil source of Omega-3 long-chain essential fatty acids with direct approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) direct ingredient for human consumption. Omega Protein is the largest U.S. processor and manufacturer of heart-healthy fish oil and fish meal products delivered from menhaden, a non-food species of fish abundantly available in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and along the mid-Atlantic Coast.

For further information, please contact: Albert A. Riley, Vice President - Refined Oils, Omega Protein 713-623-0060

www.Omegapure.com or www.Omegaproteininc.com