Sunday, June 28, 2009

How Do You Get Omega 3 Fats In Your Diet?

By Peter Bertonich

I've been taking omega 3 fish oil supplements for a long time, to me it seems pretty obvious, and the evidence is overwhelming, that our diet is too low in omega 3 fatty acids and we need to introduce more of them in our diet. And that our intake of omega 3 fats is directly linked to our health in so many ways.

When telling a friend about this recently he told me that he would never consider taking supplements of any kind, that they are frowned on by the mainstream medical profession, and that they aren't proven to do anything at all. So I decided to have a look at this.

Because there seems to be the perception that dietary supplements are a bit of voodoo, something that makes money for the people who make them, but quite unnecessary.

And plenty of people also see the taking of dietary supplementation as "alternative" and not recognized by the medical profession. That real people won't take them.

So lets consider whether there are down to earth recognized medical authorities that recommend the intake of Omega 3 oils and fats.

No lesser authority than the American Heart Association says:

"Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of " or who have " cardiovascular disease."

And they offer recommendations for the intake of omega 3 fats. Their recommendations are that we eat around 2 servings of fish a week. They also suggest eating other sources of omega 3 acids like tofu, soybeans and various oils like canola.

And they are quite specific about people with CHD (coronary heart disease). They should eat at least 1 gram of EPA and DHA per day, and for those who need to lower their triglycerides its suggested that they take from 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA as capsules, doctor supervised.

You cant get any clearer than that. The AHA recommends the intake of omega 3 fats, preferably as food but also as capsules, every day.

Now there's no problem taking more omega 3 fats through the diet, in fact if you can do that then that's ideal. However that isn't so easy for us in some cases. I'll give you can example.

There is omega 3 in something most of us eat every day. Beef and lamb. Well there is if they are grass fed, but as most of the beef and lamb we eat daily is now grain fed there isn't much omega 3 fats in them now.

So whilst it may seem like an easy answer to get our Omega 3 in our diet, that isn't so easy. And that is confirmed in studies.

And if you're wondering where the mainstream medical acceptance of Omega 3 supplementation is, start with the AHA. They're pretty mainstream. There's nothing 'alternative" about taking Omega 3 capsules to the AHA.

Visit my website to find out more about Omega 3 fats and their benefits to your health at my website. And the best source of Omega 3 capsules.

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