Wednesday, August 12, 2009

What Are The Benefits Of Omega 3 Fatty Acids?

By Peter Bertonich

You're not totally convinced about the benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids yet are you? You've heard all about it, but aren't quite ready to believe it.

Many of us have heard all about Omega 3 fats and the health benefits that you're supposed to get from fish oil supplements. But what are the benefits and are they proven? And should you be taking Omega 3 capsules, or can you just eat more fish?

All good questions. Firstly lets ask ourselves whether the benefits of fish oil supplements are proven. And is fish oil supplementation somehow "alternative" and not something accepted by mainstream medicine?

The easy answer is this. The American Heart Association, on it's website, recommends minimum levels of Omega-3 for the diet, and lists the heart benefits of Omega3 fats. That's the AHA, certainly not an "alternative" organization, in fact pretty mainstream. If the AHA say that Omega polyunsaturated fats are good then that's good enough for me.

Leta have a look at what more fish oil does for us. It's full of good stuff like DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). These are the most essential Omega 3 fats, DHA in particular. Is it "proven"that these are good for you? When is anything proven? I still know a mainstream doctor who says that excess cholesterol isn't bad for you at all. There's always experts on both sides of the argument.

1. Heart and cardio vascular health

A decrease in bad cholesterol. An increase in good cholesterol. A reduction in blood pressure. A reduced risk of stroke. There's some of the heart benefits of Omega 3 fats, and that's a pretty good start.

2. Reduction in risks of aging related problems

A decrease in the risk of macular degeneration with age, the number one cause of blindness in the over 65s A decrease in the risk of Alzheimers with aging A decrease in the risk of dementia with aging

A reduction in the risks associated with Diabetes Diabetes sufferers have an up to 6 times increased risk of death due to heart attack. As fish oil benefits the heart and reduces the risk of heart attacks this is excellent news for diabetes sufferers.

3. Skin improvements.

The skin produces it's own natural oils and our environment strips them out. Wind, sun and pollution and more all contribute to loss of natural skin oil. Good polyunsaturated Omega 3 fats help return our skin to good health by adding back good oils to our skin, and when combined with top shelf natural skin care products can have impressive results for our skin health.

4. An improvement in Arthritis

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints and so anything that helps reduce that inflammation helps arthritis. In the past Aspirin has been prescribed but it can have negative health side effects. Omega 3 oils have been shown to much better anti inflammatory properties than Aspirin, and they have positive health side effects, not negative ones.

5. An increase in the effectiveness of weight loss programs

There are studies linking an improvement in effectiveness of weight loss programs if they are combined with an increase of Omega 3 fats. The studies show that if we combine exercise with Omega 3s we lose more weight than if we just do the exercise. The expected reason is that the polyunsaturated Omega 3 fats improve the ability of various enzymes to burn fat.

Convinced that you should be taking your Omega 3 fish oil supplements? There's more benefits of Omega 3 capsules, but if what I've already written isn't enough to convince you I don't know what is.

But can you get your intake of Omega 3 fats from eating fish? Well it's not easy, because the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish because of the risk of contamination with various toxins. And of course if fish are contaminated with toxins then the fish oil you get from them is too. And fish is by far the best source of DHA and EPA known.

So you need to take your Omega 3 fats but the best way to do so is to use Omega 3 fish oils supplements. But which ones do you buy, and which ones do you avoid? I've written about this on my website, I won't bother going into it now.

And if you want to find out more about the benefits of Omega 3 fish oils you'll find more on my website too.

So if you're convinced about the health benefits of Omega 3 fish oils in your diet make sure you're taking your fish oil supplements, daily.

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