Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Are You Dying Of Omega 3 Deficiency?

By Peter Bertonach

Estimates are that somewhere around 90 to 95 percent of all adults in the US suffer from omega 3 deficiency. Omega 3 deficiency is where there is an inadequate level of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the body.

There are 2 primary Omega 3 essential fatty acids, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). These are called essential fatty acids because they are very important to your overall health but are not manufactured in the body. You need to obtain them from your diet.

It was originally discovered after studies of the Japanese and the Eskimos that the omega 3 essential fatty acids primarily found in fish were very important to your health. The Japanese and the Eskimos were all very healthy and in particular exhibited very low levels of heart disease, and they ate lots of fish.

Here in the US most of us eat too much processed food, too much red meat, too much sugar and salt and not enough fish and so most of us suffer from an omega 3 deficiency from our low intake of fish. This produces a range of health problems which are all preventable.

These preventable health problems include fatal conditions such as stroke and heart attack. Even the American Heart Association now tells us that we must all increase our intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids either by eating more fish or taking fish oil capsules.

A new study has now established that up to 96,000 Americans could be dying every year from omega3 deficiency. Whilst this is not the biggest cause of preventable death, (smoking is the biggest cause) it is certainly a statistic that should make you sit up and take notice.

It's so easy to prevent omega 3 deficiency. You can do so by eating lots of fish but that is expensive and fish is usually contaminated with Mercury. However there are excellent fish oil capsules available which are clean and which are cost effective to be taken daily.

Chances are you're one of the more than 90 percent of Americans who is potentially at risk of death from omega 3 deficiency, a condition that can be readily reversed. Even the American Heart Association now recognizes the importance of adequate levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids in our diet.

And it's not just fatal conditions that are improved by increasing your intake of essential fats. There's a wide range of other lifestyle conditions that are also improved by increasing essential fats in the diet and these include depression, macular degeneration, ADHD, arthritis, weight loss, diabetes and even more.

As our scientists learn the importance of a regular intake of essential fatty acids found in fish oil we are now more able to enjoy a good life with good health. On my website I try to educate my readers on all of the benefits science has established from taking daily omega 3 supplements.

But you need to understand that not all Omega 3 supplements are the same, and I also try to advise people how to compare Omega 3 supplements to get the best value.

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