Friday, November 13, 2009

Can Allergies Benefit From More Omega 3 Fish Oil ?

By Peter Bertonach

The benefits of omega 3 essential fatty acids are now becoming firmly established. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), the 2 most important Omega 3 fatty acids are primarily found in fish oil. Allergies are now considered to be one of the health conditions that may benefit from an increased intake of essential Omega 3 fats found in fish oil.

Allergies, in many cases, are an inflammatory condition and it is well known that the essential fats known as Omega 3 fatty acids are excellent anti-inflammatories. Asthma and hayfever are fine examples. Asthma for example, manifests itself in a restriction of the airway which is an inflammatory problem. Therefore it would seem that anything that help reduce inflammation would be of benefit.

It now looks like there is a fish oil allergies link. There are studies suggesting that using fish oil for allergies can be beneficial to allergy sufferers.

Much more work needs to be done about Omega 3 and allergies but there is encouraging evidence that asthma and hayfever can benefit from an increase in the intake of Omega3 fats they as well as possibly some food allergies.

It is unlikely that if you suffer from allergies you can cure them by taking Omega 3 supplements. Mainstream medicine can diagnose and treat many allergies and if you suffer from allergies you should have diagnosed and treated as normal. But there is growing evidence now that using Omega 3 capsules daily is worthwhile as part of an overall allergy reduction strategy.

Fish itself can cause allergies. If you have allergies, including food allergies, it is very important to establish the cause of the allergy before commencing any supplementation.

There is now clear and growing evidence of the health benefits of increasing our intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, not just in relation to allergy relief. There are potentially fatal conditions which can be ameliorated through Omega 3 supplementation. 2 of these can be stroke and heart attack and for this reason the American Heart Association tells us to increase our intake of Omega3 fats found in fish oil. Daily Omega 3 capsules is the most cost effective way of doing this.

It is very important that more studies be undertaken to establish a clear omega 3 allergies link to determine whether using dietary supplementation of omega 3 for allergies is worthwhile. If this proves to be the case this is just one more health condition, or a range of health conditions, which are proven to benefit from an increased intake of DHA and EPA.

If you have allergies then it is well worth taking Omega 3 capsules to see if these help your condition. Even if they do not there are other powerful health reasons for daily supplementation fish oil capsules and you ought be supplementing your diet with omega 3 fats for these health reasons anyway.

The sales of Omega 3 capsules have increased faster in the last 10 years than any nutritional supplement in history and you can see why. With organisations like the American Heart Association telling us that we should be increasing our daily intake of Omega3 fats many of us are taking notice. Studies show that over 90 percent of us have too little omega 3 fats in our diet.

Allergies are one of many health conditions that have been studied in relation to omega 3 fats. An extremely wide range of health problems have been shown to respond positively to an increase of essential fatty acids in the diet and even if your allergies do not respond there are other powerful reasons to you to take daily fish oil supplements.

Not all Omega 3 supplements are the same however and on my website I discuss how to compare the different Omega 3 capsules to discover the best value.

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