Sunday, July 26, 2009

Is There Any Link Between Fish Oil And Diabetes?

By Peter Bertonich

The statistics on diabetes are frightening. Every year somewhere around a million Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Although it can be fatal, more often it isn't, but can have a serious impact on the lives of sufferers. Is there any fish oil and diabetes link, or can taking fish oil supplements reduce the impact of diabetes?

Scientists are worried about the rate of diabetes in our society. There are also enormous costs imposed on sufferers as well as the impact on their families and on the health system. So what can be done to reduce the impact of this explosion on diabetes rates?

There are certainly a range of lifestyle factors that can assist in the reduction of the risks and impact of diabetes, like improving diet and exercise levels and losing weight, but as I mainly look at the value of Omega 3 fats I'll concentrate on that.

There is now clear evidence of a link between fish oil and diabetes showing that taking fish oil supplements can reduce some of the risks associated with diabetes. Fish oil has Omega 3 fats in it, and the main Omega 3 fats the are of benefit are DHA and EPA.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that results in insulin in the blood being unable to sufficiently deal with sugar in the blood, resulting in excess levels of sugar.

The result is that the insulin in the blood cannot deal with fats in the blood either, and levels of triglycerides rise, and HDL, (good cholesterol) falls. The figures for the risks to diabetics are frightening. 6 times higher risk of heart attack and up to 8 times higher risk of heart disease.

So is there any fish oil diabetes link? Is there evidence that taking fish oil lowers any of the risks of diabetes? Yes, scientists are finding that taking omega 3 fats from fish oil do indeed lower some of the risks of diabetes.

So why is there a fish oil and diabetes link? Because there are good polyunsaturated fats in Omega 3 fish oil and studies show that these fats reduce the level of triglycerides in the blood, reduce blood pressure and reduce abnormal heart rhythms, and also improve blood clotting regulation.

A large study on the fish oil diabetes link found that taking one gram of fish oil a day reduced cardiovascular mortality by 30% and the risk of death by heart attack by 45%. Blood pressure is lowered and circulation problems reduced. As the risks of heart problems are way higher for diabetes sufferers this is excellent news indeed.

A number of studies have now confirmed that diabetes and fish oil intake are linked, that more omega 3 in the diet helps reduce the negative effects of type 2 diabetes.

So how to get your fish oil? The AHA recommends 2 fish meals a week, but for some they also recommend limiting the intake of some fish due to the levels of some contaminants in fish, like mercury and PCBs. That's scary.

The best way to get the right levels of Omega 3 fats in your diet is by fish oil capsules. The very best ones use fish from the cleanest ocean in the world, the southern ocean, and also use fish that are the highest in DHA, so their Omega 3 supplements are extremely high in DHA. And they don't have any contamination, firstly because the fish are pretty clean to begin with, and secondly because they undergo a process known as molecular distillation that renders them so clean that contaminants are undetectable.

So it seems clear, if you suffer from type 2 diabetes there are good reasons to include Omega3 fish oil supplements in your diet daily.The lowering of the risks of death and disease are so striking its worth making the effort to up your intake of fish oil, daily.

Head over to my website to find out which Omega 3 supplements are the best fish oil supplements.

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