Omega 3 Fish Oil Benefits
What are the benefits of Omega 3 Fish Oil?
You might as well face facts – most popular claims about health are nothing but hype. Health-related products rarely live up to their media coverage. As a matter of fact, out of all the health fads that have sprung up over the last few years, omega 3 fatty acids may be the only one truly worthy of praise.
One of the most interesting things about omega 3 fatty acids is that both conventional medical scientists and alternative therapists have come to a consensus about what its many health benefits are.
Anyone who knows anything about the professional health field knows that this is rarely the case. Traditional medicine tends to be all about intervening and treating symptoms, rather than preventing them from happening.
Medical journals constantly run articles dismissing and rubbishing the effects of vitamins and herbal therapies. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much!
Keep in mind that I’m not backing up this perspective. These articles are often distorted by the monetary influences behind them – typically large pharmaceutical companies. It make sense – if everyone was using preventative medicines, there would be less sickness and less demand for the medicines the pharmaceutical companies sell to treat symptoms. It’s not rocket science.
That said, the evidence surrounding omega 3's have been so clearly demonstrated that many conventional medical practitioners recommend increasing omega 3 intake to improve overall health.
Many experts on health have come to the conclusion that in our modern diet, omega 3 fat is the crucial nutrient that is most severely lacking. Some cite this as a huge contributing factor to the current levels of heart disease and cancer.
Unsurprisingly, studies indicate that omega 3 supplements can have positive effects in the treatments of these diseases.
Before we delve into some of the medical conditions that may be improved by omega 3 supplements (the best source of which is purified omega 3 fish oil), let’s quickly cover why omega 3s play such a crucial role in health.
Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for the human body to function correctly.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid Fact: An average human brain is around 60 percent fat, and around half of that is made up of DHA omega 3.
The most important organ – the brain – is made up mostly of fat. This is a little known fact. And a very significant portion of that fat content is the omega 3 fatty acid DHA, which is the abbreviation for Docosahexaenoic Acid.
Thus the brain cannot run the way nature intended without these essential fats to “power” it. It’s a little like trying to run a vehicle without fuel, although the brain is much more complex than the average car. However, whereas a car would simply stop running without the proper fuel, the functions of the human brain start to break down and the body suffers from ailments and diseases as a result.
The Omega 3 Health Miracle
Why is omega 3 considered such a health miracle by many medical practitioners?
To answer that question, let’s consider the positive effects it can have on just a few diseases and health issues.
The Health of the Brain
Disorders such as low moods and depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s have all been linked to low levels of omega 3 fats. These conditions alone affect millions of people around the world – perhaps even you or someone close to you.
Researchers at well respected medical centers such as the Harvard School of Public Health have conducted studies that show improvements in these disorders with increased omega 3 fatty acid intake.
Some studies have even shown that even if you don’t have one of these disorders, memory and brain function can still be improved with the use of omega 3 fish oil supplements.The Health of the Heart
Omega 3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of -- or who have -- cardiovascular disease.
American Heart Association
Omega 3 fish oil supplements which are very high in levels of omega 3 have been proven to both improve the condition of heart disease sufferers and prevent the occurrence of disease in those who have a history of heart problems in their family.
It does this by making platelets in the blood less sticky, which in turn can prevent the clotting of veins and arteries that can lead to heart attacks.
On top of this, omega 3's lower levels of tryglycerides – blood fats linked to cholesterol -- and when these are high as well as cholesterol levels, your risk of heart disease rises astronomically.
Research has shown also that omega 3’s can strengthen the heart’s electrical system, helping to prevent heart rhythm problems.
Omega 3’s also have properties that can reduce the inflammation issues related to heart disease.
More about how omega 3 affects inflammation.....
Joint Pain and Arthritis
Many of the pains and aches related to arthritis are the result of inflammation. This is why studies have come back with positive effects when omega 3 fish oil supplements are used on patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
Crohn's Disease and Bowel Inflammation
This is also true of Crohn's disease, a disease which is associated with painful inflammation of the bowels. A year-long study showed 69 percent of participants with Crohn’s stayed free of symptoms when given omega 3 fish oil supplements, as opposed to just 28 percent in the control group which was given a placebo instead.
Expectant and New Mothers
It’s widely accepted as fact now that correct brain development in the womb requires high levels of omega 3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA.
Any pregnant mother should consider the use of molecularly distilled fish oil supplementation to ensure the best chance of proper brain development in the fetus. Of course this is something which it is recommended you should certainly discuss with your doctor first.
The importance of omega 3 supplements also applies to nursing mothers – omega 3 fatty acids are essential fats. The word essential here means they are necessary for the body but the body can’t produce them itself. That’s why we have to get them from an external source – our diet.
The benefits are then passed along to the baby through breast milk.
Even after breastfeeding it’s important to keep enough omega 3 coming in for the sake of your own body’s health. For young children, omega 3 intake is also associated with lower incidence of attention deficit disorder and higher IQ.
Omega 3 fish oil has also been shown to ease the cramps caused by menstruation.
Skin Disorders
Psoriasis and acne can be extremely painful conditions, physically and emotionally. Maybe you suffer from these or similar conditions yourself. One of the biggest problems in these disorders is inflammation. While fish oils can’t cure the conditions, their anti-inflammatory properties can help ease the manifested symptoms.
Cancers
As mentioned earlier, cancer is now the biggest cause of death in America, as it is also in many other countries around the world. There are numerous different forms of cancer. New research has indicated that omega 3’s may play a role in preventing cancer and may have some potential as a form of treatment in the future.
This area requires more careful study in the near future, but DHA and EPA omega 3's, which exist in fatty fish and supplements derived from fish oil, may provide some protection against the following cancers: ovarian, prostate, testicular, and breast. Prostate cancer and breast cancer are two huge killers in men and women, respectively. Any substance that shows the potential of having positive effects for treatment of this disease should be studied closely.
Although the studies thus far have not been conclusive, it does appear that increasing omega 3 intake can help to prevent cancer.And Many More...
This is not a complete list. At least ten more pages could be written on the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids, including the positive effects for problems like lupus and Raynaud's disease. But by now you must be getting the idea. If there’s one supplement everyone should look to above all others to deal with disease, improve brain functions, and stay at an optimal level of health, it is omega 3.
What’s the best form of this? Purified fish oils supplements extracted from a fatty species of fish which has naturally high levels of DHA especially, as well as EPA.
The Problem with Our Diet
Food is much less nutritious than it used to be before the introduction of modern farming techniques. One of the inevitable problems stemming from this is that foods which were once rich sources of omega 3 no longer are.
Farming is big business, and it’s focused on profit. This means producing as much meat as possible as cheaply and quickly as possible, to serve as many customers as possible.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to grain feed animals, and most meat you buy at the supermarket – beef, pork, chicken – has been grain fed. However it’s grazing on a natural diet of grass which makes these animals such rich sources of omega 3, naturally. When they have been artificially fed on grain, their omega 3 content practically disappears.
At the end of the day, you are what you eat. And you eat what the animals you eat are eating – mostly corn and grains, which are not great sources of omega 3.
Let’s consider fish. The unfortunate fact is that fatty fish, one of the best sources of omega 3's, tends to come with a lot of pollutants. Lots of these, like mercury and lead, are extremely dangerous to humans. This is the result of the industrial pollution clogging the world’s waterways.
The Absolute Best Source of Fish Oils
For more information on Omega 3 sources see my page Sources of Omega 3...
My Personal Preference
You will also benefit from reading the information Xtend-Life provide on their website as it is extremely comprehensive, will provide you with education related to the research that has been carried out in production of their products, and... advise you on how to choose which omega 3 products to buy.
What more can you ask for!
Related Links
Omega 3 also helps with insulin resistance. For other diabetes or insulin resistance supplements...
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