Benefits of Fish Oil

benefits of fish oil supplements

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Despite having a diet that included little in the way of fruit, vegetables and complex carbohydrates, the Inuit consistently had lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Raised blood levels of these two types of fats cause coronary or heart arteries to harden and become blocked (atherosclerosis), which results in heart attacks.

A string of classic studies then identified the factor that protected the Inuit from heart attacks: namely, omega - 3 fatty acids found in large amounts in fish. The Inuit diet is rich in whale, seal and fish.

What is in fish oil?

The two important omega - 3 oils are called EPA and DHA, or eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, respectively. Both EPA and DHA must be obtained from food as they cannot be made in the body from other fatty acids. The best source of omega 3 is fatty fish

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Another group of people who also eat a lot of fish are the Japanese. While their omega-3 intake is only a quarter that of the Inuit, it is still 8 to 15 times that found in a Western diet.

Since World War II, the Japanese diet has taken on a Westernised flavour. Still, coronary heart dis¬ease rates in Japan have remained under half of those found in the United States.

Dr Akira Sekikawa of the Shiga University of Medical Science and his co-workers set out to compare male Japanese living in Japan with male Japanese-Americans living in Honolulu and white Americans living in continental US. They found that the blood levels of omega - 3s in the first group were 45 per cent higher than the second group, and 80 per cent greater than the third group.

The lower levels were found to be related to structural factors that indicate atherosclerosis. These included calcium deposits in the coronary arteries, as seen on X-rays, and increased thickness of artery walls, as seen on ultrasound.

The researchers concluded that a very high intake of fish oil omega-3s can prevent atherosclerosis from developing. That is, eating lots of fish or taking lots offish oil omega-3 supplements...: can help to prevent heart attacks.

Conversely, the intake of omega 3 among Norwegians is similar to that of the Japanese. However, the former also have a very high fat intake typical of meat-rich Western diets. Atherosclerosis is much more prevalent among Norwegians than among Japanese.

What all this suggests is that while omega 3 s can protect the heart, they can do so only if one's diet is not abounding in saturated fats found in red meats.