Fish Oil Health Benefits
Fish oil is the oil from fish. Fish oil is the oil extracted from the tissues and belly cavities of certain species of fish considered to be "oily fish". Fish that are especially rich in the beneficial oils known as omega-3 fatty acids include mackerel, tuna, salmon, sturgeon, mullet, bluefish, anchovy, sardines, herring, trout, and menhaden. They provide about 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids in about 3.5 ounces of fish. It has received a lot of positive attention in the last few years. With an increasing number of people knowing the difference between good and bad fats, more people are appreciating the many benefits of fish oil. Other than potential benefits for general health, fish oil also has potential anabolic effects.Fish oil supplements often contain small amounts of vitamin E to prevent spoilage. They might also be combined with calcium, iron, or vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, or D.
Over-the-counter fish oil supplements are extremely popular and used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure and psoriasis and a number of other ailments.
Fish Oil Benefits:
The many benefits of fish oil generally stem from its high content of long chain omega 3 fatty acids. Two notable mentions include eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These are both essential fatty acids that we cannot make. Within the body they are converted to a group of hormones that have many beneficial functions. In essence, EPA and DHA are basically pro-hormones.
Fish oil is used for a wide range of conditions. It is most often used for conditions related to the heart and blood system. Some people use fish oil to lower blood pressure or triglyceride levels (fats related to cholesterol). Fish oil has also been tried for preventing heart disease or stroke. The scientific evidence suggests that fish oil really does lower high triglycerides, and it also seems to help prevent heart disease and stroke when taken in the recommended amounts. Ironically, taking too much fish oil can actually increase the risk of stroke.
List of Fish oil Benefits
• Fish oil helps keep the brain, heart and immune system healthy.
• Fish oil improves blood vessel functioning and lowers blood pressure.
• Fish oil reduces inflammation and pain in joints and other areas of
the body.
• Fish oil reduces triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood).
• Fish oil helps regulate blood sugar levels and reduces insulin resistance.
• Fish oil improves fat metabolism and increases fat burning during exercise.
Potential Fish Oil Health Benefits:
• Fish oil may reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
• Fish oil may help in the treatment of ADHD and depression.
• Fish oil may prevent age-related macular degeneration (an eye disorder).
When fish oil is obtained by eating fish, the way the fish is prepared seems to make a difference. Eating broiled or baked fish appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, but eating fried fish or fish sandwiches not only cancels out the benefits of fish oil, but may actually increase heart disease risk.
Two of the most important omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish oil are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). See separate listings for EPA and DHA.
What Are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty layers of cold-water fish and shellfish, plant and nut oils, English walnuts, flaxseed, algae oils, and fortified foods. You can also get omega-3s as supplements. Food and supplement sources of these fatty acids differ in the forms and amounts they contain.
There are the two main types of omega-3 fatty acids:
• Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). These are plentiful in fish and shellfish. Algae often provides only DHA.
• Short-chain omega-3 fatty acids are ALA (alpha-linolenic acid). These are found in plants, such as flaxseed. Though beneficial, ALA omega-3 fatty acids have less potent health benefits than EPA and DHA. You'd have to eat a lot to gain the same benefits as you do from fish.
Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
• Builds better brain functioning. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with fish oil. For adults, omega 3 improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You'll swear you're getting younger and smarter.
• Decreases pain and inflammation. Omega 3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body's inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, allergy rhinitis, prostatitis, cystitis and anything else with an "itis" ending.
• Improves cardiovascular health. Omega 3 fatty acids have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help lower cholesterol, triglycerides, bad LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy. Omega 3 with EPA and DPA is your best defence.
• Reduces heart attack and strokes. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying blood clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. Research shows omega 3 fatty acids break up clots before they can cause any damage.
• Reduces depression and psychosis. Making you smarter is not all omega-3 does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield, along with many other research studies, found that omega 3 fish oil supplements "alleviate" the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis
• Increases both male and female fertility. Studies show that infertility is directly related to the amount of fish oil you consume. Fish oil balances hormones, improves hormonal levels and increases blood flow to the uterus. The more Omega 3 fatty acids you get the greater your odds of conceiving.
• Improves all around pregnancy health. Omega 3 fish oil has been shown to reduce the danger of pregnancy preeclampsia (high blood pressure), premature birth and postpartum depression. Fish oil fatty acids also facilitate a healthy placental blood flow and the efficient exchange of nutrients and oxygen between mother and baby and greatly contributes to proper brain development, increasing the child's intelligence.
• Lowers incidence of childhood disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to omega 3 oils.
• Decreases chances of osteoporosis. Having high levels of fish oil fatty acids has been shown to lower the risk of osteoporosis, which is an especially high for women after menopause.
• Reduces Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancer. And finally, omega 3 fish oil has been shown to help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer - breast, colon and prostate. Science tells us that omega 3s accomplish these in three ways. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and causing apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.
A lot of the benefit of fish oil seems to come from the omega-3 fatty acids that it contains. Interestingly, the body does not produce its own omega-3 fatty acids. Nor can the body make omega-3 fatty acids from omega-6 fatty acids, which are common in the Western diet. A lot of research has been done on EPA and DHA, two types of omega-3 acids that are often included in fish oil supplements.
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce pain and swelling. This may explain why fish oil is likely effective for psoriasis and dry eyes. These fatty acids also prevent the blood from clotting easily. this might make fish oil helpful for some heart conditions.
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