Fish Oil Omega 3 Essential Acids - Why You Should Include Them in Your Diet

All nutritional scientists and researchers agree that fish oil omega 3 fatty acids are an essential part of our everyday foods. There is a long list of health benefits that you gain by including them in your diet.

Your brain, heart, joints and basically every system in your body needs these very important nutrients to function correctly.

Why are fish oil omega 3 acids called essential? Well, they are called like this because our body does not produce them on its own. Therefore, we have to rely on our everyday diet to make sure we obtain them.

It is interesting to know how the scientists began the research about fish oil omega 3 acids in the first place.

Well, what triggered the interest was the discovery of the very low incidence of heart related diseases among the Eskimo population, despite of the fact that their diet is rich in fats.

This finding was contrary to the belief that fats aid the build up of plaque in the arteries (medical condition called atherosclerosis), which eventually leads to heart diseases.

The difference lies in the source of fats. While Eskimos get their fats from fatty fish rich in omega 3 acids like salmon, the Western diet includes consumption of fats from beef, chicken or other meats that are deficient in omega 3s.

According to research, fish oil omega 3 acids help reduce triglyceride levels in blood. These are fatty substances that, if their concentration increases to high levels, contribute to the build up of plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis).

Ratio of omega 6 to omega 3

Another thing that plays an important role in our long-term health is the balance, or ratio, of omega 6 to omega 3 acids. Omega 6 are another type of essential fatty acids, which are obtained mainly from plant sources.

The fact is that the typical western diet consists of much more omega 6 than omega 3 acids. Actually, scientists go as far as to say that this unbalance in our diet is the underlying cause of many serious diseases that plague the modern world.

To give you some numbers taken out of research, just consider that the ideal balance should be 1:1 (equal amounts of omega 6 and omega 3). A study of a typical western diet revealed that this ratio could go as high as 20:1 (omega 6 are 20 times as much as omega 3)!

What to do

So, having said all the above, what should all of us do in order to bring the balance back into our diet?

Well, the first option is to include lots of fatty fish in our diet. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we should eat fish rich in omega 3 acids at least four times a month.

Unfortunately, however, there is a caveat. Pollution has had its toll on our oceans as well and in turn, to all the fish that swim in their waters. Harmful contaminants like mercury and lead leach into the fish we eat and have adverse effects on our health.

The other option is to complement our diet with fish oil omega 3 supplements.

But not any of them will do. High content in DHA and EPA (the two most important omega 3 acids) and use of advanced technology to purify (i.e. remove all harmful contaminants) prior to processing are the two essential prerequisites for high quality. Molecular distillation is the best method to look out for.

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