Omega 3 Fish Oil and Inflammation - How Are They Linked?

It is a fact that nowadays omega 3 fatty acids have gained huge popularity and people are becoming increasingly aware of their amazing health benefits.

The best source for these very important nutrients is fish oil.

Prestigious authorities like the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all agree that by including fish oil in your diet, you will do your body a world of good, especially your heart and your brain.

However, while most of the people are aware about its benefits on all organs and systems in their body, they don't know that there is also a strong link between omega 3 fish oil and inflammation.

Inflammation, the "silent killer"

You see, many scientists and experts in the field of nutrition have described inflammation as the "silent killer". While most of the times it doesn't have any visible signs, more often than not it may lead to serious health complications and diseases.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one serious medical condition that has inflammation as its underlying cause.

Coronary (heart) disease seems also to be associated with inflammation of the blood. From clinical research, it has been established that it might trigger a sequence of actions in the arteries which may lead to heart attacks.

One test to determine the extent of inflammation in your blood is to measure your CRP level, short for "C-reactive protein," a protein found in the blood. Presence of CRP indicates a heightened state of inflammation in the body.

So, having said all the above, how you can reduce inflammation in your body?

Well, according to research, one of the leading causes for emergence of inflammation in the first place, is our unbalanced dietary intake in terms of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids.

Let me explain.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) come in two types, omega 3 and omega 6. In the past, both of these types were consumed in relatively similar quantities.

People obtained omega 3s from foods such as fish, meat, wild plants, nuts and eggs. These foods provided plentiful amounts of EPA and DHA (the most important omega 3s) which are largely missing from today's diet.

Unfortunately, due to technological advances, people eat today cereal type grains, such as wheat and rice.

The sad reality is that these cereal grains are extremely high in carbohydrates and omega 6 fatty acids, and severely low in omega 3s. This has led to a tremendous deficiency in omega 3 fatty acids, whereby the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 is a shocking 1:15 instead of an optimal ratio of 1:1.

Therefore, the action we should take is to supplement our diet with omega 3s. And the richest source for these is highly purified, fish oil concentrate.

More and more people are turning to fish oil to gain relief from inflammation, especially after they heard about the disastrous effects of prescription type drugs like the COX-2 inhibitors.

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