Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Increased Heart Health: Benefits of Omega 3 Fatty Acids
There is a grown consciousness towards the link between Omegas (Fish Oil) and healthy hearts, joints and minds. This consciousness is crossing gender and generations as millions of Americans alone are turning to Omegas as a part of their diet and daily supplementation routine. As heart disease leads as the primary cause of all American deaths, it is vitally important that we along with our children, parents and elder family members turn to the benefits of Omegas.
Omega-3 is the general name given to the family of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (EFAs). Essential fatty acids can be grouped into two categories, omega-6 EFAs and the omega-3 EFAs. Omega-6 acids promote inflammation, blood clotting, and tumor growth, while omega-3 acids, including Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DPA) serve a very different, yet vital, function for the body.
Nutritionists and medical professionals alike have come to recognize the importance of balancing omega-3 fatty acids with omega-6 fatty acids in the human diet. Key omega-3 fatty acids including EPA and DHA are found primarily in oily cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel (higher concentrations are found in pure fish oil). Aside from fresh seaweed, a staple of many oriental cultures, plant foods rarely contain EPA or DHA. And because most people on a typical Western diet consume far more omega-6-rich foods (including cereals, whole-grain bread, baked goods, fried foods, margarine, and others), the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids is out of balance for just about everyone.
What does this mean? This means for most Americans the emphasis should to be on increasing omega-3s to make the ratio more even and to put the body back in balance.
Theoretically, humans should be able to synthesize Omega-3 EPA and DHA from dietary Omega-3 ALA (Alpha-linolenic Acid - found primarily in dark green vegetables), but in practice this process is inefficient. Many medical researchers have therefore concluded that omega-3 EPA and DHA should be obtained by dietary supplement. High quality fish oil is one of the rare sources that contain substantial concentrations of both EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found naturally in fish, flaxseed, canola oil, nuts, and avocados. They are also available in some fortified eggs and dairy products. Supplementation of Omegas are the quickest and easiest way to increase heart health and reduce inflammation and cardiovascular diseases.
The Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Researchers made one of the first important associations between omega-3 fatty acids and human health while studying the Inuit (Eskimo) people of Greenland in the 1970s. As a group, the Inuit suffered far less from certain diseases (coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, psoriasis) than their European counterparts. Yet their diet was high in fat from eating whale, seal, and salmon. Eventually medical researchers realized that these foods were all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which provided real disease-countering benefits.
Emerging evidence from several types of research supports the wide-ranging health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3 essential fatty acids appear to have a positive effect when used in connection with coronary artery disease, high cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Additional research also suggests that large doses of fish oil may be effective for conditions and maladies including Parkinson's disease, depression, bipolar disease, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, alcoholism, postpartum depression, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and arthritis.
The Where to and How to Purchasing Omega 3
One of the best manufacturers of Omegas is Nordic Naturals. They are molecularly distilled Pharmaceutical Grade Omegas. They come in a variety of choices: Omega 3, Ultimate Omega ( Omega 3 and Omega 9), Complete Omega 3 6 9, Prenatal DHA, Childrens DHA, Omega 3 6 9 Jr and even a Pet Cod Liver Oil blend.
I've found that my customers who are parents with children diagnosed with Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) find that supporting their children's diet and supplementation routine with Omegas is extremely life changing.
A new study out of Australia finds that children with ADHD given daily fish oil supplements had significant improvements:
“They were able to concentrate better, they were calmer, less impulsive, that sort of thing,” Ms Sinn said. “The same improvements were not reported from children who took the placebo.”
Nordic Naturals, Inc, a leading supplier of fish oil and essential fatty acid nutritional supplements, conducted a successful pilot trial that showed beneficial effects of essential fatty acids (EFAs) on language and learning skills in children with autism and Asperger's syndrome. The study, completed in 2004, was conducted by Louise Patrick, a licensed speech and language pathologist, and Ronald Salik, MD at a pediatric clinic in Arizona.
The 3-month open-label study provided 18 children, ranging from 3 to 10 years of age, with daily supplemental EFAs in the form of Omega-3.6.9 Junior(TM), a fish oil-based EFA product from Nordic Naturals. Omega-3.6.9 Junior(TM) (also sold as Complete Omega(TM) and ProEFA(TM)) is a combination of omega-3 EFAs from purified fish oil and omega-6 EFAs from purified borage oil.
All of the children displayed significant increases in their language and learning skills after supplementation with Complete Omega. The investigators also noted the importance of fish oil purity and of beginning with the lowest possible dose for this population. Ms. Patrick observed, "We feel that the impressive results of this study support the importance for design and implementation of future studies using larger sample size and placebo-controlled formats."
Click to Purchase Nordic Naturals Omegas at a discounted cost at Healthy Being Products today and get a free gift with purchase.
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