Eating Fish, healthy benefits of omega 3 oil

Gourmet Smoked Salmon

Eating Healthy, Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Benefits of Omega 3 Oil

American Heart Association Recommendation: - Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of -- or who have -- cardiovascular disease.
"We recommend eating fish (particularly fatty fish) at least two times a week. Fish is a good source of protein and doesn’t have the high saturated fat that fatty meat products do. Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). " Eating fish have health benefits.

See 11/18/2002 American Heart Association Omega-3 Statement, more benefits of omega 3 oil

The FDA, in February 2002, released the statement that “Consumption of omega 3 fatty acids may reduce risk of coronary heart disease. FDA evaluated the data and determined that, although there is scientific evidence supporting the claim, the evidence is not conclusive.” With the FDA’s health claim, the American Heart Association updated its dietary guidelines to include omega 3s. There recommendation is everyone should consume at least two 3 ounce servings of fatty fish a week.

The fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are as important as any other vitamin or mineral, especially for a healthy heart. Fish including cod, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and anchovies hold these beneficial fats. EPA, DHA, and ALA from flax oil are part of the omega 3 family of fatty acids. Many North American diets are deficient in these beneficial fats, thus leading to a potentially harmful fat imbalance. Increasing your consumption of fish, or supplementing with a fish oil supplement, will help ensure you have sufficient blood levels of EPA and DHA.

Research shows a strong relationship between the fatty acids ALA, EPA, and DHA and reduced occurrence of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis, a disease in which a plaque-like substance forms on the blood vessel walls. Fish oil can decrease the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks. Regular fish consumption reduces platelet adhesion and aggregation and prevents blood clotting.

The link between omega 3 and cardiovascular health is highly recognized in the dietary supplement industry. Consumer awareness for omega 3s is on the rise plus scientific research in this area is very strong, with omega 3s being studied for a multitude of health conditions including depression, ADD/ADHA, infant brain development, and, of course, research in the area of cardiovascular health continues to increase, reaffirming its benefits in reducing the risks associate with this potentially deadly disease.

Eating fish health benefits.

Information on the Cardiovascular Benefits of Omega-3 Fats

By Dr. Holub
Professor, Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont. ON N1G 2W1

During the past few years, there has been an increase in both scientific and public interest in the role of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oils in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

The omega-3 fatty acids that are of particular interest for cardiovascular care include EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which are found predominantly in fish and fish oils. The basis of this heightened interest in dietary intakes of EPA and DHA comes partly from epidemiological and population studies indicating that increased consumption of fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids is often associated with decreased mortality (as well as morbidity) from cardiovascular disease.

Controlled-intervention trials in humans have indicated a favorable modifying effect of dietary fish oils on various risk factors for cardiovascular disease independent of their lowering of blood cholesterol.

Dietary supplementation with encapsulated omega-3 fish oil concentrates has shown the potential to reduce both the progression of cardiovascular disease and related mortality, including sudden cardiac death.

What Are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

Omega-3 fatty acids are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (18-22 carbon atoms in chain length) with the first of many double bonds beginning with the third carbon atom (when counting from the methyl end of the fatty acid molecule).

The fish-based and fish-oil-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (also referred to as n-3 PUFA) consist of EPA (20 carbon atoms, 5 double bonds) and DHA (22 carbon atoms, 6 double bonds).

Whereas plant foods and vegetable oils lack EPA and DHA, some do contain varying amounts of the n-3 PUFA alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which has 18 carbon atoms and 3 double bonds. Many vegetable oils are greatly enriched in omega-6 fatty acids (mainly as linoleic acid in corn, safflower, sunflower and soybean oils), but canola oil (nonhydrogenated), ground flaxseed and walnuts are rich sources of ALA.

The typical North American diet provides about 1-3 g of ALA per day but only 0.10-0.15 g of EPA plus DHA per day.7,8 The very high intake of n-6 PUFA, mostly as linoleic acid (LA) in our diet (12-15 g/day) from common vegetable oils (corn, safflower, soybean) and other sources.

Although high intakes of LA can provide some modest blood cholesterol lowering, experimental studies in animals have raised concerns regarding the enhancing effect of these high intakes on certain cancers.10 This association has not been established in human studies.

Epidemiological Evidence For The Cardioprotective Effects Of EPA And DHA

It has long been recognized that disease patterns for the Greenland Inuit, when compared with those for the population of Denmark, exhibit a significantly lower rate of death from acute myocardial infarction despite only moderate differences in blood cholesterol levels.

The high-fat traditional Inuit diet provides up to several grams of omega-3 fatty acid (EPA and DHA) daily in the form of marine mammals (seal, whale), wildfowl (seabirds) and various fish.

Furthermore, the higher fish intakes of the Japanese population relative to that of North America have been associated with considerably lower rates of acute myocardial infarctions, other ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis despite only moderately lower blood cholesterol levels in the Japanese population.

Various studies have also indicated that long-term consumption of fish (up to 2-3 servings per week) appears to be associated with lower primary and secondary heart attack rates and death from cardiovascular disease.

Fatty acid analyses of serum and plasma phospholipid, a biomarker for EPA and DHA intake and physiological status, have indicated that omega-3 fatty acids in general and DHA levels in particular are inversely correlated with coronary heart disease in men. Among the Inuit of Nunavik, progressive increases in levels of EPA and DHA in plasma phospholipid have been found both to reflect dietary intakes of these fatty acids and to be beneficially associated with key risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Eating fish have health benefits, especially benefits of omega 3 oil. The diet of fish health benefits can be attributed to omega-3.

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