Using Omega 3 fatty acids as part of an arthritis management strategy

Arthritis can be a pernicious and debilitating disease, and the fear of arthritis can freeze the heart of people as they grow older. Because arthritis is a condition that affects older people.

So let’s look a little at arthritis and see whether there is any evidence that Omega 3 fish oil can help relieve it. Let’s consider what arthritis is first.

There are in fact many different forms of arthritis, in fact there are over 100. However the 2 most common forms of arthritis, and the types that you might be more familiar with are called Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.

In both cases an underlying cause is inflammation in the joint.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily attacks the joints in your body, though can also occur in other parts of the body. This form is more common in women than men and generally occurs in older people after the age of 40, though not always. It can be extremely painful and for many people can lead to a serious loss of mobility.

Whilst Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect most of the joints in the body it is more common in the hands and feet and the spine.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is more common than Rheumatoid Arthritis, and can also occur in many of the moving joints in the body, often starting in the spine, though often seriously affecting the hands and feet and hips and knees. Osteoarthritis can eat away the cartilages in joints and eventually lead to bone on bone friction, which is obviously painful.

Anyone who suspects they may be developing arthritis is well advised to consult a medical professional as soon as possible. It is not currently possible to cure arthritis, and medical intervention is more for management than cure. There are some very effective management strategies..

However it is well known that as arthritis is an inflammatory condition anti-inflammatories, in other words substances which help combat inflammation in the body, can be successful as part of an overall management strategy.

Omega 3 fats for Arthritis management

Of course there are various anti-inflammatory drugs. However all of these come with some form of side-effects, often serious. On the other hand the essential fatty acids known as the Omega 3 fats, found primarily in fish oil, are also well-known for their anti-inflammatory properties, being very effective at reducing inflammation in the body.

There are very few, if any, side-effects from taking more Omega 3 in your diet, and none of the side-effects are serious. For this reason many medical professionals are now suggesting that as part of an overall anti-arthritic strategy arthritis patients should be taking Omega 3 supplements.

If you have arthritis and are considering taking Omega 3 supplements you should consult your doctor for advice on incorporating Omega 3 supplements into an overall management strategy.

However as well as for helping reduce the symptoms of arthritis there are many other health benefits from increasing your intake of Omega 3 fish oil. Almost every month new research comes out about this new “miracle drug” called Omega 3, except that it’s not a drug at all. It’s not manufactured in a laboratory, it comes from the oil of f ish.

In fact whether or not you have arthritis there are many other health conditions which may be positively benefited from increasing your intake of the Omega 3 essential fatty acids.

If you’re getting older there are some very powerful reasons to consider increasing your intake of Omega 3. For example there is now solid evidence that more Omega 3 in the diet may help prevent macular degeneration in older people, and macular degeneration is the single biggest cause of blindness in older people. The author has personal experience of macular degeneration, having seen a friend go blind within the last few years for this exact reason. No amount of Omega 3 will help her now, it’s too late.

So if you’re getting older and are worried about arthritis, particularly if you have some symptoms like joint pain, visit your doctor and talk to them about increasing your intake of Omega 3. There’s powerful reasons to do so.

So many people have so many questions about fish oil pills. Lets answer some.

From time to time we get questions about anything and everything to do with Omega 3 fish oil pills. How much should they cost? Why are they  good for  you? Where do you get the best ones?

Hopefully we’ve answered those questions here in previous articles. But today we just felt like dealing with a few questions about fish oil pills that we haven’t addressed before in previous articles.

One question we get asked is about fish oil pills side effects. And it’s a good question, because it seems nowadays you’ve always got to look for side effects from taking anything at all. So lets firstly consider the side effects of fish oil pills.

Yes there are some issues, we can’t tell you that there are no side effects. However the risks of serious side effects causing health concerns is low.

The main side effect reported is in fact just an irritant. It’s the “fishy burp” people experience after taking some brands of fish oil supplements.

Notice we said “some brands”. That’s because the reason for the “fishy burps” is that the oil used in the capsules isn’t as fresh as it could be and has become rancid. Fish oil that has oxidized is rancid fish oil.

That produces an unpleasant fishy taste and odor and if burped up isn’t so pleasant. Some manufacturers actually add a masking scent to mask the odor of rancid fish oil.

However quality fish oil capsules shouldn’t, and don’t, use fish oil that is rancid. The manufacturers go to extreme lengths to ensure the fish is fresh, and you won’t get those “fishy burps”. They are true tasteless fish oil pills.

There can also be some side effects from the other components of the capsules. The main Omega 3 polyunsaturated fat that you benefit from is DHA, along with EPA. But there is also some other things in fish oil.

Cod liver oil, for example, has the Omega 3 fats but is also high in vitamins A and D, so if you take cod liver oil you might get some side effects from too much vitamins A and D.

And some Omega  3 capsules, if they use oil that hasn’t been sufficiently decontaminated from nasty toxins, can harbour industrial pollutants. Mercury in fish oil pills has been in the news lately. The best Omega 3 supplements don’t have any detectable contaminants at all.

However there are also some fish oil side effects that are worth mentioning. It is well known that Omega 3 fats thin the blood a little. This is the reason why Omega 3s can reduce the risk of stroke, and is normally good for your heart generally. But some people who are already taking blood thinners may have a problem.

For this reason we always suggest that people with known health problems should always consult a doctor before taking any supplements.

And there is evidence that large doses can increase the risk of bleeding in a few people. This can manifest as nose bleeds, or blood in the urine. It’s not common, but does happen, so consult your doctor.

And occasionally for some there can be some short term teething problems when starting Omega 3 capsules. Perhaps some abdominal discomfort or diarrhea, perhaps heartburn. It should go away, but again, consult your doctor if problems persist.

Generally though, the safety of taking fish oil pills is high, they are low risk with minimal side effects. And of course it’s very good for you. Is taking fish oil pills beneficial even though there is a small risk of some minimal side effects? Absolutely.

Another question we get asked often is this. Is it okay to break open fish oil pills? Read the rest of this entry

Should you be looking to locate the best fish oil supplements by price?

Lets say right at the outset, price is NOT the measure of the best fish oil supplements, and we are not advocates of buying your fish oil pills on price alone. Like everything, cheapest is not always best.

However that doesn’t mean that the price of your Omega 3 capsules doesn’t matter when it comes to buying your supplements. Not everyone can spend up big on buying supplements, especially if you have a family, and also considering that taking your Omega 3 capsules is for life.

Price still plays a big part.

If you’d like to find out how to compare fish oil supplements by quality read our article about our preferred fish oil supplements.

The most important things when looking to find the best high quality fish oil capsules are the amount of DHA in your fish oil pills, and the cleanliness, or lack of contaminants in your fish oils.

The amount of DHA in various brands of capsules varies considerably, as you will see below, so whilst most capsules will be 1000 mg of fish oil, that doesn’t mean that  you are getting 1000 mg of DHA. And it’s the DHA (along with EPA) that you want in your diet.

So to find out what is the best omega 3 fish oil supplements by price the first thing you need to do is to find out how much DHA is in there. Because that’s what you’re paying for.

You can only compare price when you know what you’re buying.

As you’ll know from reading this website, we very strongly believe that the Omega 3 supplements from Xtend Life are the best brand of fish oil capsules on the market. They have an extremely potent mix of Omega 3 fatty acids, they show better anti inflammatory properties, and they have more than twice as much DHA in them as most other brands.

But lets do a price comparison between these capsules and some other well known brands.

Here’s a price comparison. It’s not just comparing the price of one capsule against anther, it’s comparing the price of the DHA that you’re getting from your capsules. Because as we say, it’s the DHA that you’re buying, the rest doesn’t matter that much, it’s just what the DHA comes in.

It’s a value for money comparison, rather than just a price comparison. Note that the prices for the sake of comparison are in $US, these do, of course, vary with exchange rates from time to time so won’t be exact, but will be sufficient for the purposes of the comparison.

There you have your value comparison based on price per gram of DHA. Find out why we consider, apart from price, the fish oil supplements from Xtend Life to be the best.

Not only are the Xtend Life Omega 3 capsules the best Omega 3 supplements generally, they also come out, on a value comparison, to be the best value. In other words the cheapest comparing what you’re buying, and it’s DHA that you’re buying.

And they come out as the best fish oil supplements on all the other considerations as well. You can see why we recommend those supplements above all others.

Now we’re sure that if you search high and low you’ll probably come up with a brand of fish oil capsules that come out cheaper per gram of DHA than 97 cents. You may not, but they’re probably out there.

But we would suggest again that price ISN’T the best measure of comparison between the different fish oil capsules. Don’t decide on the best brand of fish oil on price alone, or you could be doing your health a disservice.

(Please note that the data for the basis of the comparison comes from the respective websites as shown in August 2009.)

Understanding fish oil and heart disease. Is fish oil good for heart disease treatment, or just prevention?

We’ve written about the fish oil heart disease link before. There is no doubt that increasing your intake of Omega 3 found mainly in fish oil can help prevent some types of heart disease and cardio vascular problems.

None other than the American Heart Association recognizes that and recommends minimum levels of Omega 3 intake for this reason.  Specifically the AHA, on their website, say that Omega 3 fatty acids can decrease the risk of arrhythmias, (which can lead to sudden cardiac death), can decrease triglyceride levels and decrease the growth rate of plaque in the arteries. They can also help lower blood pressure.

And of course that’s all good for your heart. It helps prevent heart related problems, and keep your heart healthier than it would otherwise be. It shows a clear fish oil heart disease prevention link.

However what about people who already have heart related problems? Is there some link between taking fish oil and heart disease treatment? Or is it just prevention?

A series of studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology of around 40000 people have shown that there is also a link between Omega 3 and heart disease treatment. The studies have shown that there are also reasons to use Omega 3 supplements, (or to eat a lot of oily fish) to help treat people with known heart related problems.

This is also recognized by the AHA, they recommend minimum levels of Omega 3 dietary intake on their website, and for those people with existing heart problems the minimum level is double that recommended for people with no preexisting, or known, cardio vascular problems.

The new results are found on the website of the Journal, published yesterday, and a good summary is as follows:

“Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid therapy continues to show great promise in primary and, particularly in secondary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) diseases. The most compelling evidence for CV benefits of -3 PUFA comes from 4 controlled trials of nearly 40,000 participants randomized to receive eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with or without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in studies of patients in primary prevention, after myocardial infarction, and most recently, with heart failure.”

So there’s growing evidence of the fish oil heart benefits.

It is important to note though that for anyone with known heart problems a doctor should be consulted before starting any regime of Omega 3 fish oil supplementation. Read the rest of this entry