Up to 96000 of us die each year from Omega 3 deficiency. Are you taking your Omega 3 capsules?

That sounds a little melodramatic doesn’t it? That omega 3 deficiency could be killing you? Melodramatic or not the results of a recent study has concluded that omega 3 deficiency was responsible for between 72000 and 96000 preventable deaths in the US every year.

This study was not just intended to study the negative effects of Omega 3 deficiency but was in fact intended to study the general mortality effects of a range of identifiable dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors in the US.

It was intended to study these factors so that the data could be used for health policy and priorities setting.

The 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors that were studied included high blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, obesity, high dietary trans fatty acids and salt,  dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid levels, Omega 3 fatty acids, fruits and vegetable intake and  low physical activity, use of alcohol and smoking.

Not surprisingly the results concluded that the 2 biggest preventable lifestyle factors causing the highest number of preventable deaths in the US were smoking and high blood pressure. It was estimated that in 2005 smoking and high blood pressure were responsible for almost 800,000 preventable deaths in the US, accounting for around one in every 5 or 6 deaths of adults in America. Next came obesity and physical inactivity accounting for around one in 10 deaths.

The first thing that surprised us about this study is that omega 3 deficiency was studied at all. There is ample evidence that omega 3 deficiency can contribute to various poor health outcomes including heart attack and stroke, however we had still not considered the possibility that deficiency of omega 3 in the population of the US could possibly contribute to so many deaths.

Estimates are that over 90 percent of adults in the US have too little intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids and their diet and are therefore omega 3 deficient. It seems clear from the study that this now contributes significantly to the risk of death from an omega 3 deficiency related condition such as heart attack or stroke.

And it’s not just an increase in the likelihood of health problems that are directly related to omega 3 deficiency. For example studies now show that low levels of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the body can contribute to becoming overweight and that increasing your intake of both DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), the 2 most important Omega 3 essential fatty acids, can help you lose weight as part of an overall weight loss program.

And of course obesity itself contributes to a range of lifestyle diseases which themselves can result in disability or death. Therefore omega 3 deficiency also contributes to these diseases indirectly by contributing to the sufferer carrying excess weight.

If you browse our categories at the right you will see a wide range of health conditions which have all been found to benefit from higher levels of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the diet. The evidence is now so overwhelming that omega 3 supplements are now the first nutritional supplements recommended by the American Heart Association.

With 90 percent or more of American adults being deficient in Omega 3 this has major implications for individuals and also for our health system.

There is an easy way to improve your levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids. One way is to eat more fish however fish is expensive and contaminated with toxins including mercury and for this reason the FDA recommend against eating too much fish. However the best omega 3 capsules are entirely clean and are a very cost effective and safe way to add omega 3 essential fatty acids to your daily diet.

Melodramatic or not the studies are now clearly showing the benefits of an increased intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil and it is now quite clear that virtually all of this should be supplementing our diet with daily Omega 3 capsules.

The best Omega 3 capsules are way better than the worst and we have written articles helping you compare Omega 3 supplements, both for value and for quality. We hope you enjoy those articles.

There’s so many reasons to add fish oil capsules to your daily diet. Read the rest of this entry

Written by - Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oils

(And make sure you read our page explaining why you need Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements, and find out how to choose the Best Fish Oil Supplements).

The heart benefits of Omega 3 fish oil are confirmed once again.

Once again a new, mainstream study of the heart benefits of Omega 3 supplementation has come down on the side of the heart benefits of Omega 3 fish oil. Fish oil benefits the heart, there’s no doubt about that, but now there’s more data.

A recent study by the American College Of Cardiology has confirmed the ability of a minimum level of Omega 3 fats in the diet to reduce the risk of heart disease. Heart disease and in particular heart attack is one of the biggest killers in our society, and so anything that reduces our risks of heart disease just has to be good.

This study followed 40,000 people, a significant number of people, over 4 separate trials. The studies concluded that there were clear heart related benefits to Omega 3 fats in increased levels in the diet, and also recommended exact levels of intake.

The recommended levels of essential fatty acids are as follows:

For people with no known risk of cardio vascular disease,  500 mg per day of EPA and DHA together, no recommendation was made about the relative quantities of each. It was noted that further studies need to be done to determine the relative quantities of EPA and DHA.

And for individuals with known coronary heart disease problems, 1000 mg per day of EPA and DHA.

Often a study will provide a conclusion about the benefits of Omega 3 fats in the diet but make no recommendation as to quantity. This time a quantity is specified which gives us more guidance.

If you want to read the study then click here, note that it is in pdf format and that it is a scientific paper, so complex.

How do you get your 500 mg, or 1000 mg, per day?

Use the best Omega 3 supplements in the world that have over twice as much DHA as your average supplements, at 280 mg per 1000 mg capsule. They’re more expensive than most, but when you factor in the amount of DHA, and realize that you have to take half as many capsules as most others, they don’t appear as expensive as on first glance.

And on a comparison of all the important factors in choosing the best Omega 3 supplements they come out well in front for value and effectiveness. Read the rest of this entry

Written by - Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oils

(And make sure you read our page explaining why you need Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements, and find out how to choose the Best Fish Oil Supplements).

We know about the benefits of fish oil supplements to the heart. But beware.

We have talked about the health benefits of fish oil supplements before, to a range of health conditions, but in particular to the heart. However a study has now posed a warning.

The study has suggested that a high fat diet, and in particular a diet high in saturated fat foods, can cancel many of the heart benefits of omega fish oil.

The heart benefits of fish oil are well known, they include a reduction in the incidence of cardio vascular disease including fatal and non fatal heart attacks, as well as strokes.

But although you may be able to get these benefits from taking the best omega 3 fish oil supplements you may be doing yourself a disservice if you’re taking your fish oil supplements and also eating lots of foods high in fat.

A new study has found that the benefits of fish oil supplements are highest when combined with a low fat diet, and that a high fat diet could cancel out some or all of the benefits. The study studied rats with heart failure. It looked at the correlation between the benefits of Omega 3 supplementation when combined with a diet high in saturated fats.

The study was conducted by scientists from a range of institutions led by William C. Stanley, Ph.D., from the University of Maryland-Baltimore. It concluded that even though the benefits of fish oil for the heart are known, these benefits can be cancelled out when a high saturated fat diet results in the fat levels in the heart blocking out the heart benefits of the fish oil taken.

It was thought that the high fat levels in the heart blocked the capacity of the heart cells to absorb the helpful polyunsaturated Omega 3 fats from the fish oil.

This study was conducted on rats which already had heart problems, so it’s difficult to know of these conclusions can be applied to people who take Omega 3 capsules but who don’t have any heart disease.

However there are also well known reasons why a diet of high saturated fat foods is not good for your health, so whether or not you already have heart disease there are still very good reasons why you ought to be taking top quality Omega 3 capsules, AND be eating a diet low in saturated fats.

That way you get the health benefits of omega fish oil along with the health benefits of a good diet. What could be better? Read the rest of this entry

Written by - Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oils

(And make sure you read our page explaining why you need Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements, and find out how to choose the Best Fish Oil Supplements).