There are many foods that are claimed to prevent disease and keep us healthy. One particular food that has received a lot of attention as being healthful is oily fish. Along with the good sources of protein, B vitamins and certain minerals that fish provides, it is the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA in the fish that are so important for our health. However, very few of use eat enough oily fish to get adequate amount of omega 3 fatty acids. We have become so deficient in these omega 3 fats that adding them to the diet has almost become a panacea for all health conditions. A literature search of medical journals demonstrates that fish oil may play a role in the management of all known diseases. Simple go to the website pubmed (type pubmed into google.co.uk) and type fish oil + “a disease” and see how many published medical papers you can find that prove omega 3 fats in fish oils truly are healthy.
As developmental humans we would have eaten brains and bone marrow (rich in omega 3’s), we would have eaten wild game meats that would have been naturally rich in omega fats. Unfortunately modern intensely farmed animals fed grains instead of grass are higher in saturated fats rather than omega 3 fats. Developmental humans would probably have eaten more fish especially if they had lived on the coast or by a river. I know from experience that not many people like to eat fish these days, especially not the strong tasting oily fish such as mackerel or sardines. The only fish some people eat is battered cod of fish fingers which clearly won’t supply adequate amounts of omega 3 regardless of what Birdseye’s marketing department claim on the TV.
These important molecules EPA and DHA have certain roles in the body. EPA converts to prostaglandin 3 (PG3) that plays a very important anti-inflammatory role in the body, if we lack EPA, we don’t produce PG3 and we can end up in a state of chronic low grade inflammation or what Dr Barry Sears calls “silent inflammation”, it’s silent because you don’t know it’s there until it’s too late. The other molecule DHA is very important for brain and nervous system health, it helps to improve memory and IQ, it plays a role in mood disorders and it helps to protect the eyes.
Now of course eating salmon, mackerel and trout several times a week would be a great way to increase your omega 3 intake but one simple way to increase fish oil intake, and for those who don’t like to eat fish, is to take a fish oil supplement. These supplements come as either capsules or oils. For those who can’t swallow capsules I recommend taking the oil off a teaspoon, however don’t be alarmed as the oil doesn’t taste disgusting as they are flavoured with lemon or orange oil and only taste mildly fishy. If you still can’t stomach the oil take the pills.
Here are some of the top reasons to add fish oil to your supplements stack
1. The largest body of evidence exists for the role of fish oil consumption in cardiovascular disease. Fish oils have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), inhibit the formation of arterial plaques, lower serum triglycerides and raise HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).
2. Fish oils lower C-reactive protein, a marker of acute inflammation and a predictive indicator of heart disease.
3. Fish oils reduce blood pressure and can lower heart rate reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease.
4. Fish oils are important constituents in the production of phospholipids that are essential components of cell membranes. This maintains cell membrane fluidity and allows the incorporation of a high number of insulin receptors in the cell membrane improving insulin sensitivity and managing dysglycemia.
5. Similarly, fish oils maintain cell membrane fluidity and allows the incorporation of a high number of serotonin receptors in the cell membrane improving serotonin sensitivity and improving mood.
6. Fish oils turn on lipolytic genes. This means more fat will be burned as a fuel.
7. Fish oil turns off lipogenic genes reducing belly fat and ther fatty deposits in the body.
8. EPA in fish oil produces series 3 prostaglandins that help to reduce inflammation; easing joint and muscle pain and acting as an anti-oxidant protecting the heart and brain.
9. DHA in fish oil is important for the brain development. Sixty percent of the brain is fat, most of which is DHA. This improves IQ, concentration, reactions and helps protect the eyes. It is very important for mothers to restore DHA levels after birth or before conceiving further children, as IQ levels will be lower in children.
10. Fish oil is a major source of omega 3 fatty acids. Modern diets tend to favour large consumptions omega 6 fatty acids and bad fats such as trans fats. Our genes are programmed to receive 300-400g of omega 3 fatty acids each week to keep us healthy.
11. Fish oil is anabolic (meaning they improve you body composition – allowing you to build more muscle and drop more body fat).
There has been some bad press about fish oils recently with some brands being exposed for their lack of care removing either heavy metals from the fih oil, or for filtering out the hexanes used to remove the heavy metals. However there are some very reputable companies out there who do the utmost to ensure high quality products. Inevitably these products will be more expensive, but it is better to pay slightly more for the confidence of a quality products.
Good brands of fish oil include the following:
• Poliquin
• BioCare
• Aliment
• Thorne
• Pure encapsulation
• Biotics
• Nordic naterauls
• Metagenics
• Allergy research