Weight Loss and Wellness

I’m not one to get excited by every supplement that comes out. But there are a few which I believe almost everyone should be taking. Fish oil is one of these. While the best way to obtain fish oil is by eating fish, like most people I find it difficult to eat enough cold water fish such as salmon and albacore tuna to get enough of the healthy Omega-3 fatty acids contained in them. So I take fish oil capsules instead.

Why? Because the beneficial effects of fish oil are well documented with minimal risk of side effects. Fish oil can literally save your life because it seems to protect people from certain types of irregular (and deadly) heart rhythms. It has also been shown to lower triglyceride levels and increase your good cholesterol (HDL) levels which protects you from heart disease.

The American Heart Association has recommended eating two servings of cold water fish per week and the FDA has allowed fish oil manufacturers to state: “supportive but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease”.

There is even research going on which shows intriguing evidence that fish oil could protect against arthritis and memory loss. Makes sense since Omega-3 fatty acids seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect and these diseases are closely related to inflammation. The doses needed for these effects have not been calculated and will probably be much higher than what’s needed for the beneficial effects on your heart.

In the mean time, I recommend fish oil supplements to everyone except:

1. Those who are on blood thinners such as Coumadin (warfarin) or heparin and anyone with a bleeding disorder. Omega-3 fatty acids may have a mild blood thinning effect and should not be taken by anyone already at risk of bleeding.
2. People who have severe coronary heart disease, irregular heart rates or congestive heart failure. While the ability of Omega-3 fatty acids to prevent certain heart rates benefits most people, it may be dangerous to those people who have severe heart disease.

So how much should you take?

This entry was posted on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.