The benefits of omega 3 essential fatty acids, primarily DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), are well known, and in particular the heart benefits of omega 3 fats. However for people with high triglycerides there is another reason to increase the amount of omega 3 fats in a diet to lower triglycerides.
Research shows that over 90 percent of us are deficient in the important essential fatty acids found in fish oil. And research has also confirmed a wide range of heart benefits from remedying that deficiency by including more fish, or fish oil in the form of supplements, in our diet.
Some of the heart benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids include a reduction in the risk of arrhythmia, which can lead to fatal heart attack, a reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in the growth rate of plaque in the arteries. But for our purposes today the research also show a decrease in triglycerides levels.
Triglycerides are a form of fat that can be manufactured in the body from the food you eat and exist in the blood. Having high triglycerides increases the risk of blood clots and can also lead to a lowering of your HDL (good) cholesterol. Basically high triglycerides are linked to coronary artery disease. And high triglycerides can also be a risk factor in some other diseases, for example diabetes.
A diet high in fats and in particular in saturated fat can contribute to high triglyceride levels as can high sugar foods. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can also contribute.
So it would seem clear that lowering triglycerides, if you have a problem with a higher than normal triglyceride level, is a good thing.
There are a range of things that you can do to lower triglycerides if you have a problem, including reducing the amount of fatty foods and in particular foods was saturated fats, eating less sugar and exercising more. Also important is reducing alcohol intake and try to lose weight if you are overweight.
However research is now showing that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil is also important in a strategy to lower triglycerides.
For example a statement published on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that "omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%" and "A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering".
The role of an increase in intake of omega3 essential fatty acids is sufficiently established so that the American Heart Association specifically recommends that patients who need to lower triglycerides take 2 to 4 grams of DHA and EPA every day, as fish oil supplements, under a physicians care.
Many people in our society suffer from higher than recommended triglyceride levels. This then is good news for them, providing them with another weapon in the arsenal to help lower triglycerides.
And there is also powerful evidence of a wide range of other health benefits from increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, and for these reasons everyone, including people with high triglycerides, should seek to maintain a minimum level of fish oil in the diet.
This is difficult simply by eating fish because fish is contaminated with mercury and is expensive. However there are excellent fish oil supplements available which are not contaminated and which are much more cost-effective to be taken daily. But not all supplements are as good as others.
Visit my website to find out how to compare the various fish oil supplements available, (and which ones I take myself).
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