Fish Oil Supplement - Should You Bother ?
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Fish Oil Supplements - The Health Benefits
People have taken fish oil for its health benefits for many years, usually in the form of cod liver oil. Today, fish oil is much easier to take since it is available in capsule form. The reason fish oil is so good for you is because fish oil contains important essential fatty acids called omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish also, like mackerel, sardines and salmon. However, it would take an awful lot of fish to provide the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as can be found in fish oil supplements. Therefore, a fish oil supplement is a great way to get your daily supply of these important nutrients.
It was difficult for people to take fish oil on a regular basis quite simply because it usually tasted foul and smelled so bad. Today, we have our fish oil supplement that is easy to swallow and have no taste or smell. Everyone is now able to take this important health supplement.
While fish oil was originally touted as a treatment for arthritis, today, there are many health benefits attributed to this health supplement.
People who have allergies also report that taking a fish oil supplement help relieve their symptoms. Fish oil has been shown to improve hay fever symptoms, food allergies, skin allergies, and sinus infections. Fish oil may even help asthmatics. Eating a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids and taking a good quality fish oil supplement may reduce airway inflammation and widen bronchial tubes during an asthma attack. Fish oil seems to benefit allergy and asthma sufferers and may even be beneficial to pregnant women who have allergies. Some suggest that taking omega-3 fatty acids while pregnant may help protect the unborn baby from developing allergy symptoms as well.
As mentioned, arthritis was one of the very first conditions that was known to benefit from taking a fish oil supplement. Fish oil seems to have the ability to reduce inflammation. It acts to reduce inflammation in painful arthritis joints, and this is why it has been such a success at treating this disease.
A high quality fish oil supplement is also good for your nervous system and brain too. Omega-3 fatty acids support the brain and protect nerves. They have been shown to work on the brain areas of learning and memory. Fish oil seems to increase membrane fluidity, which helps fluid reach damaged areas of the brain. This offers some hope in the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's disease, dyslexia, and nerve degeneration. Not only that, but fish oil supplements support a healthy cardiovascular system. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure and reduce the chance of blood clots.
Now don't get me wrong, taking a fish oil supplement is not a cure-all, but they do seem to be very beneficial for overall health and well-being. Compare your body to a car that needs oil. When your car runs out of oil, it locks up and quits running. Your car runs much better when it is well lubricated. Fish oil does a similar action in your body by keeping it well lubricated with Omega-3 fatty acids.
It was difficult for people to take fish oil on a regular basis quite simply because it usually tasted foul and smelled so bad. Today, we have our fish oil supplement that is easy to swallow and have no taste or smell. Everyone is now able to take this important health supplement.
While fish oil was originally touted as a treatment for arthritis, today, there are many health benefits attributed to this health supplement.
People who have allergies also report that taking a fish oil supplement help relieve their symptoms. Fish oil has been shown to improve hay fever symptoms, food allergies, skin allergies, and sinus infections. Fish oil may even help asthmatics. Eating a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids and taking a good quality fish oil supplement may reduce airway inflammation and widen bronchial tubes during an asthma attack. Fish oil seems to benefit allergy and asthma sufferers and may even be beneficial to pregnant women who have allergies. Some suggest that taking omega-3 fatty acids while pregnant may help protect the unborn baby from developing allergy symptoms as well.
As mentioned, arthritis was one of the very first conditions that was known to benefit from taking a fish oil supplement. Fish oil seems to have the ability to reduce inflammation. It acts to reduce inflammation in painful arthritis joints, and this is why it has been such a success at treating this disease.
A high quality fish oil supplement is also good for your nervous system and brain too. Omega-3 fatty acids support the brain and protect nerves. They have been shown to work on the brain areas of learning and memory. Fish oil seems to increase membrane fluidity, which helps fluid reach damaged areas of the brain. This offers some hope in the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's disease, dyslexia, and nerve degeneration. Not only that, but fish oil supplements support a healthy cardiovascular system. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure and reduce the chance of blood clots.
Now don't get me wrong, taking a fish oil supplement is not a cure-all, but they do seem to be very beneficial for overall health and well-being. Compare your body to a car that needs oil. When your car runs out of oil, it locks up and quits running. Your car runs much better when it is well lubricated. Fish oil does a similar action in your body by keeping it well lubricated with Omega-3 fatty acids.
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and Fish Oil Supplement
Attention deficit disorder often referred to as ADD is characterised by an apparent inability to concentrate or pay attention for any length of time. ADD sufferes may also show signs of depression.
During various scientific trials carried out in the UK and Australia amongst other places the addition of a fish oil supplement to childrens diet showed some quite remarkable results. In 2006 trials were carried in the UK with a group of children who were all diagnosed as suffering from ADD or ADHD, prior to taking the supplement the children had great difficulty in concentrating which as you can imagine was very detrimental to school work.
These were all children who were rated as being normal in their ability to learn but by the time the study was started they had fallen behind the average for their peer group. 94% of these children were measured as either average or below average on attention scales, by the time the 12 weeks trila had finished this figure had dropped to only 17%, proving a massive increase in attention levels.
This kind of study has also been carried in Australia and in one particular trial some pupils were given a placebo, the children receiving the fish oil supplement showed a marked improvement in their ability to remain attentive and focused, those who received the placebo showed no difference.
So there is overwhelming scientific evidence that a good high quality fish oil supplement can alleviate the symptoms of ADD and ADHD, giving children a better start to their education years.
It is a proven scientific fact that the human brain needs EPA which is found in Omega-3 essential fatty acids in order to function properly, this is typically found in ceratin cold water oily type fish such as Mackerel, Salmon and Sardines amongst others.
However, in order to get enough EPA into your diet you would have to consume quite a considerable amount of these types of fish, which apart from being incredibly expensive these days, there are the worries over the high levels of contaminents such as Lead and Mercury found in ocean fish these days.
So in order to get good high quality EPA into your diet, you should take care as to how the fish oil supplement you take has been made, and where it's ingredients are sourced.
During various scientific trials carried out in the UK and Australia amongst other places the addition of a fish oil supplement to childrens diet showed some quite remarkable results. In 2006 trials were carried in the UK with a group of children who were all diagnosed as suffering from ADD or ADHD, prior to taking the supplement the children had great difficulty in concentrating which as you can imagine was very detrimental to school work.
These were all children who were rated as being normal in their ability to learn but by the time the study was started they had fallen behind the average for their peer group. 94% of these children were measured as either average or below average on attention scales, by the time the 12 weeks trila had finished this figure had dropped to only 17%, proving a massive increase in attention levels.
This kind of study has also been carried in Australia and in one particular trial some pupils were given a placebo, the children receiving the fish oil supplement showed a marked improvement in their ability to remain attentive and focused, those who received the placebo showed no difference.
So there is overwhelming scientific evidence that a good high quality fish oil supplement can alleviate the symptoms of ADD and ADHD, giving children a better start to their education years.
It is a proven scientific fact that the human brain needs EPA which is found in Omega-3 essential fatty acids in order to function properly, this is typically found in ceratin cold water oily type fish such as Mackerel, Salmon and Sardines amongst others.
However, in order to get enough EPA into your diet you would have to consume quite a considerable amount of these types of fish, which apart from being incredibly expensive these days, there are the worries over the high levels of contaminents such as Lead and Mercury found in ocean fish these days.
So in order to get good high quality EPA into your diet, you should take care as to how the fish oil supplement you take has been made, and where it's ingredients are sourced.
Fish oil supplements and mercury
Most people are now well aware that fish can contain potentially high levels of mercury and other contaminants, thanks to widespread coverage in the media. Mercury is a highly toxic heavy metal that is released into the atmosphere mainly as a result of modern day industrial processes. Once in the air it is then free to fall as rain, sleet or snow into our rivers, lakes and ultimately will find its way into our seas.
After it has found its way into the water, a bacterial reaction causes the mercury to turn into methylmercury, which is actually even more dangerous to humans, this is then consumed by the fish and builds up to greater levels over a period of time. Consequently, predatory fish that eat a lot of other fish or fish that live a long time can have cumulative mercury levels that are much higher than smaller fish that have relatively short life spans. As humans we tend to eat quite a few of these predatory fish, the main reason being they tend to be larger and therefore more worthwhile catching as a food source.
So as a result, we have been advised to restrict our consumption of fish, particularly shark, tuna and swordfish, amongst others, which can be extremely high in mercury. Sadly though, most fish are now affected to some degree.
This is a shocking reality, as most of us have been made aware of the health benefits to be gained from eating more fish, particularly oily fish, as they contain the essential Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Studies have revealed that both EPA and DHA are equally important for the body but EPA is the one proving to be responsible for most of the health benefits. Our bodeis are able to convert EPA into DHA if enough EPA is present so it is vital that we get enough EPA in our diets.
Taking a fish oil supplement can be an excellent and safe way of ensuring an adequate supply of EPA but only if the fish oil has been through the correct processes to remove the mercury and other toxins that are harmful to our health.
Molecular distillation, for example, is a process where at very high speeds, the oil is subjected to a spinning motion and the different elements within the fish oil are then separated according to their molecular weight. In this way, mercury can be extracted from the fish oil along with other elements that are not wanted or required. Similarly, carbon filtration can remove mercury by separating the components according to weight so that again the mercury and other harmful particles can be filtered out.
What many people don;t realise is that many of the fish oils on the market today are actually lower grade oils containing relatively small amounts of EPA and or DHA and which more importantly have not been through these ultra-refining processes so are very likely to contain mercury and other toxins such as PCBs and Dioxins.
To avoid the risk of harmful exposure to these contaminants and to get the maximum health benefits from a fish oil, it is extremely advisable to choose an ultra refined fish oil that is high in concentrated EPA.
After it has found its way into the water, a bacterial reaction causes the mercury to turn into methylmercury, which is actually even more dangerous to humans, this is then consumed by the fish and builds up to greater levels over a period of time. Consequently, predatory fish that eat a lot of other fish or fish that live a long time can have cumulative mercury levels that are much higher than smaller fish that have relatively short life spans. As humans we tend to eat quite a few of these predatory fish, the main reason being they tend to be larger and therefore more worthwhile catching as a food source.
So as a result, we have been advised to restrict our consumption of fish, particularly shark, tuna and swordfish, amongst others, which can be extremely high in mercury. Sadly though, most fish are now affected to some degree.
This is a shocking reality, as most of us have been made aware of the health benefits to be gained from eating more fish, particularly oily fish, as they contain the essential Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Studies have revealed that both EPA and DHA are equally important for the body but EPA is the one proving to be responsible for most of the health benefits. Our bodeis are able to convert EPA into DHA if enough EPA is present so it is vital that we get enough EPA in our diets.
Taking a fish oil supplement can be an excellent and safe way of ensuring an adequate supply of EPA but only if the fish oil has been through the correct processes to remove the mercury and other toxins that are harmful to our health.
Molecular distillation, for example, is a process where at very high speeds, the oil is subjected to a spinning motion and the different elements within the fish oil are then separated according to their molecular weight. In this way, mercury can be extracted from the fish oil along with other elements that are not wanted or required. Similarly, carbon filtration can remove mercury by separating the components according to weight so that again the mercury and other harmful particles can be filtered out.
What many people don;t realise is that many of the fish oils on the market today are actually lower grade oils containing relatively small amounts of EPA and or DHA and which more importantly have not been through these ultra-refining processes so are very likely to contain mercury and other toxins such as PCBs and Dioxins.
To avoid the risk of harmful exposure to these contaminants and to get the maximum health benefits from a fish oil, it is extremely advisable to choose an ultra refined fish oil that is high in concentrated EPA.
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by Divingniknaks
Divingniknaks
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