Is It Possible to Lower Triglycerides Taking Omega 3 Supplements?
Author: Peter Clark Date posted: Nov 18, 2009 Article views: 80 Wordcount: 587 Ezine Ready
It is now firmly established that there is a wide range of heart health benefits to increasing the amount of omega 3 essential fats (DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)) in your diet. One of these important heart benefits, for anyone with high triglycerides, is that increasing your intake of DHA and EPA can help lower triglycerides.
Research has established that almost all of us have levels of Omega3 fats that are too low. Omega 3 fats are found in fish oil and the research also shows that by increasing our intake of fish oil in our diet by way of supplementation we also attract a range of heart and other health benefits.
Some of the most important benefits from fish oil supplementation include a reduction in blood pressure, a reduction in the growth of plaque in the arteries and a reduction in the risk of fatal heart attack. And this now includes lowering triglycerides.
Triglycerides are a fat that is found in your blood and which is manufactured in your body from the food that you eat. If you have high triglycerides this increases the risk of blood clots and can also lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. The bottom line is that high triglycerides are linked to coronary artery disease which can kill you. High triglycerides is also linked to some other diseases such as diabetes.
By eating a diet with a high level of saturated fat and sugar you may be contributing to higher than normal triglyceride levels. And other risk factors are being overweight and excess alcohol consumption.
So lowering triglycerides is very important for many people.
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.
But now it is also clear that if you increase your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil that can also be a big part of any strategy for lowering your triglyceride levels.
"A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering" is just one of the statements on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Another one is that "omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,". These show a clear link between adequate levels of Omega3 intake and triglyceride lowering.
So it is now clear that improving your level of intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids can help lower triglycerides and because this is now clearly established the American Heart Association tells people with high triglycerides to maintain a level of intake of 2 to 4 grams per day of DHA and EPA by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician.
Many people have a problem with lowering triglycerides and this is good news for them.
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.
Want to know more about Fish Oil? Or more about lowering triglycerides with DHA supplementation? Visit Peter's Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
