Heart-Healthy Fats That Will Keep You Going Strong
This year, cardiovascular disease will be the leading cause of death for 910,000 people, according to the CDC. Forty percent of all fatalities each year occur in this manner! The most tragic part is that heart disease may be avoided in most cases. To prevent a heart attack, have you done everything that's required of you?
Increasing your consumption of the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids is a straightforward, proven, and easy approach to lower your risk of joining these somber statistics.
The incredible benefits of omega-3s have been the subject of an endless stream of research. Indeed, there is widespread consensus among medical experts and scientists that omega-3 fatty acids have the potential to stave off and even cure the devastating effects of cardiovascular disease and stroke, the top two killers, respectively.
You may already be aware that a variety of seafood, especially oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines, are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids due to the recent positive publicity around these fats. There are far too many ways in which research has demonstrated that a diet rich in fish is beneficial to human health.
The New England Journal of Medicine reported the results of a 17-year research that looked at men who had never had heart disease before. The individuals whose blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were the highest had an 80% lower risk of dying abruptly from heart disease. And women too reap the rewards. Two- to four-times weekly fish eaters had a 30% lower risk of heart disease compared to women who ate fish less frequently, according to a 16-year study of nearly 85,000 women.
By analyzing the diets of people from different parts of the world, a 1999 study titled "Food intake patterns and 25 year mortality from coronary heart disease" uncovered several fascinating facts regarding omega-3 fatty acids. This study found that the incidence of death from heart attacks is significantly lower in nations like Japan, where seafood consumption is high, compared to the United States.
The fact that 85% of Americans suffer from an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency and that Asians consume significantly more seafood than Americans is likely to blame, according to scientists. Even among Greenlandic Eskimos, who eat a lot of fish, the same results were seen. The Inuit had a much lower incidence of heart disease, according to the 1970 study, even though they ate a high-fat diet.
To what extent, then, do omega-3 fatty acids benefit cardiovascular health? Everything comes down to the fatty acids' molecular make-up. Omega-3 fatty acids are actually lengthy chains of polyunsaturated fatty acids, as may be seen when examined under a microscope. A number of health benefits, including a substantially reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, are associated with these polyunsaturates: alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Consuming these fatty acids regularly has several health benefits, including lowering blood cholesterol levels, reversing coronary heart disease, and even slowing the growth of colon cancer, according to studies.
Even though most Americans don't get enough omega-3 fatty acids in their diets, there is a safe amount to eat. You should take about 650 milligrams of EPA and DHA every day. For pregnant women, the recommended daily intake of EPA and DHA is 1000 mg, which is much higher. The high levels of mercury in fish make it risky to eat enough seafood to meet the recommended dose. Because of this, getting your vital fats from fish oil supplements is a fantastic idea.
The fish and cod liver oil from Carlson is what I use. Although I am not compensated in any way for promoting this brand, I do it just because I think it is superior to all others. Reasons for this include ideal concentrations of EPA and DHA, stringent purity standards (which prevent the oil from being chemically modified or contaminated with heavy metals like lead or mercury), and the inclusion of additional vitamin E to preserve the oil's efficacy and freshness.
An independent, FDA-registered laboratory routinely tests Carlson's fish oil for potency and purity, and they've found that it's free of 28 pollutants, including mercury, cadmium, lead, PCBs, and more. You definitely get the quality of the brand you pay for when it comes to fish oil, so these are all crucial factors to think about.
Is flaxseed oil an option? Some say that flaxseed is the best place to get your omega-3 fatty acids. I agree with you. There are a few reasons why fish oil supplements may be more helpful than flaxseed oil supplements: The essential fatty acids EPA and DHA can be produced by the body from flaxseed's abundant alpha linolenic acid (ALA). Fish oils contain EPA and DHA, which are significantly more efficiently and quickly metabolized than ALA. In addition, taking additional ALA isn't necessarily the best option because the typical American already gets a lot of it.
You really can't go wrong with fish oil if you're looking to improve your health and naturally protect yourself from heart disease; it's not often that a nutritional supplement receives unanimous approval from both the scientific and natural health communities.
