There are clear benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, the 2 most important being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). In particular there are well established heart benefits to taking more Omega 3 in your diet, however for anyone with high triglycerides it is also now clear that increasing your intake of essential fats can help in lowering triglycerides.
Almost all of us eat a diet that is too low in the essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats. These are found in fish oil and the research has clearly established that by increasing the amount of fish oil in our diet we improve our heart health and also attract a range of other health benefits.
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 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.
A diet with high levels of saturated fat intake can increase triglyceride levels as can a diet of high sugar foods. Risk factors also include being overweight and drinking too much alcohol.
So it would seem clear that lowering triglycerides, if you have a problem with a higher than normal triglyceride level, is a good thing, and for this reason there are many people trying to work out how to lower triglycerides.
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.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition publishes many of the studies about the benefits of omega 3 and a statement on the website says that “A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering” and also that “omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,”.
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 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 naturally.
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.
Of course it is simple to eat more fish but unfortunately fish is contaminated with mercury and is generally very expensive. There are excellent fish oil supplements available which are not contaminated and which can be taken daily very cost effectively. Note however that not all fish oil supplements are of high quality.
Visit my website to find out how to compare the various fish oil supplements available, (and which ones I take myself).