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.
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 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.
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 who want to know how to lower triglycerides.
There’s a number of things that help lower triglycerides. These include reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet, exercising more, eating less sugary foods, losing weight and reducing alcohol intake.
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.
“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.
It is clear that increasing the intake of Omega3 fats has a role in lowering triglycerides and for this reason the American Heart Association recommends minimum levels of DHA and EPA of 2 to 4 grams per day by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician for people with high triglycerides.
Many people have a problem with lowering triglycerides and this is good news for them and gives them a way to lower triglycerides naturally.
And as well as lowering triglycerides there are other heart benefits as well as a wide range of other health benefits from increasing your intake of omega 3 fats by way of fish oil supplementation.
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.
If you’re interested to find out how to compare fish oil supplements to find the best available (which I take myself) visit my website.
