Fish oils offer high concentrations of polyunsaturated fats called omega-3-fatty acids. While all fish contain these fats, cold-water fish--salmon, sea bass, tuna, trout, mackerel, are particularly rich sources because of their diet: plankton packed with omega-3s.
Interestingly, the colder the water, the more omega-3s there are in the plankton. Cold-water fish also boast the most potent forms of omega-3s: the essential fatty acids known as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). Consumed as part of a fish-filled diet or in supplement form, omega-3s have myriad healing powers.
Emerging evidence from several types of research supports the wide-ranging benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 has been found to offer protection against heart disease, depression, bipolar disease, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, alcoholism, postpartum depression and Alzheimer’s disease, and they may be useful for diabetes and arthritis as well.
Scientists are constantly discovering new health benefits for fish oils and their essential fatty acids (EFAs, including omega-3s). In addition to their more notable properties as heart-healing substances, there's evidence that these fatty acids ease menstrual cramps and the pain and heavy bleeding of endometriosis. Omega-3s may even aid mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
Preliminary findings in people with manic depression (bipolar disorder), link fish oil supplementation to fewer mood swings. Some experts even contend that the rising tide of depression in the United States can be traced to the increasingly fish-poor diet people tend to follow.
In particular, fish oils may provide the following:
• Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Several years ago it was discovered that people suffer little heart disease despite their high-fat diets because they have a lot of cold water fish intake. Closer examination revealed that it was the omega-3s in the fish that were protecting the hearts the people.
Succeeding researches revealed that the omega-3s discourage platelets in the blood from clumping together, reducing the risk that blood will clot and cause a heart attack.
The omega-3s also ease strain on the heart and reduce the risk for chest pain by, among other things, reducing high blood pressure, keeping arteries flexible, lowering LDL or the so-called “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats), and possibly even raising HDL, the "good" cholesterol.
Now there's evidence that omega-3s can prevent heart-rhythm abnormalities (arrhythmias). In a recently published study, fish oil supplements significantly reduced the incidence of arrhythmias in heart attack survivors. There were many fewer deaths, specifically from heart problems, as a result.
• Prevention of certain cancers. Recent studies have shown that having fish as part of the diet can reduce the risk for colon, breast, prostate, and other cancers as well.
• Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The inflammation-fighting actions of omega-3s prove to lessen the joint stiffness and swelling of this painful condition. Some patients find that they can even get by with lower doses of conventional medications.
• Control diabetes. Fish oils may improve the body’s metabolic use of its own insulin.
• Ease symptoms of lupus, psoriasis and eczema. In people with lupus, omega-3s appear to control inflammation in the joints, skin, kidneys, and other body tissues. Those suffering from psoriasis or eczema may find that the angry, itchy patches common to these ailments respond to treatment with fish oils after about a month.
Aside from those mentioned above, fish oils have also been found to be useful for a number of other disorders. Some studies suggest that it can significantly improve the behavior of children and help develop their concentration and bonding with their parents.
These are just some of the many fish oil benefits, and just another way of saying “let fish oil be in your everyday diet and live a healthy lifestyle”.