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.
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 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.
A diet high in fats and in particular in saturated fat can contribute to high triglyceride levels as can high sugar foods. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can also contribute.
So for many people lowering triglycerides is very important.
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.
But it is now clear from the research that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids by way of fish oil supplementation is an important part of a strategy to help lower triglycerides.
For example a statement published on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that “omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,” and “A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid 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.
This is excellent news for anyone struggling with high triglycerides.
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 you can eat more fish but fish is generally contaminated with mercury and can be extremely expensive. The best fish oil supplements are not contaminated and are much more cost-effective to be taken daily, though not all fish oil supplements are as good as others.
Visit my website to find out how to compare the various fish oil supplements available, (and which ones I take myself).
Want to know more about Fish Oil? Or more about Lowering Triglycerides with DHA supplementation? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
