Fish oil for the heart

02/03/06 Every 35 seconds someone dies from heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. The good news is that simply balancing the essential fatty acids – omega-3 and omega-6 fats – to your diet might just be the single best thing you can do to protect your heart.

Jigsaw Health, the leading Internet resource for those with chronic conditions, announces the availability of Essential Omega-3 Fish Oil to help balance essential fatty acids and ease inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease.

Researchers stumbled on the benefits of fish oil while studying the Inuit Eskimos in the 1970s. Despite their high fat diets and resulting obesity, the Inuits had a very low rate of death from heart disease – leading researchers to conclude that the type of fat eaten mattered more than the quantity.

We now know that oil from the oily, cold-water fish eaten by the Inuits may help reduce – even reverse – heart disease. These naturally occurring fish oils represent the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Other sources include wild game, flax seed, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans.

Unfortunately, the typical American diet doesn’t include regular servings of wild-caught, cold-water fish, let alone wild game, flax seed, nuts, or soybeans. In fact, the highly processed, on-the-run diets of most Americans contain exceedingly high levels of omega-6 fats and almost non-existent levels of omega-3 fats. One study found the level of omega-6 fats to be 11-30 times higher than that of omega-3 fats.

It’s this imbalance between the essential fatty acids, say experts, that may account for very high levels of internal inflammation thought to be a factor in cardiovascular and other diseases. To reduce the level of inflammation inside the body, intake of the essential fats needs to be in balance – ideally a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fats.

Reducing omega-6 fats is fairly easy. Cutting out highly processed, packaged “convenience” foods and fast foods and replacing them with whole-grain cereals and breads, eggs, poultry, and some seed oils is a great start.

But what if you don’t like fish or wild game – or the idea of eating them three or more times a week makes you want to hunt down another way to get your omega-3 fats?

Fish oil offers the highly potent benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids – eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – without the fishy smell or gamey taste. And it’s often found in a concentrated liquid form or easy-to-swallow softgel capsules.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration agrees, so much so that in 2004, it took the rare step of allowing foods with omega-3 fatty acids – including fish oil – to make the claim that it may reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. “For the FDA to allow this kind of claim with fish oil is extraordinary,” says Sullivan. “That tells you that there’s overwhelming evidence in the scientific community supporting the use of fish oil.”

To support heart health, experts recommend taking about 3,000-4,000 mg of fish oil per day for adults – and more for therapeutic benefits.

Jigsaw Health is the leading Internet resource for those with chronic conditions. Founded in 2004 by Pat Sullivan—who chronicled his own 30-year struggle with chronic conditions in his book Wellness Piece by Piece—Jigsaw Health offers balanced, well-researched health information as well as premium nutritional foods and supplements. Sullivan is widely recognized as a long-time high-tech pioneer and visionary who created ACT!®, the best-selling contact manager, and SalesLogix, a customer relationship management solution.