What you need to about fish oil.
This week supplement spotlight is fish oil. Fish oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA, and DHA. There is another omega oil that is important for health, Omega 6 which is derived from plants and animal proteins. Both omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids should be taken in the balance of a 4-1 ratio, respectively. The problem with the standard American diet is that we consume 10 times more omega 6 fatty acids then omega 3.
Both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are helpful for congestive heart failure, angina arrhythmias, hypertension, and reducing triglycerides. There also helpful in vascular health, autoimmune diseases, and many other health issues. They are inflammatories. Omega oils have no drug interactions and support all statin drugs as well as decreasing the side effects of numerous pharmaceuticals.
There is one problem with Omega 6 fatty acids. The body can convert them to proinflammatory molecules which can cause clotting of the blood and blood vessel constriction. Overconsumption or taking a poor-quality Omega 6 supplement can cause oxidative stress= inflammation.
It is important to supplement omega-3 fatty acids to balance the ratio between 3 and 6. A change in diet in decreasing animal proteins is helpful. My main concern with supplementation of fatty acids is in the quality of the supplement. For example, cold pressed olive oil is a healthier choice than standard less expensive olive oil. The same is true for omega oils. The source, contaminants, processing, and storage of not only omega oils but all supplements are extremely important. If any of these factors are not optimal the oils can become rancid/oxidized causing more harm than good.
My go to supplement for Omega 3 fatty acids is OmegaGenics EPA-DHA 1000. Metagenics has a program called True Quality Purity. All their supplements are tested by a third-party ensuring purity and potency. In fact, on their website, you can type in the lot number, found on the label of any Metagenics supplement to find all the testing that was done on the bottle in your hand.
You can visit Metagenics through my website store.
Do not settle for big box stores sales, vitamin shops, and even pharmacies since the quality of the supplements are not verified.
