Essential Fatty Acid – Are you getting The Right Type And Correct Amount Of It Every Day?
Has this ever happened to you? I was very annoyed after it happened to me!
Some years ago a pharmacist suggested it would be good for me to take fish oil capsules to increase my omega 3 essential fatty acid intakes to help my high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
He sold me a big container of 400 soft gels and said take 2 capsules 3 times a day.
I took them religiously for a couple of years until about 18 months ago when I became more interested in researching and learning about health issues in general, and particularly how fish oil and multi vitamin supplements may help my health more.
Looking back I guess what annoyed me the most, is how naive I was in taking his advice without really understanding the issues. I think most people tend do the same because they don’t have time or the inclination to look into these matters themselves.
Conditioning leads us to be easily persuaded by recommendations from an authority figure like a pharmacist, you understand they are trained and knowledgeable — so you are confident they have your best interests at heart.
However I have learnt it’s not that simple. Even if you are given what appears to be sound advice and a recommendation for a fish oil product, it may not be the best and most effective option for you.
As it happens the soft gels I took had low levels of essential fatty acids compared to the overall amount of fish oil, and to make matters worse the amount of EPA was twice the level of DHA.
I have since learnt that about 50% of the total capsule content should be omega-3 fatty acids and the other 50% fish oil. Also the amount DHA should be approximately double the amount of EPA.
So you can understand how annoyed I was taking these soft gels for a few years only to realize I had not been taking the optimal amount and the fatty acid quantities were the wrong way around, therefore I didn’t get the health benefits I could have had.
When we talk about essential fatty acid it means your body needs it, but doesn’t make it by itself — there are 2 types you need to know about.
Linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid) comes from a variety of vegetables, nuts, sunflower and certain oils. As it happens our Western diet is rich in this acid, so we tend to get too much of it.
Alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid) sources are green vegetables, pumpkin and mustard seeds, soybean oil and flaxseed that has high ALA levels. Sources rich in DHA and EPA are fish oil from cold water dwelling fatty fish like cod, salmon, herring, tuna and mackerel.
The general idea is to try and reduce your omega-6 consumption and increase your omega-3 intake to get an optimal balance, particularly DHA and EPA
If you think your essential fatty acid intake is inadequate for good health try to eat more oily fish, however you may be interested to take the easier and more affordable option of supplementing your diet with fish oil omega-3 DHA and EPA fatty acids.
If your interested to find out more and to better understand fish oil issues, visit my website below.
Discover the best available today.
John P. Stevens is a long time user; researcher and writer on health issues particularly fish oil and natural supplements. He only recommends natural substances that are extremely effective and 100% safe to use. To learn more about the many benefits of fish oil, Go to ==> today.
Article Source:
