Saturday, March 15, 2008

To Stay Healthy, You Need To Get Enough Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Your body needs a healthy balance of fatty acids which can be obtained by taking Omega 3 supplements.

Disease prevention has an important component: fatty acids. Cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and Depression can possibly be prevented by their use as well as reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and increasing your energy. Some doctors may recommend their patients try fatty acids to help treat rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud's disease, diabetes and other diseases.

The problem is that our modern eating habits aren't compatible with the amounts of essential fatty acids our bodies require. 1:1 is the perfect ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. Our diet of processed foods is heavy on the Omega 6 fish oils leaving us with a bit of an imbalance. As a result, the ratio of Omega6:Omega3 in our diets today is about 20:1. This imbalance of fatty acids is thought to be the cause of some of our most serious health issues and even mainstream medicine is advocating the use of Omega 3 supplements to bring our levels back into balance.

To rebalance your essential fatty acids, decrease your intake of foods containing Omega 6 fatty acids. Corn oil and Soy oil both have Omega 6 as does sunflower, safflower and canola oils. You probably have some of these oils in your cabinet right now.

Be diligent, read packaged food labels, they list all ingredients including these oils and you might be surprised at how many foods contain them. A great health conscience choice would be extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or organic butter. Eating more foods containing Omega 3 fatty acids helps as well. Some examples include fish, walnut oil and flax seed oil.

Many fish have toxic levels of mercury, so ingesting too much mercury which might outweigh the benefits of getting more Omega 3 by eating fish. Haddock, wild Pacific salmon, sardines, tilapia and flounder are the safest fish to eat.

That's why Omega 3 supplements could be a key to better health. There's simply not a better way to raise the ratio between the Omega 3 and 6's in our modern day diets. With cod liver, krill, and alternative fish oils encompassing necessary Omega 3's, minus the exposure of mercury to your system, you have a great way to add the essential fatty acids to your diet. If you do take a supplement, be sure that you also take Vitamin E along with it - the antioxidants in the vitamin will help reduce oxidation.

by Lee Dobbins and you can visit http://www.naturalhealthbuzz.com

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

0 comments:

Recent Comments