Scientists and researchers have been debating the principles of the relationship between fish oil and cholesterol in our bodies since the 1970s. Around that time there existed a belief that consuming a diet rich in fat usually led to heart problems, but this was soon disproved.
This was because scientists found out that, although the Eskimos in Greenland ate lots of fat, they had a much lower incidence of heart disease. This led scientists to believe that not all fats were bad for you.
As many of us know, Eskimos eat a lot of fish, halibut in particular. Other notable names include salmon, mackerel and sardines. It was no coincidence that the aforementioned seafood contained omega 3 fatty acids.
As science is won't to do, it progressed. Omega 3 fatty acids were revealed to play an important part in our diets. However, our bodies cannot produce these essential fatty acids (EFAs) on their own, and so they had to be consumed through our food.
It is important that we understand the link between fish oil and cholesterol. You see, cholesterol naturally assimilates in our body and is also introduced to our bodies through our diets (like meat and dairy products.) It's a fat-like substance, which helps our blood cells function effectively by transporting through them.
LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and HDL (high-density lipoproteins) are the two types of cholesterol in our bodies.
LDL
LDL is carried through the body to the organs and tissues of each person. LDL isn't able to be eliminated if the levels of it increase too much.
If nothing prevents it, a chemical change occurs in these particles -- making them denser, and this enables them to grow in number on the walls of our arteries. This growth can lead to inflammation and can cause coronary heart disease as the blood vessels become narrower. It is because of this that LDL is regarded as the "bad" cholesterol.
HDL
Some people sum HDL up as the "janitor" in our blood. As it cleans up the blood vessel walls of surplus cholesterol and moves it back to your liver for processing, it is often regarded as the "good" cholesterol. Basically, the more HDL you have, the less LDL there is in your system.
Fish oil has been found to increase the level of HDL and (as we have just learned) this would decrease the level of LDL. Due to this, the American Heart Association (AHA) fully endorses omega 3's heart benefits. Therefore, consuming a quality fish oil supplement can increase your health.
Eating fish is healthy (for those who even like fish!) but it turns out that if you eat excessive amounts of it, it can have negative side-effects (like mercury poisoning.) The pollution we dispose of goes into our water, affects the fish in the water and we then consume the fish. Talk about recycling! Some fish come into contact with concentrated levels of metal like mercury, lead and PCBs.
Fortunately, fish oil supplements present a safe way to ingest omega 3 fatty acids (and also an alternative method for those who don't like fish.)
Now that you know the link between fish oil and cholesterol, you can choose to seek further information for properly purified fish oil supplements that will not only improve the health of your heart, but will also improve many other aspects of your life.
Scott D Oakley is a passionate researcher and reviewer of fish oil supplements. This research is published on his website. To find out about the purified omega 3 supplements which he personally uses and recommends, visit your-omega-3.com your-omega-3.com/
your-omega-3.com your-omega-3.com/ can help you to enhance your health.
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