Did you know that some fatty acids in the food
that we eat are "essential" just like some vitamins are? This means
that they cannot be made by our bodies and have to be provided in
our diet.
Our cells recognise the shape of these
´polyunsaturated´ fatty acids when they are eaten, so
that they are used directly by the tissues that need them for
important functions related to the cardiovascular system, immune
system, brain functions and many others besides. There are two
types of these important polyunsaturated fatty acids - omega 3 -
like EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and
omega 6 - from seeds and red meat. Even if certain omega 3 and 6
fatty acids are used in the same body cells, they have different,
mostly opposite actions which means we need to balance our intake
of the two types. Due to the fact that the food industry today uses
omega 6 containing oils like soy and corn-oil in almost every
product, a dangerous imbalance has been creeping in during the last
30 years. And this has not been compensated for by an increased
intake of fish. On the contrary, we eat less oily fish than ever
before. This has created a need for the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and
DHA which can only be addressed by changing the design of our
diet.
THE BENEFITS OF EPA
Due to its shape, EPA acts in the cells in the cardiovascular
system where it has important benefits in preventing blood clotting
and formation of atherosclerosis, the arterial disease responsible
for myocardial infarction and stroke. Clinical studies from the UK
and the US have shown that omega 3 fatty acids can prevent
development of atherosclerosis and even reduce the risk of
established atherosclerosis. The American Heart Association
recommends a daily intake of 750mg of omega 3 fatty acids to
prevent the development of cardiovascular disease which takes more
than half a million lives each year in the US.
EPA is also important for the normal function of the immune
system as it has a fine-tuning effect on different immunological
events. Did you know that an overactive or false-programmed immune
system is responsible for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis,
psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases as well as allergies?
Clinical studies from Europe and the US have demonstrated that
omega 3 fatty acids have important effects in the treatment of
these types of diseases.
What about DHA?
This molecule is integrated in all brain cell membranes where it
exerts important functions, relating to memory for example. People
with a poor memory have low concentrations of DHA and patients with
Alzheimer´s dementia have very low levels of DHA in the
brain. Several studies have shown that people with a regular intake
of omega 3 fatty acids do not develop dementia to the same extent
as those who don´t eat fish.
A clinical study from Sweden, to be published later this year,
has demonstrated positive effects of omega 3 on memory in patients
with established Alzheimer´s disease. So it seems that a
regular intake of oily fish or a daily food supplement containing
about 1g of omega 3 fatty acids has a preventive effect on the
development of memory loss and even dementia.
The tissue with the highest content of DHA is the retina of the
eye. DHA is important for the conversion of light to electrical
signals which are conducted to the rear part of the brain where
these signals are processed and stored. Loss of eyesight in the
elderly, due to degenerative changes in the retina, is getting more
common due to the fact that the average life expectancy has
increased.
This disease, called age-related macular degeneration, is more
common in people who don´t eat fish. An ongoing study in
France is seeking to establish whether a DHA supplement can
alleviate symptoms in these patients.
So it seems that even if people today eat an inferior diet, with
processed food instead of organic food and lots of lean products
containing high amounts of omega 6 plant oils, there may be much to
gain by increasing the intake of oily fish or taking an omega 3
supplement.
Prevention is important before diseases develop. This also has
an impact on the amount of omega 3 fatty acids necessary to obtain
positive effects. Significant effects on cardiovascular and brain
health can be obtained by eating oily fish a couple of times per
week or by taking at least 600mg of omega 3 fatty acids daily. If
you are considering a daily omega 3 supplement, you should choose a
concentrated product which is purified from environmental
pollutants regularly found in oily fish.
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