Fish Oil

I have never liked fish. In fact, other then Tuna, mixed with mayo and chopped onions, I would say I am afraid of fish. I was once a lifeguard at a lake and every time I had to go in the water, I would move my arms and legs around like I was having a seizure just to keep the little fish in the lake away. I am in fact afraid of all sea life from Trout to Goldfish, so you can imagine my response when my doctor suggested taking fish oil. He gave me a copy of an article about the value of Omega 3 fish oil pills in reducing the risk of heart attacks. I was unimpressed and when evaluating taking the fish pills verses the heart attack, I chose the heart attack.
At my next visit, my doctor asked if I had tried the fish pills and when I wrinkled my nose and shook my head, he produced another article suggesting that there was a link between a reduction in cancer and the fish pills. Still I chose cancer.

He then suggested that flax seed oil was a worthy alternative to the fish pills and would provide me with the same omega 3 fatty acids, that he so desperately thought I needed. I had recently seen my mother munching on some flax seed chips, which pretty much closed the door on the flax seed option.

You can then imagine my joy when I recently read that there was little to suggest that Omega 3 fatty acids reduced the risk of any single type of cancer.

While it was true that the Eskimos of Greenland had a very low occurrence of coronary heart disease (I assume they ate a lot of fish), I was overjoyed to hear that high levels of mercury were discovered in fish. Swordfish, shark and mackerel had particularly large amounts of mercury, however fish sticks did not. Regardless I had found the evidence I needed and in future doctor visits whenever the issue was raised, I would invoke the findings from an ambiguous EPA study that supported my growing concern of getting mercury poisoning. In truth, I still don’t actually know why mercury is bad for you but as sited in the Fishing Regulations Booklet, if I need more information, I can always contact my local health department.

Robyn Segal is a free lance writer and Director of Marketing for a New England Health Care System.

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Many people know that they need omega-3 fatty acids to prevent heart attacks, and that they can get lots of omega-3 fatty acids from fish. But most people do not know that the omega-3 fatty acids in seeds such as flax and whole grains may be even more important in maintaining your health than the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the least stable fats in our diet. Whole grains contain lots of vitamin E to keep the omega-3s fresh and prevent them from turning rancid, but omega-3 fatty acids in fish are not protected by vitamin E and therefore turn rancid much more quickly than the omega-3 fatty acids in whole grains.

Three huge studies, The Lyon Heart Study, the GISSI Prevenzione Trial, and in The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Study have established that omega-3 fish oils help to prevent heart attacks and reduce pain and swelling in diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis, and possibly even asthma. Recent research shows that the omega-3 alpha linoleic acids in seeds, nuts, beans and whole grain may be as necessary as the omega-3s in fish oils to prevent heart attacks.

Omega-3s found in fish oils are mostly long chain fatty acids. Omega-3s in plants, particularly seeds, contain much shorter chains and are weaker than the omega-3s found in fish. However, the shorter chain omega-3s, particularly alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in leafy greens and seeds are converted to the long chain fatty acids in the human body. Long-chain fish omega-3s enter blood and cells more rapidly and produce more rapid effects than short chain plant omega-3s.

Over the long haul, humans must get omega-3s from plants, as well as fish, because all omega-3s break down very quickly when exposed to oxygen in your body, and you need large amounts of vitamin E to prevent omega-3s from turning rancid. Fish oils are extremely low in vitamin E, while virtually every seed or plant source of omega-3s also has vitamin E. So your body stores far more short chain omega-3s from plants in your body fat.

Dietary fats are classified by their chemical structure into saturated, polyunsaturated and mono unsaturated. The polyunsaturated fats are further sub-classified into omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9. Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats form prostaglandins that cause clotting, a thickening of the blood and constriction of arteries that cause heart attacks.

On the other hand, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats prevent heart attacks and high blood pressure by helping thin blood, relax arteries and prevent clotting. Over millions of years, humans have consumed a diet that contained approximately equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids, but over the past 150 years, humans have increased their consumption of omega-6s by extracting vegetable oils from the seeds of corn, sunflower, safflower, cotton and soybeans.

These oils are used in most prepared foods, frozen foods, margarines, French fries, potato chips, and bakery products. Today Americans eat a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids that is almost 20 times higher in omega-6s than omega-3s, instead of the traditional ratio of about 2:1. This abnormally high intake of omega-6s blocks arteries and causes swelling throughout the body. To meet your needs for short chain omega-3 fatty acids found in plants, eat lots of green leafy vegetables, and seeds such as flaxseed, whole grains, beans and nuts.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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