Fish Oil

30 Jul

How To Use Fish Oil To Help You Stop Acne

If you want to control acne breakouts, you need to supplement your diet with fish oils which contain omega-3 and omega-6 oils. These fish oil also contains EPA and DHA fatty acids which are necessary for creating prostaglandins.

Normally, enzymes in your body break down omega-6 into
DGLA, AA, EPA and DHA fatty acids.

Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA)

Arachidonic Acid (AA)

Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

These four fatty acids eventually change into prostaglandins.

What are prostaglandins?

Prostaglandins are chemical hormones that come from
omega-3 and omega-6 oils and that help,

regulate every function in your cells and organs.

Postaglandins also keep androgen hormones in control so
that excess sebum is not produce in the hair follicle, which
results in acne.

This is the reason why Essential Fatty Acids - Omega-3 and
Omega-6 - are critical foods to eat.

However, eating plenty essential fatty acids may not insure
that you produce enough EPA and DHA, which produce the
essential prostaglandins.

It is critical for acne and more importantly for your
health that you get enough EPA and DHA in your cells
and organs so they can produce the required
prostaglandins.

To increase the prostaglandins in your cell walls, it is
necessary for you to take a fish supplement, which contains
both the EPA and DHA.

Of course eating salmon, halibut, and mackerel twice a week
will be a plus in providing your body with more EPA and
DHA.

Here’s what I use daily. Spectrum Essentials puts out an
excellent product called

Omega-3 Norwegian Fish Oil

Two capsules contains

EPA - 360mg

DHA - 240mg

Omega-3 - 892mg

Stearic, Lauric, Palmitic Acids - 508mg

Using the Omega-3 Norwegian Fish Oil is critical in
getting relief from acne, so take two capsules per
meal.

When your body creates prostaglandins, it creates a good prostaglandin and a bad prostaglandin. Here’s how to encourage the production of good prostaglandins.

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27 Jul

Omega-3 Fish Oil In The Diet And Weight Loss

When embarking on a diet, most people make the decision to cut out many foods that are considered unhealthy, such as refined carbohydrates, high calorie foods and fats. However, in order to eliminate excess body fat, you need to make sure you’re eating enough of the right fats. While it’s true that some fats are not good for you, others are absolutely essential for losing weight and maintaining a healthy diet. While the body can transform carbohydrates and proteins into saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, it cannot produce certain polyunsaturated fats. These fats that the body cannot produce are called essential fatty acids (EFAs), and they must be obtained from the food that we eat

EFAs actually help the body to dissolve fat. So to cut out foods high in them is like cutting out fat-burning agents!

What are Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)?

EFAs are classed into two groups: omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are needed by the body to keep the heart, eyes and brain healthy, and omega-6 fatty acids are needed to keep cells, skin, the blood and immune system healthy.

Essential Fatty Acids, otherwise known as Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in the oil from oily fish and vegetable sources such as flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, olive oil and canola oil.

Both types of EFAs are required for the production of the eicosanoids - hormones that are responsible for regulating the major body functions, including digestion, insulin production and the storage of fat.

How Omega-3 Fatty Acids Aids Weight Loss

It has now been proven scientifically that Omega-3 fatty acids help you lose weight.
Studies at the University of South Australia have found that taking omega-3 fish oil combined with moderate aerobic exercise boosts weight loss.

Over a period of 12 weeks, researchers gave a group of obese adults daily doses of omega-3 fish oil and supervised moderate aerobic exercise three times a week. The researches compared the results of this group with other groups that were not given omega-3 fish oil and exercise three times a week.

The group that had the omega-3 fish oil lost significantly more weight, particularly around the abdominal region, than the people who had not been given the omega-3 fish oil and exercise.

They concluded that Omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil activates the enzymes responsible for burning fat, and combined with exercise and increased oxygen intake, they increase the metabolic rate, which has an effect of burning more fat and losing weight.

Warning About Fish Oil

Many reports have indicated that commercial fish can be harmful to people’s health, in particular the health of young children and women of childbearing age. This is because certain fish contain high levels of contaminants such as mercury and methyl mercury that can damage the nervous system of an unborn child or young child. These toxins can also be transferred into fish oil and fish oil capsules.

It is possible to get the same weight loss benefits from vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acids, without the toxins. Eating a diet rich in olive oil, canola oil, and rapeseed oil, nuts, avocado and soy will give you the omega-3 fatty acids your body needs to help you lose weight, without any of the associated health risks.

Shola Osho is author of Diet Cheats - how to lose weight, burn fat while eating all the foods you enjoy. You can find out more by visiting http://www.dietcheats.com More articles on the relationship between omega 3 fish oil in the diet and weight loss are available in http://www.omega-3.b0bs.com

Information on Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids and Fish Oil can be found in the Omega 3 Fish Oil Directory http://www.omega-3.dreamhosters.com which contains web resources on omega 3 essential fatty acids and how to incorporate them in your diet to burn fat and lose weight.

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26 Jul

There Is Something Fishy About Triglycerides

I get a kick out of those commercials which portray conversations at the kitchen table or in the locker room in ways that we don’t normally see. Two women sipping coffee from pretty china cups might naturally start discussing headache medications or hygiene. Men might forgo the normal locker room banter for the much superior topics of foot care or that insurance that only a duck can seem to remember. Some people even get so excited about their cholesterol that they stop perfect strangers on the street to announce significant reductions in their own cholesterol levels.

Some of these commercials give us an excuse to leave the room for more pressing matters, while others make us smile in appreciation of their creativity. But there is one thing they have in common. They direct our attention to topics of great importance that we don’t naturally discuss. High cholesterol is one such topic. Fortunately cholesterol is getting more press these days. Not only do television commercials and news reports discuss the dangers of high cholesterol, but even cereal boxes are preaching the message.

Cholesterol is not the only enemy of heart health that is attracting more attention. Triglycerides are gaining notoriety in the public eye as adversarial to a healthy heart. Though triglycerides might not be the topic of choice in the average locker room I think it is safe to assume that it is of greater importance than the majority of subjects that occupy center stage in that arena. Whether or not we choose to speak of such things most of us know something of their importance and secretly hope they do not become an important factor in our lives or in the lives of those we love. But sticking one’s head in the proverbial sand is hardly proactive and does nothing to avoid potential problems. If triglycerides are an important health concern we should face the problem eye to eye and take action in true Western style.

Many doctors have not been alarmed with high triglyceride levels in their patients as long as cholesterol levels and other components of the lipid profile are within an acceptable range. That is because many believe that triglyceride levels alone do not adversely affect the heart. However, some studies are beginning to alter that thinking. For example, one study at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore demonstrated that people who are middle-aged or older having triglyceride levels above 100 are twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack, die from a heart attack or undergo treatment related to heart health than are people with triglyceride levels below 100 (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, May 1998). When we consider that triglycerides below 150 are within the accepted “normal” range we have cause to rethink the importance of triglycerides.

Heart health is not the only thing affected by triglycerides. A report in the Journal of the American Heart Association stated that high triglycerides are associated with ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA). This conclusion came from an eight year study involving 11,177 patients with coronary heart disease and no history of stroke or TIA. Those patients who later suffered from strokes or TIAs had higher than average levels of triglycerides and lower than average levels of HDL cholesterol.

There is no lack of research supporting the thesis that high triglyceride levels, either in conjunction with other risk factors or as an independent risk indicator, puts one in a more dangerous position in relation to heart attack or stroke. There are many folks who would ignore this fact even if a duck could learn to say “Triglycerides”. But what about the rest of us? Some of us are concerned. What can we do?

In the early 1970’s two Danish researchers observed that Eskimos had diets very high in fatty fish. They expected to find that these people would have high incidence of heart disease. In fact they found the exact opposite. It was discovered that the blood platelets of Eskimos were not as sticky as those of their European and American counterparts. The researchers attributed this “non-sticky” characteristic to the omega-3 fatty acids consumed in the Eskimos’ diet. Further studies have brought increased knowledge of the effects of fish oils and especially omega-3 fatty acids for the reduction of blood pressure and fat in the blood. Studies continue to uncover the positive effects that omega-3 fatty acids have in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma and arthritis.

Concerning heart health, fish oils decrease the risk of sudden death from arrhythmia, decrease blood clotting, reduce atherosclerosis, help lower blood pressure and improve arterial health. More particular to this essay is the fact that study upon study has demonstrated that the fish oils in cold water fish have triglyceride reducing powers. It is no wonder the American Heart Association since the year 2000 has been preaching the importance of healthy adults eating fish.

But what about unhealthy adults already struggling with high triglycerides? The answer that many researchers are giving is, “Eat more fish.” Or more precisely, ingest more omega-3 fatty acids. People who have elevated triglycerides may need 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA (omega-3 fatty acids) per day provided as a supplement. High levels of omega-3 can not be ingested through diet alone. You should consult a physician to discuss taking supplements to reduce heart disease risk. Patients taking more than 3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids from supplements should do so only under a physician’s care.

Let’s face it. Our diets are not nearly what they should be. It isn’t just about calories, carbohydrates and thin waistlines. Our hearts need more omega-3. If you are a fish lover then indulge your fantasies. Eat more. If you don’t love the slimy little creatures then fish oil supplements might be your answer. Perhaps what we need is not a talking duck. Perhaps a talking trout would be more apropos to get the message out. But I suppose that would be counter productive for the trout.

For more information on triglycerides and fish oils see:

http://www.optimal-heart-health.com/triglycerides.html

http://www.optimal-heart-health.com/fishoils.html

Greg holds degrees in science, divinity and philosophy and is currently an I.T. developer.

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