Fish Oil

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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A flood of scientific evidence about fish oil points to a startling conclusion that taking high-dose fish oils, which are very rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, helps support a healthy heart, a healthy brain, a healthy immune system, healthy joint movement, healthy kidneys and much more.

Each grade of fish oil is distinguished from the other by its purity and concentration of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Crude fish oils are the least expensive and most will likely contain some levels of contaminants including PCBs, DDT and organic mercury.

When choosing a high dose fish oil remember that knowledge is power and not all fish oils are manufactured the same. Some fish oils may even be dangerous when taken in high doses.

With many choices of fish oil available, and with so many pro and con opinions written about each, it is easy to become confused. So when it comes time for you to choose a fish oil make sure you do your homework and choose wisely - your health depends on it.

When choosing a fish oil that you will be ingesting in high doses it is crucial that you choose one that is pure and free of contaminants, toxins, and mercury. How can you, the consumer, tell the difference?

Currently there are three grades of fish oil available on the market today:

• Cod Liver Oil

• Health-food grade fish oil, and

• Pharmaceutical-grade fish oil

Cod Liver Oil

Cod Liver Oil is the lowest quality fish oil and like the name implies it is manufactured from the livers of Cod fish. It has the lowest concentration of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and contains the highest levels of contaminants such as organic mercury, PCB’s, and DDT. Cod Liver Oil may also contain a high level of Vitamin A.

Cod Liver Oil is not recommended for high dose consumption. A typical serving of Cod Liver Oil contains 500 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Health-food Grade Fish Oils

Most health-food grade fish oils are manufactured from fish body oils. Fish oils can be manufactured from a single fish species or from several fish species.

Fish size and their relative rank in the food chain can help us understand the level of contaminants that may be found in health-food grade fish oils. Small fish, such as sardines and anchovies, don’t live long so are less prone to accumulate environmental pollutants. Larger fish, such as salmon and mackerel, are predatory species that live longer so they could contain higher levels of pollutants. If the label says it comes from a particular species of fish, such as salmon, then you can be sure that it probably is health-food grade fish oil.

A slightly more purified type of health-food grade fish oil is available which includes oils that have been subjected to a limited amount of molecular distillation to remove some of the cholesterol. These types of fish oils are usually labeled as “cholesterol-free”.

“Fish Oil Concentrate” is yet another type of health-food grade fish oil. Fish oil concentrates consist of ethyl esters of the fish oil that have been subjected to fractional cooling. The solidified saturated fats are removed leaving behind a more concentrated solution of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. A typical one-gram capsule of thermally fractionated health-food grade fish oil contains up to 500 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Typical health-food grade fish oils may contain varying amounts of contaminants. In addition, the fractional cooling method does not necessarily remove all the PCB’s or the long-chain monoene fatty acids that may give rise to gastric distress. Due to the varying amounts of contaminants that could still be contained in health-food grade, it is questionable as to whether it is safe at high levels. A typical one-gram capsule of health-food grade fish oil contains approximately 300 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Pharmaceutical-grade Fish Oil — the newest generation of fish oil.

Pharmaceutical-grade fish oils start with thermally fractionated health-food grade fish oils. These oils are then distilled, using a highly complex refining technology, into fractions rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. According to manufacturers, it typically takes about 100 gallons of health-food grade fish oil to make one gallon of pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.

Individual fractions are then combined to provide a 2:1 ratio of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) for the finished fish oil product. Scientific studies conducted with pharmaceutical-grade fish oils that used a 2:1 ratio of EPA and DHA reported significant clinical benefits.

Pharmaceutical-grade fish oils are exceptionally low in long-chain monoenes, PCB’s and other pollutants. Pharmaceutical-grade fish oils are believed to be the safest to take in high doses. A typical one-gram capsule of pharmaceutical-grade fish oil will have a minimum of 600 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

Pharmaceutical-grade fish oils are a fairly new product and a good-quality source may be difficult to find. In addition, pharmaceutical-grade fish oils definitely cost more - sometimes twice as much. This increased cost is an outcome of the complex process used to remove impurities. Each step in the refining process adds additional production costs.

For instance, OmegaRx developed by Dr. Barry Sears and recommended in his book, The OmegaRx Zone - The Miracle of the New High Dose Fish Oil, starts with health food grade fish oil which then goes through nine additional steps to make it pharmaceutical grade quality. Pharmaceutical-grade fish oils generally taste better and the amount of long-chain monoenes, which cause gastric distress, are dramatically reduced.

For more information about where to purchase Dr. Barry Sears’ OmegaRx Fish Oil Supplement, please visit http://www.fishoilzone.biz or http://www.omega3zone.biz or call To Your Health at 503-244-5941.

About The Author

Bev Storer is a writer and researcher in the field of nutrition and nutritional supplements. To learn more about pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, visit her website or e-mail her directly at info@fishoilzone.biz.

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According to at least one popular diet web site, millions of dieters around the world may be using the wrong oil on their salads, or taking the wrong omega-3 dietary supplement pill.

For years, millions of people have been pouring flax seed oil over their salads, adding it to recipes and menus, and taking big capsules of it on a daily basis. The idea was to get something called EPA, DHA, and GLA from the essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids it contains. The problem is that to get GLA, EPA and DHA from flax oil, you need a special digestive enzyme. And, guess what? The news from Level1Diet.com is that only young, healthy people make enough of the enzyme to do the conversion from flax oil into these special nutrients that people are looking for.

What are all these initials and why do people want them? EPA, DHA and GLA are called “essential fatty acids” because your body can’t make them by itself. You must eat foods (or take supplements) from outside sources containing either Lenoleic Acid (LA) or Alpha Lenolenic Acid (LNA). Flax seed oil contains both of these.

• GLA: Gamma Linolenic Acid
• EPA: Eicosapentaenoic Acid
• DHA: Docosahexaenoic Acid

And, if you can properly digest these essential fats, then you get two wonderful health boosters for your body called EG1 and EG3 (prostaglandin series-1 and series-3). These are terrific aids in fighting inflammation. And, when you reduce inflammation, you help your body prevent major diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and many more.

What if you can’t digest the flax seed oil? Well, you will end up making too much of something called EG2 (prostaglandin series-2). As you might guess, this actually INCREASES your levels of inflammation, and therefore increases your risk for all the major diseases associated with inflammation — and that’s a big list of diseases, as scientists are reporting these days. The Level1Diet.com site lists dozens of these associated diseases, adding up to possibly 73% of all the deaths each year in the U.S.

So, for years people have been buying flax oil to get these vital nutrients. And all this time they may have actually been making matters worse. Or, at least many people have not been improving their health, despite their efforts.

Here is the break down — The issue is that the Linoleic Acid flax seed oil contains has to be converted into Gamma Linolenic Acid using Delta-6 Desaturase D6D enzyme. And D6D is made inoperative by high levels of insulin (duh), alcohol, pollutants, and high levels of Omega-6 Fatty acids from vegetable oils and fried foods, trans-fatty acids, etc. Also, D6D becomes less available anyway as we age, and there is evidently a genetic mutation that makes people into diabetics (by family groups of course) that is basically simply a mutation that makes people not as capable of making D6D as “normal” people. It is felt that this mutation is probably the true cause of the familial component in the genesis of type-2 diabetes, and naturally likely of most inflammatory disease and metabolic syndrome.

A simple digestive enzyme deficiency, which is possibly inherited among up to 40-50% of people or sometimes even more in some regions (apparently about 90% of the Pima Indians in Arizona, for example). Estimates vary, but the inability to use D6D is very common. So, a simple digestive enzyme can be a major cause involved in many of our worst diseases. Who’d have thought it?

OMEGA-3 Alpha-Linolenic Acid LNA (part of flax oil) + D6D -> … -> Eicosapentaenoic Acid EPA -> Series-3 Prostaglandins [inflammation fighters]

OMEGA-6 Linoleic Acid LA (in many vegetable oils, incl. flax oil) + D6D -> … -> Gamma Lenolenic Acid GLA -> … -> Dihomogamma Linolenic Acid DGLA -> Series-1 Prostaglandins [inflammation fighters]

NOTE that D6D is required to generate both of these this way, from vegetable oils, and it is often not available for diabetes and many pre-diabetics or metabolic syndrome, insulin resistant folks.

Incidentally, if you eat the wrong stuff and D6D stops working, then you get Arachidonic Acid (AA), which leads to making Series-2 Prostaglandins… those are the bad guys involved in most inflammatory disease states.

Everybody affected by most of the major types of disease in the U.S. usually wants to boost Series-1 and 3 Prostaglandins, and lessen Series-2. We’re manipulating our diet to get that to happen. That’s most of our strategy. There’s more, i.e. burning more with exercise, eating less etc.

SOLUTION?

The idea is to make an end run around the missing or not-working D6D issue. Fish oils give you EPA and DHA with needing to be converted by D6D. Borage oil gives you GLA with using D6D. So the answer is simply to add them into your diet.

1. Take Borage Oil (GLA), which gives you GLA without needing D6D (best source). Recommended daily dose is about 300mg of GLA from one 1,200mg oil capsule for most normal sized people - up to twice that for very large people.
2. Take Fish Oil, which gives you EPA without needing D6D (best source). Recommended dose is about 2.4 grams a day of the total EPA and DHA in the oil you are using. That usually means about 3-4 pharmaceutical grade capsules, or up to 10 normal standard health store grade capsules.

Both these oils together will get you more of the anti-inflammatory prostaglandin series-1 and series-3 molecules. And you don’t get as much of the pro-inflammatory series-2 prostaglandins that would come from not being able to convert flax seed’s omega-6 fatty acids into DGLA and therefore ending up with too much arachidonic acid — whenever you’re insulin resistant, inflamed or for some other reason unable to produce or use enough delta-6 desaturase D6D enzyme.

Thomas Bond is the founder of the Level1Diet.com anti-inflammation health program. He is the creator of the unique Food Guide Football(tm), a replacement for the Food Guide Pyramid. The Food Guide Football features fats at one small end of the football, sugars at the other end, vegetable proteins like beans, peas and nuts in one vertical stripe around one end, and animal proteins like fish, chicken, turkey and lean beef, as the other stripe around the other end, with the large middle of the football representing fruits and vegetables. The Food Guide Football represents a low fat, low simple carbohydrate, moderate protein and high complex carbohydrate diet formula. Specific foods and supplements are recommended to achieve and maintain a low inflammatory state of health.

If all of that complex chemistry stuff is confusing, just take Level1Diet.com’s word for it. A capsule or two of flax seed oil probably won’t hurt you, and it may help you. However fish oil and borage oil should ABSOLUTELY HELP YOU. Take them instead.

For more information, contact:

www.Level1Diet.com
Thomas Bond
561-627-6221
ceo@level1diet.com

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