Mercola asked:


Fish oil is said to be a great source of health benefits. In what way? You may wonder how fish oil can help you live a longer, healthy life. Fish oil supplements help with atherosclerosis – a disease affecting arterial blood vessels. Fish oil begins to oxidize as soon as it is exposed to oxygen, metals, light, and heat. At late stages, oxidation will make the fish oil smell rancid, but early stages have almost no aroma, and are still harmful.

Omega-3 fats from fish or cod liver oil is important food choice you can add to your diet. There are some ways to know which fish oil is best for you:

•#Make sure that your brand is free of mercury and PCBs

•#Confirm that there are low oxidation products in your fish oil

•#Make certain that your fish oil or cod liver oil has therapeutic levels of vitamin E in it.

Taking fish oil can help regulate cholesterol in the body since fish oil has high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. It is also recommended to consume at least 1g of fish oil daily by eating fish for those who have coronary heart disease. It prevents hypertriglyceridemia – high blood levels of triglycerides, the most abundant fatty molecule in most organisms. It is also associated with atherosclerosis. It also helps prevent secondary cardiovascular disease and blood pressure.

Fish oil may as well help protect the brain from problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease, help relieve asthma and prevents allergies and eczema during pregnancy.

You will learn a lot more benefits associated with fish oil by visiting http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/12/fish_oil_heart.htm

Cityslim.com asked:


Adapted from www.cityslim.com

While it is possible to obtain all the essential nutrients our bodies need from a well-balanced diet, omega-3 is the only physiologically-required nutrient that we actually do not get enough of! In fact, if you had to choose between taking a multivitamin and omega-3 fatty acid, most nutritionists and doctors alike would recommend omega-3 over the multi.

Why is this? Omega-3 is a naturally anti-inflammatory compound found in fish liver oil from cold-water fish, which produce this fatty acid to help insulate them. It also happens to be a component in the brain’s grey matter. (Specifically, docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA makes up 22% of the brain’s phospholipid subclasses). Therefore, it should not surprise you that studies have shown omega-3 from supplements and from the diet can improve cognitive function and protect against neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly depression.[1] But wait, there’s more! This wonder-acid not only plays key roles in cognitive development and learning (children fed with breast-milk, naturally enriched by omega-3 fatty acids, have been shown to score higher on standardized tests administered later on in life)[2], but also in:

visual development

immune and inflammatory response

preventing neurological degeneration

protecting against cardiovascular disease

cancer prevention

Just with respect to the heart, omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk sudden death by cardiac arrhythmias by up to 50%; reduce coronary disease morbidity and mortality; lower triglycerides; and demonstrate antithrombic effects. Promising animal studies now show that omega-3 fatty acid decreases cholesterol delivery to arterial walls due to the triglyceride-clearing effect of this supplement in the blood.[3]

So why do you need a supplement? Well, first of all, our bodies cannot synthesize these long-chain compounds all on its own. We can, however, produce the two essential types, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA, from ingesting the 18-carbon omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid, otherwise known as flaxseed oil. But this process requires myriad enzymes and processes, such elongations and desaturations, which ends up leaving us deprived of our precious forms of polyunsaturated fatty acid.

Therefore, the best way to accumulate healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acid in our bodies is either by ingesting EPA—and DHA—rich foods, such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, or tuna (or other omega-3 enriched products on the markets such as eggs and orange juice) or by taking a supplement.Personally, when I find my diet lacking in fish, I opt for the Whole Foods Brand version of omega-3 supplements. The Whole Foods variety incorporates several critical aspects of omega-3 preparation that are critical in any supplement:

Molecularly Distilled Omega-3 (so your supplements are pure and toxin-free)

Contains both EPA & DHA

Tested to be free of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins, pesticides and heavy metals

Derived from cold water fish oil

Comes in a supplement with Vitamin E to protect from oxidation [Vitamin E is also represented as tocopherol or mixed tocopherols.]

There are no established Percent Daily Values for supplements, but usually you can take up to 3 softgels a day WITH FOOD! Remember to take these with a meal because they may prevent the absorption of dietary fat (or triglycerides) and if you do not, you may get a stomach ache or bloating from this natural oil. Also, I suggest taking omega-3’s that have a pleasant lemon-flavor (as do the ones at Whole Foods) or ones that advertise “no fishy flavor!” Omega-3 can also be represented as fish oil, fish liver oil, or cod liver oil.

Need I say more? Go out and gr

ab yourself some pure disease-prevention in bottle or treat yourself this evening to a tasty filet de poisson!

Learn more on www.cityslim.com

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[1] Sanchez-Villegas A, et al. Long chain omega-3 fatty acids intake, fish consumption and mental disorders in the SUN cohort study. Eur J Nutr. 2007;46:337-346.

[2] Birch EE, Garfield S, Hoffman DR, Uauy R, Birch DG. A randomized controlled trial of early dietary supply of long-chain-polyunsaturated fatty acids and mental development in term infants. Dev Med & Child Neurology. 2000;42:174-181.

[3] Qi K, Seo T, Jiang Z, Carpentier YA, Deckelbaum RJ. Triglycerides in fish oil affect the blood clearance of lipid emulsions containing long—and medium—chain triglycerides in mice. J Nutr. 2006;126(11):2766-72.

cathy.mendez asked:


Omega-3 oils have been called “the miracle food of the 21st century.” It has been proved to prevent heart disease, maintain optimum blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

It also serves as great relief from joint pain, migraines, depression, autoimmune diseases and many other unwanted health conditions. Omega 3 can improve brain and memory development. It also provides the perfect brain food.

Here are the following diseases that omega 3 can help prevent:

* Coronary heart disease and stroke;

* Essential fatty acid deficiency in infancy (retinal and brain development);

* Autoimmune disorders (e.g., lupus and nephropathy);

* Crohn disease;

* Cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate;

* Mild hypertension;

* Rheumatoid arthritis.

Omega-3 fatty acids from fish have been shown to be protective of heart disease and lower death rate from coronary disease, especially cardiac arrest. Omega 3 fats are good and recommended to your health. You can certainly get them from cod liver oil or fish oil.

People with certain circulatory problems, such as varicose veins can benefit greatly from fish oil. Fish oil helps stimulate blood circulation, increases the breakdown of fibrin, a compound involved in clot and scar formation.

But be cautious, those who have congestive heart failure or evidence that their heart is receiving insufficient blood flow are advised to consult a doctor before taking omega 3 fatty acids. For people with congestive heart failure, the heart is barely pumping blood well enough to keep them alive. In these patients, Omega?3 fatty acids may eliminate enough of these few pumping cells that the heart would no longer be able to pump sufficient blood to live, causing an increased risk of cardiac death. So you better be careful when trying Omega-3.

To learn all about the importance of Omega-3 for your health and its benefits, check out Omega 3 for more information.