How Do You Lower Triglycerides with Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids?

Posted on 2009-11-19, 05:49, by peter1, under Conditions and Diseases.

Or for that matter, CAN you lower triglycerides with Omega 3 supplements?

There are clear benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, the 2 most important being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). In particular, there are well established heart benefits to taking more Omega 3 in your diet. However, for anyone with high triglycerides, it is also now clear that increasing your intake of essential fats can help in lowering triglycerides.

Research has established that almost all of us have levels of Omega3 fats that are too low. Omega 3 fats are found in fish oil and the research also shows that by increasing our intake of fish oil in our diet by way of supplementation, we also attract a range of heart and other health benefits.

Some of the important heart health benefits from increasing omega 3 in the diet include reducing blood pressure, reducing the growth of plaque in the arteries, reducing the risk of fatal heart attack and now also helping to lower triglyceride levels.

Triglycerides are a fat that is found in your blood and which your body manufactures from the food that you eat. High triglycerides increase the risk of death and are basically linked to coronary artery disease. High triglycerides can also be linked to other diseases like diabetes.

A diet high in fats and saturated fat in particular can contribute to high triglyceride levels as can high sugar foods. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can also contribute.

So it would seem clear that lowering triglycerides, if you have a problem with a higher than normal triglyceride level, is a good thing, and for this reason there are many people trying to work out how to lower triglycerides.

There are a number of things that help lower triglycerides. These include reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet, exercising more, eating less sugary foods, losing weight and reducing alcohol intake.

But it is now clear from the research that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids by way of fish oil supplementation is an important part of a strategy to help lower triglycerides.

"A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering" is just one of the statements on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Another one is that "omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%". These show a clear link between adequate levels of Omega3 intake and triglyceride lowering.

So it is now clear that improving your level of intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids can help lower triglycerides and because this is now clearly established, the American Heart Association tells people with high triglycerides to maintain a level of intake of 2 to 4 grams per day of DHA and EPA by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician.

Many people have a problem with lowering triglycerides and this is good news for them and gives them a way to lower triglycerides naturally.

And as well as helping to lower triglycerides, increasing Omega3 intake offers you a wide range of other health and heart benefits.

Of course, it is simple to eat more fish but unfortunately, fish is contaminated with mercury and is generally very expensive. There are excellent fish oil supplements available which are not contaminated and which can be taken daily very cost effectively. Note, however, that not all fish oil supplements are of high quality.

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