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Salmon Says!
Take your Omega-3's
In this episode of the podcast/newsletter we decided to tackle one of the most popular supplements out there in the world of health, Fish oil/Omega-3 fatty acids. This is a supplement with a surprising amount of research done on it and we thought an overview would be helpful to clarify things for people. What are Omega-3 fatty acids? Why would I want to supplement with them? Let’s Simplify!
The story of Omega-3 fatty acids mainly begins in the late 70’s and early 80’s when it was noted that salmon oil seemed to lower triglyceride levels. Around the same time, researchers published a series of well-known Greenland Eskimo studies basically just showing these populations of people eat a lot of animal fat and a good deal of Omega-3 fatty acids and they had very low rates of heart attacks. Then studies with titles like “The Inverse Relation between Fish Consumption and 20-Year Mortality from Coronary Heart Disease” came out in the mid 1980’s.
We discuss the 3 types of fat: Saturated fat, Monounsaturated fat, and Polyunsaturated fat (which is where Omega-3’s are). Essentially, every membrane around every cell in our body is made up of fatty acids. Your body is making the membranes from the matter we eat and it puts the fatty acids where it wants them to be in the membrane. The more Omega-3 fatty acids you eat, the more likely your body will use these to compose your cell membranes. This seems to allow the cellular metabolism to run more smoothly as the membranes become higher quality and the transport the occurs across these membranes improves.
The two main Omega-3 fatty acids we are concerned with (and that people supplement) are known as EPA and DHA. There is a blood test called the Omega-3 Index that will show what percentage of red blood cell membranes are EPA and DHA. Ideally, you will want that blood test to say between 8-12%. An article published in Cardiovascular Research in 2007 stated that an Omega-3 index greater than 8% is associated with 90% less risk for sudden cardiac death compared to an omega-3 index below 4%.
We end the podcast by going over various studies related to Omega-3 intake. Studies range from discussing it’s benefits with depression, mental processing, body pain, attention disorders, and of course, cardiovascular health. We discuss the REDUCE-IT study (showing a 25% reduction in risk for overall cardiovascular events over roughly 5 years), the VITAL study (showing a 20% reduction in heart attacks), but we also talk about the STRENGTH study which did not have favorable results with Omega-3 intake and we discuss why that may be.
Simplified Takeaways…
If you are going to supplement with Fish oil, we recommend 2 grams of Omega-3 fatty acids per day (or 2,000 milligrams).
Ideally you want a Fish oil supplement with a 60/40 ratio of EPA/DHA.
Fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids are oily fish such as Salmon, Mackerel, and Herring.
The main benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids are that it helps blood platelets become less sticky, they are anti-inflammatory, and they help cellular metabolism run more smoothly. The effects of fish oil seem to come back to one of these 3 reasons.
The average American only consumes about 150 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids per day.
Vegetable based sources of Omega-3’s such as flaxseed and chia seed do not produce sufficient levels of EPA and DHA. This does not mean these foods are bad for you, just that they do not boost your EPA and DHA sufficiently.
Further Reading…
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advise. No doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this newsletter or materials linked from this newsletter is at the user’s own risk. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advise for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.