Finding The Fish Oil Heart Disease Link.
There now seems to be little doubt that if you increase your intake of fish oil (omega 3 fats) you reduce your risks of heart disease.
Even the American Heart Association recognizes the fish oil heart disease prevention link. And they list the heart health benefits on their websites.
There is definitely a fish oil heart health link, and that's good news for your heart.
But what if you already have heart problems. Is there a fish oil heart disease treatment link? Or can more fish oil help treat existing heart disease?
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology has just published a study that combines the results of 4 other studies of around 40000 people. This confirms that yes there is a link between more fish oil or Omega 3 fats and treating existing heart problems.
The AHA actually recognize this and suggest the people with pre existing heart disease take double the amount of Omega 3s than those who are healthy.
You can find the results on the website of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. They can be summarized as:
"Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid therapy continues to show great promise in primary and, particularly in secondary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) diseases. The most compelling evidence for CV benefits of -3 PUFA comes from 4 controlled trials of nearly 40,000 participants randomized to receive eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with or without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in studies of patients in primary prevention, after myocardial infarction, and most recently, with heart failure."
So there's growing evidence of the fish oil heart benefits.
It is important to note though that for anyone with known heart problems a doctor should be consulted before starting any regime of Omega 3 fish oil supplementation.
For those who are beginning to look for good Omega 3 supplements its worth reading my website where I have an article about this.
For those wondering about how much to take, the Journal also provides these guidelines, which accord closely with those published by the AHA. For those without any known vardio vascular conditions, 500 mg per day. For those with known cardio vascular conditions, around 800 - 1000 mg per day, however it notes that there is still a need for more studies to determine the relative amounts of EPA versus DHA.
And on their website the AHA make similar recommendations.
So consider taking fish oil supplements if you're interested in your present and future heart health. Perhaps your life depends on it.
Visit my website to find out more about Omega 3 fatty acid supplements.