Fish Oil And Lowering Blood Pressure. Or Is There An Omega 3 Blood Pressure Link?
There are now clearly established heart benefits from increasing your intake of the essential fatty acids found in fish oil known as omega 3 fats. For this reason the American Heart Association recommends that each of us undertake a minimum intake of Omega3 fats every week. These are heart benefits such as a reduction in the risks of coronary heart disease, but today lets ask whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link or whether increasing your intake of fish oil can help lower blood pressure.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, affects many people in our population. Particularly those who are overweight can suffer from high blood pressure and may well spend years on drugs designed to lower blood pressure. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this may be good news to many people.
Studies have shown a clear link between fish oil and lowering bloodpressure. One study, of 120 subjects, split the subjects into 5 groups and supplemented their diet with varying combinations of fish or fish oil supplements, or both, or a placebo, and concluded that supplementation with omega 3 lowers blood pressure.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are the 2 primary essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats. A further study narrowed down the cause and effect and isolated DHA as the principle cause of this reduction in blood pressure.
Overweight people have higher risks of hypertension as well as coronary heart disease and a third study examined the role of omega 3 in lowering blood pressure in overweight people. This study also concluded that fish oil could help lower blood pressure for overweight people and, when combined with an appropriate weight loss regime, would help "substantially" in lowering reliance on antihypertensive drugs for those already reliant on those drugs.
There's a wide range of important health reasons to increase your intake of the omega 3 fats found in fish oil and these health reasons now, it seems, include reducing blood pressure. But even if you don't have a problem with hypertension there are still powerful health reasons to add more Omega 3 fats into your diet, including a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease and a wide range of other lifestyle and age related health problems.
There is now clear scientific evidence about the heart benefits of Omega3 fats and the American Heart Association is taking this on board and recommends a minimum intake of these fats for everyone. And as over 90 percent of the US population are deficient in Omega3 intake we should take notice, particularly anyone with hypertension.
It is clear there is a fish oil blood pressure link. Increasing your intake of essential fatty acids can help lower blood pressure and may also help reduce your reliance on antihypertensive drugs.
But how do you effectively increase your intake of Omega3 fats? There are problems with eating fish because fish is expensive and is generally contaminated with mercury and for this reason the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish.
But it is perfectly adequate and indeed preferable, and very cost effective to take daily omega 3 supplements, and the best ones are contamination free, though there is a wide variation in the quality of the different brands.
I have examined the range of fish oil capsules available carefully. Visit my website to find out which Omega 3 supplements I choose for myself and my family.
Want to know more about the benefits of Fish Oil? Or more about the Fish Oil Blood Pressure link? Visit Peter's Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.