Posted on 03/01/2010 4:36:49 PM PST by decimon
Hardly a week goes by without a new health claim being made of eating oily fish. But is it really as magical as we are told?
If there were a top 40 of good foods, a chart rundown of the right things to eat, then anything containing omega-3 fatty acids would have been number one for years. They even have their own international awareness day, which takes place this Wednesday.
Omega-3 is the name given to a family of unsaturated fatty acids found mainly in oily fish, such as salmon, herring, sardines and anchovies, and also in eggs, meat, milk and cheese.
The naturally occurring acids of the omega-3 family can apparently boost our brain power, keep our hearts healthy, strengthen our bones, and much more. You can ingest the fatty acids by eating a lot of the right kind of fish or by taking fish oil supplements - little golden capsules rich in omega-3.
Hardly a week goes by without yet another media report on "The wonders of omega-3 fatty acids" (as a headline in Canada put it recently).
Last month it was reported omega-3 can protect against psychotic disorders such a schizophrenia. An international team of researchers gave a daily dose to 81 people deemed to be at risk from psychosis and found it seemed to cut the rate of psychotic illness - including schizophrenia - by 25%.
But how much of this is hype, and how much reality? Is there a danger that a largely fish-derived fatty acid is being turned into a modern-day magic potion?
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Fin de treacle ping.
All I know is that the doc told me to take Omega3 fish oil due to my triglicerides being at 295. After six months they were down to 160.
But then you catch another study that shows things such as Omega-3s can make you physically half your age and increase your life span by 10%:
Click on the link for “Old mice run faster with supplements.”
I’m sorry, but there are too many studies showing benefits for them all to be made up lies.
The media may hype things, but that doesn’t mean the legitimate benefits of these oils aren’t there.
But did you change anything else in your diet and life style while you were taking the fish Omega-3? For instance, did you stop eating foods high in fat?
I’m always skeptical when something is touted to cure everything. On the other hand, Omega 3 is an essential nutrient.
If one thinks the reaction is going to be like Popeye eating a can of spinach, yes, that is going to far. But, there is a lot of evidence of the benefits of Omega-3s.
Oddly enough, spinach does contain omega 3.
My daughter has a traumatic brain injury and has been taking fish oil since the accident and I believe it’s been one of the reasons she’s had such a remarkable recovery. She claims that when she slacks off on taking it, she really notices a difference in her mental capabilities. She’s 21 now and had the accident when she was 17. She’ll always take it.
Does giving up sex count?
I take fish oil. Some is 1,000mg of fish oil and 1,000IU of vitamin D in the same capsule.
The story is that the typical US diet is extremely high in Omega-6 fatty acids which promote inflammation in the body and Omega-3 helps counter balance it.
I guess they are next going to tell us that Vitamins are bad...
Obvious Big Pharm is losing a lot of money to people that use fish oil. This is the same push that McCrack is trying to push trough congress. Omega 3 is a natural source from fish. Don't listen to the quacks at the BBC that want you to pay a lot of money for a drug that does the same thing as fish oil for less money.
I take it daily or eat more fish daily. You will have less anxiety . Theirs so much to say but its like this remmeber years ago when someones father or uncle would eat sardines and they lived past 100 years. Its like that . So eat more fish or omega 3 ingredients in Smart balance spread and such.
Nope.
My grandmum lived to over a 100 and she took a tablespoon of cod liver oil every morning in her later years - when she was getting up there over 80.
That was cod—now hard to find. I guess fish oil is just as good...?
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