Omega-3 supplements are made of polyunsaturated fatty acids that the body needs for its normal functioning.
Omega-3 fatty acids are readily available in foods like fatty fish and vegetable oils. A lot of research has been done to establish their effectiveness and how the fatty acids are important to the body.
The benefits of omega 3’s
Though everybody thinks of how best they can burn fats, especially dietary fats which have been thought to be behind a series of diseases including heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity, there are some fats which are actually known to prevent diseases and improve one’s health. This brings us to such a family of fats which is very complex to understand. Indeed there are two distinct families of fats: the saturated and the unsaturated fat.
The saturated fats are packed with hydrogen atoms and thus it will always be in a solid form at room temperature. A good example is butter. The unsaturated fats contain fewer hydrogen atoms and that is why it is always liquid at room temperature. A good example is the olive oil which contains few hydrogen atoms.
The omega-3 fatty acids
All omega-3 supplements contain omega-3 fatty acids. There are three types of omega 3’s; alpha-linoleic acid ALA, eicosapentaenoic EPA and docosahexaeinoic acid (DHA). In fact the omega 3s stem from this three components. Omega-3 is essential and necessary for one’s health. They must therefore be included in the diet because of the inability of the body to manufacture them.
Research found that omega 3’s is essential in reducing inflammation. Because of this reason, omega-3 supplements are therefore used to prevent inflammatory ailments such as arthritis and heart disease. Also omegas-3 is necessary for brain growth and impact greatly on both cognitive and behavioral functions, hence they are essential when the fetus is developing.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, omega-3 is essential in improving artery health. It reduces the buildup of plaque and at the same time reduces blood clots in arteries that serve the brain. It is also known to improve the body’s cholesterol level by lowering triglycerides and to play a leading role in elevating the level of HDL which is popularly referred to as good cholesterol.
Omega-3 improves the general health of the joints by reducing stiffness and tenderness associated with arthritis. It improves on the health of the bone and it positively impacts the level of calcium in the body. This is crucial in reducing bone loss incidences.
Omega-3 is also known to improve mental health by insulating the nerve cells to the brain this is crucial because it enables the nerve cells to effectively communicate with one another. If one is omega-3 deficient, he will most likely suffer from bipolar disorder, eating disorder, Schizoprenia ADHD and depression. If one has sufficient omega-3 in the body, it will improve his skin health and disorders such as acne and psoriasis can be alleviated.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be effective in improving the health of the lungs and thus reduce inflammation like diseases such as asthma. According to studies at the Indiana University, adults who had mild to moderate persistent asthma were able to get better after they took omega-3 fish oil supplements every day for a period of three weeks.
Individuals who suffer from exercise induced asthma will in most of the cases experience bronchoconstriction which is the inflammation of the airway. The Omega-3 supplements are recommended for such people since they have an anti-inflammatory effect. According to recent research people who were suffering from this complication and put on the omega-3 supplement containing 3.2grams of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 2 grams of docohexaenoic acid every day, their mucus will show reduced amounts of pro-inflammatory cells after a short while.
Other than being helpful as mentioned above, Omega-3 supplements have other health benefits such as fighting depression, boosting brain functions and preventing cardiovascular diseases. The supplements are also essential in improving the menstrual health by reducing the pain associated with menstruation. Similarly, omega-3 has been used to prevent cancer, especially the colon, breast and prostate cancer.
Almost all people who have suffered from these ailments have been found to have low intake of the omega-3. In most of the cases, the supplements are made from foods known to contain high levels of omega-3 such as tofu, soya beans, walnut oil, flaxseeds oil, and canola oil.
Though omega-3 supplements have been researched on for a long time, the findings of the studies have not always been consistent. By 2012, the analysis of some of the studies was not convincing especially on its ability to protect one against heart diseases. Nevertheless, the evidence that omega-3 supplements are helpful in reversing age-related muscular degeneration is convincing and universally accepted. Definitive conclusions for other conditions have not been reached.