Member Blog: Benefits of Fish Oil for Fitness and Health
When the words oils and fats are mentioned, healthconscious individuals tend to run for cover. What they fail to realize is that there are good fats and bad fats. Complete avoidance of intake of oils and fats would actually be detrimental – rather than beneficial – to their health.
The Truth about Fish Oil
Essential fatty acids must always be part of our daily diet – without them, we take one step closer to our deaths. Essential fatty acids are divided into two families: omega-6 EFAs and omega-3 EFAS.
Although there are only very slight differences to distinguish the two groups of essential fatty acids from each other, studies have revealed that too much intake of omega-6 EFAs can lead to inflammation, blood clotting and tumor growth. The good news, however, is that the opposite is true for omega-3 EFAs. Omega-6 EFAs can be found in vegetable oils while omega-3 EFAs can be found in fish oils among other foods.
Omega-6 vs. Omega-3
Physicians and scientists are of the same opinion that the cause behind increasing cases of heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, premature aging and certain kinds of cancer is none other than an imbalanced intake of omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs.
Lynn
Thanks for your helpful comments regarding the differences and benefits of various oils in our diet.
Thank you for posting this information. May I add that the use of pharmaceutical-grade fish oils may reduce the risk of exposure to mercury, PCB’s, dioxins and other contaminants that may be found in fish and lower grade fish oils. While the fish oil industry isn’t regulated, you can find fish oils that have been tested by third-party labs to ensure you’re getting a highly-purified product.