Fish Oil and Inflammation

There are many health benefits of fish oil, but what about fish oil and inflammation?

Fish oil, which comes from the tissue of fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, is one of the few dietary sources that contains a substantial amount of the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). DHA and EPA are essential fatty acids (EFAs) that are critical for good health, but the body is not able to produce them and they must come from food or supplements. Many people are deficient in DHA and EPA.

Here are just some of the health benefits of fish oil:

* It reduces the risk for heart disease and heart attack.
* It improves blood vessel functioning.
* It reduces blood triglycerides.
* It increases HDL (good) cholesterol.
* It lowers blood pressure.
* It increases fat loss and decreases fat retention.

There's also strong evidence that fish oil may help in the treatment of ADHD and depression, may reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease, may help prevent age-related macular degeneration (an eye disorder), and may reduce the risk for developing breast, colon and prostate cancer.

With regard to fish oil and inflammation, the DHA and EPA contained in fish oil has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Many scientists and health professionals believe that it's the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil that enable it to provide so many health benefits.

Inflammation is the body's basic response to injury, and everyone has a certain amount of inflammation in their body. But many people suffer from chronic inflammation, which can be caused by numerous factors such as age, stress, toxins and chemicals in air, food and water, poor nutritional habits and auto-immune diseases. Medical science is only now beginning to understand the wide ranging impact that chronic inflammation has on our health. Chronic inflammation is arguably one of the biggest contributors to many common ailments, such as heart attack, stroke, arthritis, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Fish oil, with its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, is one of the best ways to alleviate chronic inflammation.

Although eating fatty fish provides you with DHA and EPA, there's a growing concern that many types of fatty fish are contaminated with PCBs, mercury and other environmental toxins. There's also no way to be sure that the fish you're eating contains enough DHA and/or EPA to provide maximum health benefits. This is why many people are turning to fish oil supplements. A high quality fish oil supplement will be free of contaminants and contain a high concentration of DHA and EPA.

When it comes to purchasing a fish oil supplement, you need to be very selective in what brand you choose. Several brands have been found to contain PCBs, mercury, dioxins, arsenic and lead, and the oil in several brands has been found to be rancid. Also, many low quality fish oil supplements do not have anti-inflammatory properties. Only buy fish oil supplements from a trusted company that has a track record of producing high quality products and whose products are backed by solid clinical evidence supporting their efficacy and safety.

In conclusion, now that you're aware of the connection between fish oil and inflammation, you should strongly consider making fish oil supplements a regular part of your diet.