Can You Lower Triglycerides By Taking Fish Oil Supplements?

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

There are clear benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, the 2 most important being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). In particular there are well established heart benefits to taking more Omega 3 in your diet, however for anyone with high triglycerides it is also now clear that increasing your intake of essential fats can help in lowering triglycerides.

Research shows that over 90 percent of us are deficient in the important essential fatty acids found in fish oil. And research has also confirmed a wide range of heart benefits from remedying that deficiency by including more fish, or fish oil in the form of supplements, in our diet.

Some of the most important benefits from fish oil supplementation include a reduction in blood pressure, a reduction in the growth of plaque in the arteries and a reduction in the risk of fatal heart attack. And this now includes lowering triglycerides.

Triglycerides are a fat that is found in your blood and which your body manufactures from the food that you eat. High triglycerides increases the risk of death and are basically linked to coronary artery disease. High triglycerides can also be linked to other diseases like diabetes.

A diet high in fats and in particular in saturated fat can contribute to high triglyceride levels as can high sugar foods. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can also contribute.

So lowering triglycerides is very important for many people who want to know how to lower triglycerides.

There’s a range of things that you can do to help lower triglycerides. If you eat less sugar and saturated fat in your diet, lose weight and reduce your alcohol intake these will all help lower triglycerides.

But it is now clear from the research that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids by way of fish oil supplementation is an important part of a strategy to help lower triglycerides.

For example a statement published on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that “omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,” and “A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering”.

So it is now clear that improving your level of intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids can help lower triglycerides and because this is now clearly established the American Heart Association tells people with high triglycerides to maintain a level of intake of 2 to 4 grams per day of DHA and EPA by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician.

Many people have a problem with lowering triglycerides and this is good news for them and gives them a way to lower triglycerides naturally.

And as well as helping to lower triglycerides increasing Omega3 intake offers you a wide range of other health and heart benefits.

Of course you can eat more fish but fish is generally contaminated with mercury and can be extremely expensive. The best fish oil supplements are not contaminated and are much more cost-effective to be taken daily, though not all fish oil supplements are as good as others.

If you’re interested to find out how to compare fish oil supplements to find the best available (which I take myself) visit my website.

Comments are closed.