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[F346]Fish Oil Heart Disease

by David Mcevoy, Dav

According to National Statistics online, nearly 15% of the population of the UK are suffering or have suffered from a cardiac health event in their lifetimes. That means that for every 100 people in the room, about 15 of them will have a heart attack or suffer from a coronary disease. Interestingly enough, this statistic includes both men and women, with men only having a slight advantage over the women in terms of number of cases. Even with all we know about heart disease and how to prevent it, it seems that there is so much more to learn.

What is Heart Disease?

The heart is the muscle in the body that allows for transportation of materials throughout the body. When a person takes in food, these meals are broken down by the digestive system in order to be accessible for functions in the body. As the food is broken down into nutrients, these nutrients are then transported into the blood stream in order to get to the right areas of the body. When the heart pumps, it moves these blood cells around to the extremities and then when it contracts, it pulls the blood into itself by means of the veins in order to push that blood into the body into the arteries. When the heart is unable to function properly, this process can not take place.

There are a number of reasons and names for the idea of heart disease. At its simplest definition, heart disease is when the heart is damaged or just unable to work as it should. This can be a hereditary and congenital condition, like in the instance of a valve problem. A patient can have this from birth and never need to have anything done to repair it, while other patients need to have this fixed in order to make sure that heart works properly.

Heart disease can be grouped into being caused by heredity, lifestyle or by a defect or injury. Hereditary factors like a predisposition to high cholesterol can cause troubles like heart attacks and myocardial infarction. Then again, if a patient takes in too much cholesterol and fat into their diet, they can also increase their risk for heart disease.

The heart disease cases that cause troubles for patients will have conditions like hardening of the arteries, blockages of the vessels, and a narrowing/widening of these passageways for the blood. When the vessels become too blocked, blood can not get to the heart, resulting in heart damage and death.

What are the Symptoms of Heart Disease?

The real concern when it comes to heart disease is that there may be few, if any, symptoms at first. A patient may have completely normal lab results as well as no noticeable physical symptoms. In more advanced cases, the cholesterol levels will be high, the LDL levels will be high, and HDL levels will be low. Blood pressure readings may increase and the patient may report mild chest pain and tightness. Some patients even report troubles with breathing during activity. The heart rate may be higher as has become more difficult for the heart to do the same job on a lower number of beats per minute.

In an emergent condition, the symptoms would be an increased heart rate, crushing chest pain, and possibly nausea. Others report that they had a raised temperature and sweating, as well as left arm weakness.

How Can Fish Oil Help?

According to recent studies done at Harvard Medical University, fish oil seems to be able to prevent heart disease. With its anti-inflammatory properties, fish oil seems to allow the body to repair smaller damage spots before they become too problematic. There have also been previous studies linking the idea of using fish oil and lowering bad cholesterol as well as increasing good cholesterol. The essential fatty acids in fish oil help the body process the cholesterol and other toxins in the body before they build up in the liver and cause damage.

Where Can You Find Fish Oil Sources?

Understandably so, fish oil can be found in its purest form in oily fishes. Fish choices like salmon, herring, kipper, and mackerel all contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids that can help to protect the heart from heart disease. In addition, there are studies being done now that indicate that fish oil might be able to help in the repair of damage from previous concerns with heart disease and heart attacks. In countries with a high fish consumption, the prevalence of heart disease is much lower, even with the high smoking rates (as in Japan, for example).

Conclusion

While there are many studies that are questioning the use of fish oil in the treatment and prevention of heart disease, it's clear that there is some connection. Since the body can not make this essential fatty acid on its own, adding a supplement to the diet can not be a hard decision to make.

Although no one knows what causes Alzheimer's disease, many research studies indicate that those who regularly eat fatty fish or who supplement with fish oil have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life. Why this is the case remains an interesting topic of investigation but it is believed to be due, at least in part, to the role Omega 3 fatty acids play in the general functioning of the brain itself.

Omega 3 fatty acids are known to improve mental function, mood, memory and concentration and have already demonstrated considerable success in the treatment of conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADD and ADHD. Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's, although research does indicate that Omega 3 fatty acids can slow down the ageing of the brain and possibly delay the onset as well as slow down the progress of Alzheimer's too.

One research team from Aberdeen and Edinburgh University led by Professor Lawrence Whalley, questioned approximately 300 people aged 64 on their Omega 3 intake, they also tested their blood levels of Omega 3. The participants had previously taken part in a survey on IQ in 1947 when they were 11 years old. They found that those who had taken Omega 3 supplements showed better results on mental speed tests and there was even an association between the results and the level of Omega 3 in the blood of the participants. The team reported that the evidence seemed to suggest that Omega 3 could slow down the ageing of the brain and help it to work faster.

Another study conducted by Uppsala University in Sweden looked at the effect of Omega 3 fatty acids on patients who already had Alzheimer's disease. Researchers gave 89 patients the Omega 3 fatty acids Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for a period of 6 months and another 85 were given a placebo in the form of corn oil. After the initial 6-month period, the placebo group also switched to Omega 3 for a further 6 months. Although there was no real differences noted between the two groups in general, there was an interesting result where 32 patients who had milder mental impairment showed less of a decline whilst taking Omega 3.

The results of both these studies indicate that Omega 3 supplementation might not only improve mental function in the twilight years, it could possibly be beneficial in slowing down the progress of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in the early stages, however, more research is required to substantiate this.

DHA deficiency and the "fatty acid paradox"

The brain is composed mostly of fat, in particular, the Omega 3 fatty acid Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Patients with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia have shown very low concentrations of DHA in the brain indicating a possible DHA deficiency. This has naturally led to the conclusion that supplementing with DHA might offer therapeutic help.

However, what has been dubbed the "fatty acid paradox" is the belief that the best way to correct any DHA deficiency is not by increasing intake of DHA as what one might expect, but to increase intake of EPA instead. If enough EPA is present, the body can produce DHA as required.

EPA is believed to inhibit the activity of the enzyme phospholipase A2. Over-activity of this enzyme is associated with neurotoxicity and death of brain cells and is a feature of Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alois Alzheimer first identified Alzheimer's disease in the early 1900's. It affects over half a million people in the UK alone. It is characterised by progressive mental decline and begins with periods of memory loss, confusion, and personality changes before proceeding to full-blown dementia with complete loss of most cognitive abilities and even physical abilities. No one knows what causes it, it is irreversible and there is no cure. It is relatively rare under 50 years of age but the chances of developing it increase the older you become. Medication is aimed at slowing down the progression of the disease. It is not the same as normal age-related cognitive decline where some impairment in mental function is considered a normal part of the ageing process.

Conclusion

Although no evidence exists that Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation prevents you from developing Alzheimer's disease, the indications are that increasing intake of Omega 3 does decrease your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life. There are indeed many other health benefits afforded by getting an adequate amount of Omega 3 in the diet including increased protection against cardiovascular disease, arthritis and many other inflammatory conditions. Bearing in mind the toxicity risk involved in eating too much fresh fish, supplementing with high quality fish oil would seem the best way to gain the protective benefits associated with Omega 3 fatty acids.

Article Source : Pg. 12

David Mcevoy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Depression Cure, Aquarium Fish and Fitness. Dave McEvoy is an expert in omega 3 fish oil EPA with over 20 years experience; for more information about please come and. David Mcevoy's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.