With the latest study on fish oil supplements making it more confusing as to whether you should take a supplement or not, why not get your Omega-3 from natural foods?
A few weeks ago, there was an article in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) about a recent long-term study on fish oil supplements. Researchers found that those who took fish oil supplements who had no preexisting heart disease had a 13% higher risk of having an atrial fibrillation and a 5% higher chance of having a stroke. Not good.
However, those who had preexisting heart diseases showed a 15% decrease in risk of progressing atrial fibrillation leading to a cardiac arrest and a 9% decrease in risk of heart failure leading to death. Very good.
This makes it more difficult to determine whether or noy you should take fish oil supplements. What if you don’t know that you have a preexisting heart condition? On top of that, this study had some flaws that did not make it any clearer. The study was not about dosage or source of fish oil to name a couple of issues.
Why should you worry about getting enough Omega-3? While heart health effects present a mixed bag of results, studies about brain health and overall inflammation have shown positive effects of Omega-3.
Diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological conditions have shown significant benefits of Omega-3 use. And many general cognitive studies have shown the benefits of Omega-3 in your diet, memory being the most-studied in that area. And fish oil contains Omega-3.
My recommendations for Omega-3 are to talk to your doctor and get all or most of your Omega-3 from natural foods.
Here are the best foods that contain Omega-3.
Fish (mackerel, salmon, cod liver oil, herring, oysters, sardines, anchovies, caviar, tuna)
Algae
Seaweed
Flaxseed
Chia seeds
Soybeans
Kidney beans
Walnuts
Avocados
Eggs
Kiwifruit
Papaya
Berries Oranges
This sure sounds more enjoyable than popping a pill! And for anyone who’s taken fish oil pills, those fish burps can be awful. So, plan your meals and make sure to fit in foods that give you Omega-3 your body can use.
Ask your doctor if you should consider fish oil or not, based on the new findings. You may want to consider asking for a prescription if your doctor thinks you should take it. The quality of fish oil available in non-prescription retail markets is very wide and unpredictable.
If you need help with your health & fitness program, feel free to ask me questions!
Karen