Facts about Fats

In the recent years we have been hearing about OMEGA-3 fatty acids. The reason being a growing body of scientific research indicates that these healthy fats help prevent a wide range of health problems including cardiovascular diseases.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) :
All fats are not bad fats. The different types of dietary fat fall into three main groups: saturated; mono-unsaturated; and polyunsaturated. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are further divided into two sub-groups called omega-6 and omega-3 . Both of these groups are essential for good health and normal growth. Human body can not manufacture Omega-6 & Omega-3, we must get these from our diet. For this reason, they are often referred to as 'essential fatty acids' (EFAs). They cannot be inter-converted and both must be present in the diet in a proper balance for good health. Today’s diet provides an over-abundance of the Omega-6s - mainly from sunflower oil, margarines and other vegetable cooking oils. At the same time intake of the omega-3s has dropped by more than half.

Balancing Omega-3 & Omega-6
Both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are essential but the body requires them in a ratio that is not normally achieved by the typical food habits of today. Experts think that man evolved on a diet which would have had roughly 1-2 times more omega-6 than omega-3, though there is a school of thought which argues for a 1:1 ratio.
There is no doubt that the omega-3 fatty acids are essential to health. The omega-3s have potentially life-saving benefits. Benefits are summarized below :

Heart Disease :
Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA particularly, have for some time been associated with heart health maintenance and protection against a fatal heart attack. The findings suggest that the omega-3s work in several ways to reduce heart attack risk:

Anti-thrombotic. It prevent blood clotting in a coronary arteries); and help keep blood vessels dilated (vasodilation).
Triglyceride reduction. High triglyceride ( blood fat) levels are a heart attack risk factor.
Arrhythmia prevention. Help protect against heartbeat abnormalities (like ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation) that appear to be the lethal part of a heart attack.
Anti-plaque property : Plaque is the term for the deposits on the inside of artery walls, which can rupture and trigger off a blood clot. The anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3s have been shown to stabilise arterial plaques so they are less likely to rupture and lead to a heart attack.
Arterial elasticity. Arteries of patients on omega-3 supplements were appreciably more elastic than the arteries of patients on dummy medication. This indicates that their risk of a heart attack was reduced.
Blood pressure is lowered slightly by omega-3, which reduces risk of a heart attack.
Blood viscosity is lowered when omega-3 is in the diet- this means that the heart does not have to work so hard to pump blood around the body, and the risk of an attack is lowered.

Stoke Around 85% of strokes are thrombotic, that is they are caused by a blood clot forming and blocking the flow of blood through in a blood vessel supplying the brain. The anti-thrombotic properties of the omega-3s can help reduce the risk of this type of stroke.


Disclaimer : Information on researches on fish oil worldwide, compiled and summarized on this page is provided for information and awareness purposes only and is not meant to substitute the advise by your physician or other medical practitioner. You must not use the information for diagnosing or treating a disease.

For in depth study visit : www.omega-3info.com