Updates On The Benefits Of Fish Oil

Many scientists believe that the discovery of fish oil as brain food 150,000 years ago became is the starting point that separates modern humans from the ragtag band of earlier species. The discovery was actually an accident since fat or oil from fish was a common diet of many early people in the East African Rift Valley.

Fish oil is a brain food that caused their thinking skills to expand with incredible speed, allowing them tremendous advantage over every other species on the planet. Within a short time, they were able to dominate the earth. For these believers fat or oil form fish is most likely the candidate for the brain food that initiated their mental development. Fish oil by then was a rare type of fat that would have been in short supply on the plains of Africa but was found in great abundance in the lakes of the East African Rift Valley.

They believe that fish oil is the crucial dietary factor that enabled early generations to evolve into modern humans about 150,000 years ago. For them it is the missing link that will allows us to age with our mental capabilities completely free from many disorders. Dementia and depression are one of these disorders, both a mental health problems.

Dementia is a loss of brain function and usually occurs with other diseases. The causes of dementia are mostly not preventable. There are studies that say that dementia can be controlled by practicing healthy habits like quitting smoking, controlling high blood pressure and diabetes. Dementia has many types and one of them is the vascular dementia, a type that is caused by series of small strokes or changes in the brains blood supply. A notable healthy habit that can help reduce vascular dementia is by taking a low-fat diet and exercising regularly.

Depression on the other hand, is a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder with symptoms like severe sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and sleeping time, feelings of hopelessness, and sometimes can lead to a suicide. A recent study revealed that higher blood levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are associated with a lower risk of these two diseases among elderly persons. EPA is found in certain fish and are believed by some to lower the risk of dementia and Alzheimers disease.

New medical research also revealed that almost every chronic disease is affected by an imbalance of eicosanoids. It is by constantly controlling insulin levels that a person can gain control of eicosanoids which is the key to prevent diseases and maintain wellness. Eicosanoids affect our body as a whole including the heart, mind and even emotions. Excess in insulin leads to a wide range of disease conditions.

There is also a need for a person to regulate calorie without hunger or deprivation. It is believe that by doing so, aging is reversed. And lastly for a person to gain balance in her well-being, a person most supplement her diet with tolerable amount of fish oil.

Hormones are the key to longevity and optimal health and you have the power to control your hormones through your diet. Once you achieve this, you can have the power to reverse the aging process, prevent heart disease, reverse cancer, reduce pain and inflammation and treat neurological disease.

And since controlling your hormones is the key to a longer and better life, fish oil is the missing link that allows you to achieve it with no side effects.

Understanding Fish Oil

Fish oil has a long history of being used as a nutritional supplement. It is generally derived from oil coming from the tissues of oily fish. There are many sources of fish that the world gets its fish oil supply from. But about 50 percent of all fish oil production in the world comes from farmed salmon.

Fish Oil Sources
Fish oil is primarily derived from farmed salmon. There are times when fish oil may also be sourced from other fatty fish notably mackerel, lake trout, flounder and tuna. But such types of fish are known to be predatory. And because of this, they run the risk of accumulating certain toxic substances such as mercury, dioxin and PCB’s. In order to avoid this and have fish oil sources known to be as clean as possible, farmed salmon are the best option.

Fish Oil Benefits
One of the things why fish oil has become quite a popular nutritional supplement around the world is because it is very rich in Omega -3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid. These compounds are said to help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. There are also studies that say that these nutrients also have anti-cancer properties as well as may help in certain cases of depression.

Fish Oil Production
Production of fish oil is shared among a number of countries. But it has been seen that there was a substantial decrease in total fish oil supply, mainly because of declines suffered by a lot of the said countries. Countries such as Peru, Chile, Denmark, Iceland and Norway are known as the five major fish oil exporting nations.

Adverse Effects
Despite the various benefits that fish oil is said to offer as a supplement, medical experts still suggest caution in overusing it. There have been studies that indicate certain risks associated with fish oil. In some studies, there are suspected risks that researchers have found in the use of EPA and DHA fatty acids in fish oil.

Over usage of EPA and DHA, which is determined at more than three grams daily, are known to increase the risk of bleeding, especially in people who are also taking aspirin or warfarin. But further research may be needed to determine if EPA and DHA do offer such risks. Extreme dosage intake of fish oil is also associated with a higher risk of experiencing hemorrhagic stroke. In some individuals, fish oil intake may also affect LDL cholesterol levels.

Cardiac Risk
Because fish oil is still considered as fat, people with conditions arising from too much fat in their systems should also be cautious of taking fish oil as a supplement. Recent research seems to provide different results when it comes to how the fatty acids in fish oil affect people who may be suffering from heart disease or stroke.

In absence of definitive research, patients are being cautioned not to take fish oil without the recommendation from their doctor. People with certain heart problems or a history of heart disease should first talk with their doctors about the safety of taking fish oil supplements.

The History of Fish Oil

A breakthrough in medicine practice happened 550 million years ago was brought about by single-cell algae. There was an explosion in biological diversity as multi-cell organisms started to evolve from single-cell algae. These new organisms had to develop a communication system to enable specialized cells to transmit messages to one another. The purpose of communication was two way; one was to build nerve connections between specialized cells and the other involved the use of hormones.

Eicosanoids were the first hormones product of these communications and they utilize fats in cell membranes as their building blocks. These eicosanoids dont just use any type of fat for their synthesis but they also require the long-chain highly-saturated fat (polyunsaturated) which is only found in algae-derived fats. And this is what many scientists of today believed to be the cause of breakthrough that separated smart man from average man.

Some 150,000 years ago our ancestors had discovered that fats or fish oil makes them smart. The healthy eicosanoids that are derived from those fats that control our health today the omega-3 rich fish oil.

The first recorded production of fish oil happened in 1775 in England. However, when the cod was brought back from America, the livers appeared to be disgusting as it were slapped onto the filthy streets of London, for the oil would ooze out. This was collected together with other stuffs on the streets and sold as cod liver oil.

Despite of its filthy beginnings for many people at that time the crude liver oil was considered a miracle oil for diseases like arthritis. The cod liver oil isn’t actually contaminated by street sewage but it’s still full of industrial contaminants like mercury and PCBs. These contaminants pollute the waters where cod live. Because of this the end products has some foul taste that turned the stomach of every child in America who took it two generations ago.

So while it’s true that 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil supplies 2.5 grams of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, it is also true that it supplies contaminants and a high dose of vitamin A, which is stored in the body’s fat tissues and can cause toxic effects like hair loss if taken in high enough doses.

The final breakthrough in fish oils happened when Ultra Refined EPA and DHA concentrate Omega-3 product was developed. EPA and DHA are almost found exclusively in sea foods. The process required advanced chemical engineering that starts with the removal of most of the saturated fat by fractional distillation and the removal of virtually all the PCBs (measured in parts per billion) by more sophisticated molecular distillation. In the process called polishing, impurities are removed through hot water. The fish oil are also added with anti-oxidants for longer life and added nutrients.

With these innovations, a new type of fish oil was developed. The end-product ensures you to have a concentrated amount of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids without unwanted substances like chemical contaminants or harmful fatty acids that can harm your well-being.

It is only with the use of pharmaceutical-grade fish oil that you can get high enough levels of long-chain Omega-3 fats for your brain and body. The effect of the high-grade fish oil usually occurs after taking it everyday in 30 days.

The Healing Benefits of Fish oil

“What are the healing benefits of Fish oil and how can it help someone with cardio vascular diseases?”

This is one of today’s biggest question on one of this century’s enigmatic disease called cardio vascular diseases, which is often associated with ones lifestyle, diet and even stress and depression.

The primary cause of cardio vascular diseases is still not known, however, experts agree that emotional or physical trauma are among the factors that develop the disease. Some experts also believe that cardio vascular patients have constant abnormal transmission responses to pain.

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are also common in cardio vascular patients, leading to increased stress levels on the patient and could rapidly spread the disease throughout the human body, while another theory supposes that cardio vascular diseases is also linked to the metabolical changes in a person’s blood flow, leading to symptoms of weakness and chronic fatigue.

A much more simpler theory suggests that cardio vascular diseases may be inherited and flows along family lines, still there is also no proof to attest to that claim.

Although there is no established prevention for cardio vascular diseases to occur in a person, the management and treatment of the disease has significantly improved and advanced over the years.

Despite the somewhat enigmatic cause of this disease, one treatment method that is popularly adopted by cardio vascular patients is an Asian therapeutic treatment approach is fish oil supplements, since it is a very good source of Omega 3 acids which significantly help in ensuring good oxidation in the body and helps improve blood circulation and muscle strengthening, among them the human heart.

Fish oil has been adopted as a good treatment for internal diseases for over a thousand years now and traces its roots back to ancient Japanese and Chinese natural healing methods.

Currently, thousands of cardio vascular sufferers have benefited from the healing powers of fish oil, and many of these consistent testimonials are that it significantly relieves stress and anxiety, strengthens the body’s natural self-healing ability, balances the functions of the human organs and glandular systems, promotes a positive spiritual and emotional well-being, enhances relaxation including sleep, relieves pain, removes toxins from the body and strengthens the body’s immune system.

Today, cardio vascular diseases and fish oil are mutually associated with each other, since a growing number of cardio vascular patients have found fish oil to be a healthy alternative to the treatment of the disease, although it is pointed out that it is not a direct healing medication that will actually ‘cure’ the disorder, its supplemental properties- when administered accordingly with conventional treatment- hastens the healing process.

The healing benefits of fish oil especially for those suffering from cardio vascular diseases – are not just made popular by lip service or media hype, but more from the results of a healing experience that have eased the suffering and pain of thousands of those with cardio vascular diseases.

Science and technology has indeed found a way to harness this wealth of the deep for the benefit of mankind and now that we have it at the palm of our hands and what better way to make the most of it is to embrace the healing benefits of fish oil to our day to day living, be it for treatment or even just as a health supplement.