Nov 26

Fish Oil And Lowering Blood Pressure. Or Is There An Omega 3 Blood Pressure Link?

The health benefits to your heart from increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil are well established and the American Heart Association now recommends a minimum intake of Omega3 fats for everyone for these reasons. These health benefits apply to such risks as cardiovascular disease, but today let’s examine whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link, or whether increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids can lower high blood pressure.

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, affects many people in our population. Particularly those who are overweight can suffer from high blood pressure and may well spend years on drugs designed to lower blood pressure. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this may be good news to many peopleHigh blood pressure is called hypertension and effects very many people. People who are overweight have a higher risk of hypertension and some of these people may spend many years on drugs designed to reduce hypertension. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this is good news for many people.

Studies have shown a clear link between fish oil and lowering bloodpressure. One study, of 120 subjects, split the subjects into 5 groups and supplemented their diet with varying combinations of fish or fish oil supplements, or both, or a placebo, and concluded that supplementation with omega 3 lowers blood pressure.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are the 2 primary essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats. A further study narrowed down the cause and effect and isolated DHA as the principle cause of this reduction in blood pressure.

People who are overweight have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Another study examined lowering hypertension with omega3 in overweight people. Again this study found a clear link between increasing intake of essential fatty acids and lowering blood pressure, including amongst overweight people, and concluded that increasing the intake of fishoil with omega 3 essential fatty acids can help reduce hypertension and when taken in conjunction with a weight-loss regime in people who are already taking antihypertensive drugs can “substantially” reduce their dependence on those drugs.

There’s a wide range of important health reasons to increase your intake of the omega 3 fats found in fish oil and these health reasons now, it seems, include reducing blood pressure. But even if you don’t have a problem with hypertension there are still powerful health reasons to add more Omega 3 fats into your diet, including a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease and a wide range of other lifestyle and age related health problems.

The science is now clear and for this reason the American Heart Association recommends minimum intakes of omega 3 for all of us. As over 90 percent of us have dietary intakes of Omega3 fats that are inadequate we should all be taking notice of this advice, including anyone with hyperension.

Clearly there is a blood pressure Omega 3 link. Increasing your intake of Omega3 fats will help lower blood pressure and may also help lower your reliance on antihypertensive drugs.

So how do you increase your intake of Omega3 fats? You could eat more fish but fish is expensive and contaminated with mercury and for this reason the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish.

But it is perfectly adequate and indeed preferable, and very cost effective to take daily omega 3 supplements, and the best ones are contamination free, though there is a wide variation in the quality of the different brands.

I have examined the range of fish oil capsules available carefully. Visit my website to find out which Omega 3 supplements I choose for myself and my family.

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