Omega 3 Fatty Acids

It seems everywhere I look lately, someone has got something to say about Omega 3’s. Maybe that doesn’t ring a bell, but maybe you’ve seen something on TV about Fish Oils (same thing), or Bad Fats/Good Fats (Omega 3’s would be the good fats).

If you’re a past or current client, you’ve already heard me lecture you about it, but I thought I’d list some of the facts behind Omega 3’s and the benefits of supplementing them.

Facts:

• The modern American diet contains only a fraction of the Omega 3’s that our ancestors diets had.
• Omega 3’s aren’t a magic supplement. They’re a fat. Just like saturated fat, polyunsaturated fats, etc.
• Most people eat more than 100grams of fat a day, hence taking 1gram of omega 3’s does next to nothing. Most studies done on Omega 3’s use dosages between 5 and 20 grams a day (1 gram = 1000mg = One fish oil capsule). Most supplement companies recommend one or two grams a day on their product labels. This is a legal and marketing issue, and has nothing to do with the actual amount we need to take.
• When our livestock was free range (wondered the fields eating grass), it had an almost ideal amount of Omega 3’s.
• Now that our livestock is grain fed, our beef, chicken, eggs, etc. contain almost no Omega 3’s
• You can get Omega 3’s from Flax Oil, Fish oil from capsules or bottled Cod Liver oil (yes, your Grandma was right about the Cod Liver Oil!!), Salmon, and from livestock raised on small free-range farms.

Some well proven Benefits of Increasing Omega 3’s

• Heart Health - 50% less chance of a primary cardiac arrest than people whose daily menu does not contain these fatty acids.
• Weight loss – Individuals fed supplemental Omega 3’s lose a small amount of weight without changing anything else about their diets or exercise routine.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis – patients suffering from this disease showed decreased symptoms and a reduced need for medication
• Hair and Skin health – Omega 3’s have been shown to reduce the effects of aging on skin. Hair of people who supplement with Omega 3’s is healthier and fuller.
• May help prevent depression.
• Decreased menstrual symptoms among women.
• Prevention and treatment of kidney diseases.
• Improved ratio of “good/bad” cholesterol.
• Increased Testosterone production – Important for men trying to gain muscle and women trying to lose stubborn lower body fat (also increases libido in both sexes)
• Increased Insulin sensitivity – helps prevent Type II diabetes (or reduce it’s effects)
• Decrease inflammatory effects of training or injury.

So why on earth aren’t you supplementing you Omega 3’s !!!???!!!

Remember, this is just FOOD. It's not some magical drug. All of these benefits are subtle and long term. You may not really notice a big difference right away, but the facts behind the benefits of these fats are still there.

Flax seed oil - the freshest, most tolerable tasting flax oil I've tried

Fish Oil Caps

Liquid Fish Oil

Pregnancy and Fish Oil

This article is taken from the Netrition web site, but I thought it was relavent. Most of you have heard me talk about the benefits of Omega 3's and fish oil. This article talks about the specifc benefits for pregnant women, and I liked what it had to say (in other words even though it's trying to sell a product, it's truthfull and the information is usefull). There are other brands of Omega 3 supplements that are also garanteed to be mercury free, and these would work just as well:

You have probably heard the expression, "You are what you eat." If you are pregnant then the expression changes to, "Your Baby is what you eat." For the next nine months and even longer if you choose to breastfeed, your baby’s nutrients will come from your dietary intake. Unfortunately, some of the most beneficial nutrients for fetal development are not that readily available to American women.

One such nutrient that has been deficient in the American diet is the Omega-3 fatty acid. These nutrients are found in cold water fish such as cod and salmon. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for normal fetal growth and development. Because the body can't always make its own sufficient supply of Omega-3, these essential fatty acids should be supplied by our diet. A typical diet in the Western world only contains about 10-15% of the Omega-3 that the body needs, the remaining requirement must come from other sources. To help achieve a healthier balance, people should increase their intake of fatty fish or take an Omega-3 dietary supplement to guarantee the health benefits they confer.

With all the mixed messages about mercury exposure from fish and its impact on the brain development of the fetus, many pregnant women have been hesitant to eat a diet rich in fish. Tuna and many other fish contain methylmercury, a compound known to be harmful in high doses to an unborn baby's or young child's developing nervous system. According to FDA guidelines, you should continue limiting yourself to 12 ounces a week (about two servings) of canned "light" tuna and other cooked fish. And you should completely avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish (also called golden or white snapper) because these fish often contain high levels of mercury. In order to safely get the necessary amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, it is recommended that you add a high quality omega-3 supplement available in convenient capsules.

Omega-3 Intake May Prevent Premature Labor

Women in the western world are exhibiting a tendency not to carry their babies to full term. This may be due to an insufficient intake of Omega-3 fatty acids. Studies indicate that the type of fatty acids in our diet may influence the length of human gestation.

The high birth weights and long duration of pregnancy in the Faroe Islands led Danish scientists to suggest that a high intake of marine-fat-derived Omega-3 fatty acids might prolong pregnancy by shifting the balance of production of prostaglandins involved in parturition. Scientists compared the effects on pregnancy duration, birth weight, and birth length of a fish-oil supplement, a control olive-oil supplement, and no supplementation. 533 healthy Danish women in week 30 of pregnancy were randomly assigned in a ratio of 2/1/1 to fish oil, olive oil, or no supplement. The three groups differed in mean length of gestation, which was highest in the fish-oil group and lowest in the olive-oil group; the result was similar when the analysis was restricted to women with an estimate of gestation length based on early ultrasound findings (443 women). Pregnancies in the fish-oil group were, on average, 4 days longer than those in the olive-oil group; the difference in birth weight was 107g. The effect of supplementation on length of gestation was influenced by intake of fish and of fish oil. The conclusion of this study was that fish-oil supplementation in the third trimester seems to prolong pregnancy without detrimental effects on the growth of the fetus or on the course of labor.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Are Important For Fetal Mental Development

Children's mental development may be influenced by their mothers' diet during pregnancy, and by whether the child has been breast fed or received formula. Premature infants need breast milk from mothers that have sufficient amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet or, alternatively, an infant formula fortified with Omega-3 fatty acids.

The human brain and the retina of the eye consist largely of fatty tissue characterized by long-chain polyunsaturates. In addition to providing energy, the fatty acids in our diet provide important building blocks for the brain and the retina of the eye. To optimize the development of the fetus and the infant, it is important to ensure a sufficient intake of Omega-3 fatty acids, especially during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first six months after birth. To accomplish this, most mothers-to-be need to include Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet during their pregnancy and breastfeeding period.

Children born at term demonstrate a difference in mental development between those who get sufficient Omega-3 fatty acids from breast milk or fortified infant formula, and those who received non-fortified infant formula based solely on vegetable oils which are rich in Omega-6 fatty acids, but low in Omega-3 fatty acids. It has convincingly been proven that children who are born at term and those that get sufficient amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids tend to have a better intellectual capacity than children who receive standard infant formulae.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce the Risk of Depression in Pregnancy

A study by National Institutes of Health and University of Illinois-Chicago researchers found pregnant women who had a deficient intake of Omega-3 acids had double the risk of depression than women with a normal to high intake.

"During pregnancy, the baby gets omega-3 at the expense of the mother," explains study co-author Dr. John Davis, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He presented the research May 20 at the American Psychiatry Association's annual meeting in San Francisco.

A developing fetus draws on the fatty acid stores of its mother for optimal neurological growth. The study sought to determine if women are at the greatest risk for depression in the third trimester, when their rate of Omega-3 depletion is the greatest.

Using British data compiled from 14,541 women who were expected to deliver between 1991 and 1992, the researchers used a statistical model to analyze the association between omega-3 fatty acids and depression. The subjects' omega-3 intake was recorded at 32 weeks' gestation and was compared to the mothers' scores on a standardized depression test given at 18 and 32 weeks' gestation and again at eight and 32 weeks after birth. Even after the researchers adjusted the data for confounding factors such as age, prior history of depression, education and substance abuse, the association remained strong.

Their findings were supported by an additional analysis, which showed that in countries where omega-3 intake is the highest, the incidence of depression appears to be the lowest.
"We suspect that too little omega-3 in the diet may be a risk factor for depression," Davis says.

Finding The Best Omega-3 Supplement For You and Your Baby

Although there are many brands on the market, finding an Omega-3 fatty acid that is right for you is very tricky. There are several factors that you must look for when purchasing the proper product to achieve desired results. You want to find a product that is impurity free and contaminant free. Many marine based nutritional products can contain PCB’s and other heavy metal contamination so make sure the product you are choosing is impurity free. Next, you want the most highly concentrated fish oil you can find to get an effective dose, to reduce the serving size in number of gelcaps, and to reduce any potential digestive problems when consuming oils. Concerning serving size, many "food grade" fish oils contain surprisingly low amounts of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA). A good pharmaceutical grade fish oil will be 75% omega-3 fatty acids with at least 60% of the total oil being EPA and DHA.

Prenatal Pure Omega 3 is a highly effective pharmaceutical grade fish oil - specifically designed for pregnant and nursing mothers. The product is impurity-free, contaminant free, and contains no heavy metals or mercury. Prenatal Pure Omega 3 contains 100% Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil. The Total Omega 3 Fatty Acids are 2714 mg per 3 softgel serving (1548 mg of EPA and 828 mg DHA). Prenatal Pure Omega 3 is produced from a patented, state of the art, solvent-free distillation process and is cholesterol free. Prenatal Pure Omega 3 is also toxin free. It's obtained from carefully selected oils previously checked before processing for 0% pesticide, PCB & heavy metal contamination. This process ensures that this product is 100% free of any toxic organic solvent residues or impurities. It's important to note that Prenatal Pure Omega 3 is manufactured from edible fish that do not originate from endangered species. It's also fortified with Vitamin E to protect the molecular integrity of the purified fish oil.

With all of the positive scientific data currently available, there is no doubt in my mind that Omega-3 fatty acids will become a household word for every pregnant woman. Pretty soon you will be taking your Omega-3 softgel hand in hand with your prenatal vitamin!

Click here to buy PreNatal Pure Omega 3