Consuming fish like salmon, tuna and herring, or taking daily fish-oil supplements, can help you to round out a healthy diet. But consuming such fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids may provide more healthy benefits than you ever knew. Recommended for those desiring a more natural first-line approach to warding off or treating heart-related conditions, omega-3 fatty acids provide several protective heart health benefits.
Blood Pressure
Consuming an omega-3-rich diet, or taking daily supplements of omega-3, may help lower your blood pressure if you are hypertensive. If you have borderline or otherwise untreated hypertension, you may have the most to gain, particularly if your regular daily diet or supplement intake includes at least 3 g or more of the nutrient. According to the Texas Heart Institute, such supplementation of your diet with omega-3 is associated with only a slight drop in blood pressure. There are those, including people with blood-clotting disorders, for whom the benefits of adding dietary or supplemental omega-3 do not outweigh the risks. Using your health and medication history, your doctor will determine if increasing omega-3 intake for a slightly lowered blood pressure is therapeutically beneficial.
Arrhythmias
Arrythmias, or a disruption of your heart's rate and/or rhythm, are a potentially dangerous condition that often precedes a heart attack. Consumption of omega-3s can have a profound effect on arrhythmias by stabilizing an abnormal heart rate and lowering your risk of experiencing a potentially fatal heart attack, according to William Davis MD in a report published in "Life Extension" magazine.. Because prescription medications for arrhythmias often cause troublesome side effects, if you have the condition, your doctor may recommend supplementing your diet with essential omega-3 fatty acids as a first-line therapy.
Triglycerides
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle that includes a diet higher in calories than your body needs to burn for energy, you are at risk for developing a high triglyceride level. A specific type of fat in your blood, triglycerides are the result of your body's conversion of any excess calories it does not need. Your serum triglyceride level provides a good snapshot of your overall cardiovascular health. The higher your triglyceride level, the higher your risk for heart disease. By decreasing the rate at which your body converts calories to triglycerides, essential omega-3 fatty acids can help to lower your triglycerides and your overall cardiac risk.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the process of the accumulation of excess blood fats in the walls of blood vessels. Over time, these vessels can become so occluded that, without intervention, cardiac complications are imminent. The causes of this disease include a high-fat unhealthy diet, uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes and smoking. The beneficial effects of omega-3 on atherosclerosis are two-fold. If you consume recommended amounts of the nutrient, you can slow the rate at which the buildup of fat, or plaque, in your arteries occurs. Omega-3 has an anticoagulant effect on your blood, which lowers your risk of developing a blood clot that could eventually completely occlude blood flow to your heart and other areas of your body.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Texas Heart Institute: Understanding Omega-3 Fatty Acids or "Fish Oil"; August 2010
- LifeExtension.org: Averting Arrhythmias With Omega-3 Fatty Acids; William Davis, MD; July 2008
- MayoClinic.com: Triglycerides: Why Do They Matter?; June 2010
- Cleveland Clinic: Heart and Vascular Health and Prevention: The Power of Fish; September 2009
- FamilyDoctor.org: What Is Atherosclerosis?; December 2010
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