Why Is Fish Oil Good For Us?

Fish provide important nutrients like selenium and protein, and the essential fatty acids in fish oil may be particularly beneficial to your health. Oily, dark-fleshed fish like salmon, herring, lake trout and albacore tuna are rich sources of these fatty acids. Because fish oil supplements can interfere with blood thinners and diabetes medications, and may worsen bleeding disorders, consult a health care provider before taking these supplements.

Beneficial Compounds

Fish oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA. Because your body can't produce these fatty acids, but requires them for health, you need to get them from food. A balance of omega-6, another type of fatty acid, and omega-3 is also important for health. The typical American diet provides significantly more omega-6, so fish oil can restore the balance. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, help form nervous system cells, so they're essential for normal brain development and function, as well as for vision development. The fatty acids in fish oil can also help reduce inflammation.

Cardiovascular Conditions

Omega-3 fatty acids may help lower your risk of heart disease and conditions contributing to heart disease, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, experts from the University of Maryland Medical Center suggest. High triglycerides, or fats in the blood, increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Consuming fish oil can significantly lower triglycerides, especially in those with higher levels, according to a study published in "Atherosclerosis" in November 2006. Fish oil may also help prevent atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, by keeping the arteries clear of harmful plaque.

Diabetes

High triglycerides and low levels of HDL, or good, cholesterol, are common in those with diabetes, but eating fish or taking fish oil supplements may help correct this. Dysfunction of the endothelium, or inner lining of the blood vessels, is also common in diabetes. This condition may lead to further cardiovascular problems. Fish oil supplements can help improve endothelial function, experts from the University of Connecticut note.

Mental Health

Fish oil may help reduce symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, although study results have been mixed. Aging adults who get more EPA and DHA in their diets have lower incidence of cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Those who ate fish at least once weekly had a 60 percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer's than people who rarely ate fish, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Rush Institute for Healthy Aging.

Other Potential Health Benefits

Eating fish four or more times a week may lower your risk of macular degeneration, a progressive, age-related vision condition that can cause blindness, experts from the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary suggest. A diet rich in fish may relieve joint pain and stiffness from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, although it doesn't prevent joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids may also slow age-related loss of bone mass in older women.