There's Omega 3 In Fish, Without Doubt, But What Else Is There?

Most people now know that there is plenty of Omega 3 fat in fish and that more of the Omega 3 essential fatty acids in your diet is extremely good for you.
The Omega 3 essential fatty acids are known as "essential" because they are extremely important for the proper function of your body, and also because your body is unable to produce them itself and therefore your diet is the only source of these fats.
And research has demonstrated clearly that over the last century our intake of fish, the primary source of the Omega 3 fats in our diet, has declined dramatically. And science is now showing that this decline has repercussions in a wide range of health areas.
Omega 3 levels in fish vary according to the type of fish. Some fish are relatively low in Omega 3 essential fatty acids whilst others are relatively high. Oily fish in particular have high levels of DHA and EPA, the 2 most important of the essential fatty acids, as these are found in the oil.
And so it would seem, if our diets are low in the Omega 3 fats, and there is plenty of Omega 3 in fish, that we should all be eating lots of fish. And whilst this is true to a degree it also has its own problems.
The American Heart Association tells us that we should all be eating a couple of meals of fish per week. However they also recognize a problem, namely that much fish is contaminated with Mercury, PCBs and other nasty toxins. Whilst these are present are in low levels they should not be there at all, and we should not be eating them.
And for this reason the AHA also repeats various warnings made by the FDA, particularly concerning children and pregnant women, warning that they should not eat too much of certain fish, and that they should vary the types eaten because of this particular problem.
And with the price of fish rising all the time providing 2 fish meals per week can become prohibitive for many families.
There is no doubt about the Omega 3 levels in fish, however there are also reasons why we should be extremely careful in choosing which ones we eat, and we should also look for other alternatives to improve our intake of the essential fatty acids.
There are many brands of fish oil supplements available, however there are also brands of supplements which have been found to be contaminated as well, and so you should be extremely careful if looking to get your essential fatty acids from capsules.
But there are excellent Omega 3 supplements available with high levels of DHA and EPA and no contamination.
There is plenty of Omega 3 in fish, but some powerful reasons not to eat too much. Fortunately, through the use of high quality fish oil supplements, it is both cost-effective and safe to increase your intake of DHA and EPA every day.

Are You Getting Much Omega 3 In Fish That You've Fried? And If Not What Should You Do?

So you're eating fish tonight. Is there much Omega 3 in fish that might be served up to you tonight? Surely there is because everyone now knows that fish is the best source of those all-important Omega 3 essential fatty acids.
Not necessarily. The amount of Omega 3 in fish varies greatly depending on the type of fish and a number of other factors, including, if it's salmon that you're having, whether it's wild or farmed.
But a new factor that seems to affect the amount of Omega 3 in fish that we are eating has also been uncovered in a recent study. It would seem that how you cook your fish affects how much of those all-important essential fatty acids you'll be eating tonight.
A recent study undertaken and published in Neurology journal seems to be showing that how you cook your fish determines whether or not you're getting the maximum benefit from those Omega 3 fats.
The study was undertaken on residents of what is sometimes called the "stroke belt", a string of southern States which includes Mississippi, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia and more. In these States the rate of death from stroke and the rate of stroke in general is much higher than the rest of the country, and in particular much higher amongst African-Americans.
And the study established that people living in these States ate much higher than levels of fried fish than in other states.
In other words there was a correlation between the amount of fried fish consumed by those residents and their rate of stroke. And in particular it was found that African-Americans in those states have extremely high rates of consumption of fried fish.
Now of course this doesn't establish that all these people are getting strokes from eating fried fish, it would require much more study to firmly establish this. However it is certainly worrying and offers a powerful suggestion to those amongst us who understand the health benefits of more Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet that they should be baking or steaming their fish rather than frying it.
Of course there are problems with getting your Omega3 fats by eating fish, regardless of how you cook it. Fish is becoming extremely expensive and we are now warned by our government not to eat too much due to contamination with Mercury and other toxic contaminants.
And for this reason, in my view, the most cost-effective way to get a regular daily intake of the Omega3 fats is through the use of high quality Omega 3 supplements.
However there is no doubt that fish is good to eat, provided you don't eat too much. But if you're eating your fish confident in in the knowledge that you're getting all those good fats in your diet you may be fooling yourself, there may not be so much Omega 3 in fish that youv'e fried.