Showing posts with label triglycerides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triglycerides. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

How Do You Lower Triglycerides With Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids?

There are clear benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, the 2 most important being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). In particular there are well established heart benefits to taking more Omega 3 in your diet, however for anyone with high triglycerides it is also now clear that increasing your intake of essential fats can help in lowering triglycerides.

Research shows that over 90 percent of us are deficient in the important essential fatty acids found in fish oil. And research has also confirmed a wide range of heart benefits from remedying that deficiency by including more fish, or fish oil in the form of supplements, in our diet.

Some of the heart benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids include a reduction in the risk of arrhythmia, which can lead to fatal heart attack, a reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in the growth rate of plaque in the arteries. But for our purposes today the research also show a decrease in triglycerides levels.

Triglycerides are a fat that is found in your blood and which is manufactured in your body from the food that you eat. If you have high triglycerides this increases the risk of blood clots and can also lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. The bottom line is that high triglycerides are linked to coronary artery disease which can kill you. High triglycerides is also linked to some other diseases such as diabetes.

A diet high in fats and in particular in saturated fat can contribute to high triglyceride levels as can high sugar foods. Being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can also contribute.

So it would seem clear that lowering triglycerides, if you have a problem with a higher than normal triglyceride level, is a good thing, and for this reason there are many people trying to work out how to lower triglycerides.

There are a range of things that you can do to lower triglycerides if you have a problem, including reducing the amount of fatty foods and in particular foods was saturated fats, eating less sugar and exercising more. Also important is reducing alcohol intake and try to lose weight if you are overweight.

But it is now clear from the research that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids by way of fish oil supplementation is an important part of a strategy to help lower triglycerides.

"A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering" is just one of the statements on the website of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Another one is that "omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,". These show a clear link between adequate levels of Omega3 intake and triglyceride lowering.

It is clear that increasing the intake of Omega3 fats has a role in lowering triglycerides and for this reason the American Heart Association recommends minimum levels of DHA and EPA of 2 to 4 grams per day by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician for people with high triglycerides.

Many people in our society suffer from higher than recommended triglyceride levels. This then is good news for them, providing them with another weapon in the arsenal to help lower triglycerides naturally.

And there is also powerful evidence of a wide range of other health benefits from increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, and for these reasons everyone, including people with high triglycerides, should seek to maintain a minimum level of fish oil in the diet, making sure you're taking the very best fish oil supplements.

Of course it is simple to eat more fish but unfortunately fish is contaminated with mercury and is generally very expensive. There are excellent fish oil supplements available which are not contaminated and which can be taken daily very cost effectively. Note however that not all fish oil supplements are of high quality.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Are There Ways To Lower Your Triglycerides Naturally?

Do you want to find a way to lower your triglycerides naturally without taking drugs, with some simple lifestyle changes and a safe natural product?

But before we get started lets ask ourselves what triglycerides are.

It's bad for your health to eat fat isn't it? Well no, not necessarily. Some fats are good for us. But unfortunately triglycerides are a form of fat that aren't good for us.

Lets not get technical and give you the chemical explanations. Lets explain in simple language. Triglycerides are a form of fat that is in your blood that gets there from the foods you eat.

Triglycerides can be formed in the body from both fats in the food you eat as well as carbohydrates in the food.

So why do some people have too high a level of triglycerides in their blood? From what they eat, from being overweight and from drinking too much alcohol. They can also come from various health conditions.

So what foods are those that result in a higher than wanted level of triglycerides? Foods that are higher in fat, especially saturated fat, and high in sugar isn't good either.

And if you have high triglycerides why is this a problem? Because it can cause coronary heart disease problems.

So lets now look at how to lower triglycerides. If yours are too high you need to know this.

1. Eat the right diet to lower triglycerides. Foods that are lower in fat, fresh and good for your health. More fresh fruit and vegetables. Less high fat foods, less sugar. Cook with Olive oil or Canola oil.

2. Do more exercise. Exercise helps you to lower your triglycerides, and is good for you in so many other ways.

3. Reduce your alcohol intake.

4. Try to lose some weight.

5. Add more Omega 3 fats to your diet. These are some of the good fats and help lower triglycerides. So one or 2 might a week eat oily fish instead of steak.

It is well known that Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats are a big part of lowering triglycerides.

The American Heart Association says on it's website that we need to increase our intake of fish for this reason. Or take fish oil supplements. That's because fish is a very good source of Omega 3, especially oily fish. And fish oil supplements are a good way to take some fish oil every day.

Omega 3 fats are good for your heart and so many other things.

There's a problem in eating too much fish though, the FDA warns us about eating a lot of fish because fish is generally contaminated.

But the best Omega 3 supplements don't have toxins, although that isn't true for all Omega 3 capsules. And taking fish oil capsules is the best way to add fish oil to your diet daily.

That's a recipe for lowering triglycerides naturally. Some lifestyle and dietary changes and taking daily fish oil supplements and you've got a recipe for good health.

And remember, if you have a health condition, always consult your doctor as well.