The heart health benefits of an increased intake of the essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil are now well established. The American Heart Association tells each of us to increase our intake of Omega3 fats up to the minimum recommended level to reduce our risk of coronary heart disease. But let’s examine whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link, or whether, if you have high blood pressure you can lower blood pressure with fish oil.
Hypertension is the technical name for high blood pressure. Hypertension affects many of us, particularly those who are overweight, and many people rely on anti-hypertensive drugs for many years. Therefore it is possible to reduce high blood pressure with fish oil this is good news.
And it is good news. There are clear studies demonstrating a link between increasing Omega3 intake and lowering blood pressure. One study examining this split 120 people into 5 groups and supplemented their diet with a combination of fish and fish oil and placebos. The conclusion of the study was that increasing the intake of omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil helped to lower blood pressure.
There are 2 principal omega 3 essential fatty acids. These are called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). A further study concluded that it is primarily the DHA which is responsible for reducing hypertension.
Overweight people have higher risks of hypertension as well as coronary heart disease and a third study examined the role of omega 3 in lowering blood pressure in overweight people. This study also concluded that fish oil could help lower blood pressure for overweight people and, when combined with an appropriate weight loss regime, would help “substantially” in lowering reliance on antihypertensive drugs for those already reliant on those drugs.
There’s a wide range of important health reasons to increase your intake of the omega 3 fats found in fish oil and these health reasons now, it seems, include reducing blood pressure. But even if you don’t have a problem with hypertension there are still powerful health reasons to add more Omega 3 fats into your diet, including a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease and a wide range of other lifestyle and age related health problems.
There is now clear scientific evidence about the heart benefits of Omega3 fats and the American Heart Association is taking this on board and recommends a minimum intake of these fats for everyone. And as over 90 percent of the US population are deficient in Omega3 intake we should take notice, particularly anyone with hypertension.
So it seems there is a clear omega 3 blood pressure link. If you increase your intake of Omega3 fats you will help lower high blood pressure and may also reduce any reliance on antihypertensive drugs.
But how do you effectively increase your intake of Omega3 fats? There are problems with eating fish because fish is expensive and is generally contaminated with mercury and for this reason the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish.
The good news is that it is perfectly possible and cost effective to take daily fish oil supplements. The best fish oil supplements are contamination free, though it is important to note that there are wide variations in the quality of various fish oil supplements and you should choose carefully.
I take fish oil capsules myself and ensure my family does as well. To find out which ones visit my website.
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