Benefits Fish Oil and Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fish oil has been linked to disease prevention. The US National Institutes of Health has also Recognized the benefits of DHA and EPA and has published Recommended Daily Intakes of fatty acids. They recommend a daily intake of 650 mg of DHA and EPA, and 4.44 g/day of linoleic acid. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have used high doses of fish oil to treat bipolar disorder, with considerable success. In addition, researchers in the United Kingdom have reported positive results in treating schizophrenia with fish oil supplements. Current medical research is also focusing on the use of high doses of fish oil during radiation treatment and chemotherapy, as well as for treating Fibromyalgia.

On the whole, there appears to be consensus that Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oil promotes a healthy vascular system. Fish oil contains EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), both of which are omega-3 fatty acids. These particular omega-3 fatty acids may inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis.

Essential fatty acids are grouped into two families, omega-6 EFAs and the omega-3 EFAs. Omega-6 acids promote inflammation, blood clotting, and tumor growth, while omega-3 acids, found in fish oil and very few other sources, act entirely opposite, according to researcher Hans R. Larsen, MSc ChE.

According to Larsen, Scientists were first alerted to the many benefits of EPA and DHA in the early 1970s when Danish physicians observed that Greenland Eskimos had an exceptionally low incidence of heart disease and arthritis despite the fact that they consumed a high-fat diet. Subsequent research later discovered that the two fats or oils that they consumed in considerable quantities, EPA and DHA, were indeed very beneficial.