Omega-3s clearly play an important role in prevention. There is also good evidence that they provide a valuable treatment option for people who already have heart disease. When taken in large amounts, they help to prevent restenosis, the reblockage of arteries that often occurs after a person has undergone angioplasty to open up a blocked blood vessels.
If you already have heart disease or want to make sure you never get it, doctors advise eating only fish, which are rich in omega-3s, every week. This include selmon, mackerel and fresh tuna (but not tinned, as the oils are lost in processing), fresh or tinned sardines and pilchards. The Food Standards Agency has recently issued safety guidelines for oily fish intake: up to four times a week for men and for women past child –bearing age; for girls and women of childbearing age, the limit is two servings a week. Significantly, the FSA advises that children under 16 and women of childbearing age avoid marlin, shark and swordfish altogether, because high levels of harmful pollutants accumulate in the fat of large predatory fish.
If you really can’t stand fish, take fish oil capsules.
Oil away bone and joint pain
You can think of omega-3s as WD-40for the joints. Because they inhibit the effects of inflammatory chemicals such as prostaglandins, they’re a great choice for people who suffer from joint pain and stiffness caused by rheumatoid arthritis. They work so well, in fact, that people who depend on aspirin or other anti-inflammatory painkillers are often able to lower their does once they start taking fish oil supplements.
What’s good for the joints also seems to be good for the bones, especially in postmenopausal women who either have osteoporosis or at the risk of getting this bone-depleting condition. One small study found that those given omega-3 fatty acids for 18 months had denser bones and fewer fractures than those who didn’t take omega-3s.
Myriad other applications
Research results show that omega-3s help to:
- Reduce gut pain A one year study of people with Crohn’s disease, a painful type of inflammatory bowel disease, found that 69 per cent of those who took fish oil supplements stayed symptoms-free, compared with just 28 per cent of those who didn’t take the oil.
- Improve mental health Some scientist suspect that the increasing incidence of depression in the USA is due in part of declining levels of fish eating. Low levels of omega-3s may weaken cell membranes and the production of certain
neurotransmitters in the brain. When scientists looked at 44 people with bipolar disorder (or manic depression), they found that nearly two out of three improved if they were given fish oil.