Fish Oil Health Benefits: Cholesterol Research and Cardiovascular Disease

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to lower cholesterol with a good diet and omega 3 fish oil. Omega 3 fish oil is particularly important because it can greatly reduce the risk of CVD in many other ways besides lowering cholesterol.

The best place to begin is to start taking fish oil supplements and, at the same time, commit to a healthy lifetime eating plan.

Dr. Walter Willet, head of the Harvard School of Public Health, recently published a review of 147 studies related to diet and heart disease in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research shows that moderate exercise, plus a diet low in saturated and trans-fats and high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and omega 3 fatty acids from supplements or fresh fish is the best way to prevent cardiovascular disease.

A cholesterol count of over 200 mg/dl is considered to put a person at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet, over 100 million Americans have counts higher than 200 points. The average in the U.S. is about 220 mg/dl.

Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans than the next seven diseases put together – including cancer. Over a million people die each year of CVD – which is one death every 30 seconds. And the reasons are obvious.

The standard American diet and the “couch potato” lifestyle are killing us. Not only are we eating too much food (300 calories a day more than in 1985), we’re eating far too much of the wrong kinds of foods – too much saturated fat and trans-fat and not nearly enough omega 3 fish oil.

Overindulgence in high glycemic carbohydrates and “bad” fats creates weight problems and the diseases associated with poor diet and excess weight – arthritis, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

What can you do to naturally lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease? The answer to this question is fairly simple and, if you want to lead a long, happy, healthy life, it’s also worth the effort to do what’s necessary.

Begin by eating less red meat, sweets, pastries, full fat dairy and refined grains and by including more fish, poultry, high fiber whole grains, fruits and vegetables in your diet. Next reduce your calories to help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends you eat five to nine servings of fresh fruit and vegetables everyday to get the necessary antioxidant power of carotenoids. These important phytonutrients are needed to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. Cholesterol doesn’t become a problem until it oxidizes. So oxidized cholesterol is the real killer.

The AHA also recommends you stop smoking and reduce alcohol to no more than one drink a day.

So begin your new healthy lifestyle today by exercising, making sure your next meal is a healthy one that includes some cold water fatty fish and by starting on high quality omega 3 fish oil supplements – it’s that easy!

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