Is There An Omega 3 Blood Pressure Link, Or Can Fish Oil Lower Blood Pressure?
There are now clearly established heart benefits from increasing your intake of the essential fatty acids found in fish oil known as omega 3 fats. For this reason the American Heart Association recommends that each of us undertake a minimum intake of Omega3 fats every week. These are heart benefits such as a reduction in the risks of coronary heart disease, but today lets ask whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link or whether increasing your intake of fish oil can help lower blood pressure.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, affects many people in our population. Particularly those who are overweight can suffer from high blood pressure and may well spend years on drugs designed to lower blood pressure. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this may be good news to many peopleHigh blood pressure is called hypertension and effects very many people. People who are overweight have a higher risk of hypertension and some of these people may spend many years on drugs designed to reduce hypertension. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this is good news for many people.
And the good news is that there are studies showing a clear link between increasing fish oil intake and lowering blood pressure. A study of 120 people split this group into 5 subgroups and supplemented each subgroup with a combination of fish, fish oil supplements or a placebo. The conclusion was that supplementation with omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil helps lower blood pressure.
There are 2 primary omega 3 fats and they are called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). Another study examining the role of these 2 fats found that it was primarily the DHA that was responsible for the reduction in blood pressure.
Anyone who is overweight has a higher risk of coronary heart disease as well as high blood pressure and a 3rd study sought to study any link between lowering hypertension with omega 3 in overweight people. This study also found a link between a higher intake of Omega3 fats in reduced blood pressure, particularly amongst overweight people, and found that increasing intake of omega 3 fats found in fish oil, when combined with another weight-loss regime, could "substantially" reduce dependence on antihypertensive drugs for someone who is overweight and already relying on those drugs.
There are many health reasons to increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids and those reasons now extend to lowering blood pressure with fish oil. But even if you are not hypertensive there are other important health benefits and heart benefits which flow from a higher intake of Omega3 fats. This includes a lower risk of coronary heart disease, improvements in memory and mental acuity and a reduction of the risk of wide range of health problems related to age, and more.
The science is in on the heart benefits of increasing your intake of Omega3 fats in the American Heart Association tells us all to do this, given that over 90 percent of us have a deficient intake of omega 3. This is now more important for 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.
So how do you increase your intake of Omega3 fats? You could eat more fish but fish is expensive and 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 have examined the range of fish oil capsules available carefully. Visit my website to find out which Omega 3 supplements I choose for myself and my family.
Mail this post
Uncategorized