{"id":33,"date":"2010-11-21T20:46:40","date_gmt":"2010-11-21T20:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html"},"modified":"2010-11-21T20:46:40","modified_gmt":"2010-11-21T20:46:40","slug":"how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Right Fish Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newsflash:<\/b>  <\/span>“You should
\nbe taking a fish oil for good health!”  <\/span>How
\nmany times have you heard the terms “fish oil,” “omega 3,” or “omega 3 fatty
\nacid” being plastered in health bulletins or recommendations lately?  <\/span>If you are paying any attention, it’s
\neverywhere!  <\/span>Why?  <\/span>Because there is so much excitement over the
\nprospect of these ‘good fats’ in helping prevent and treat the #1 killer of
\nAmericans today- heart disease.  <\/span>Here are
\nsome quick tips on understanding what you might read about these little oily
\npearls and drops of goodness!<\/p>\n

1.      
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>1.  Omega 3 fatty acids are protective to your body
\nbecause they help reduce inflammation. 
\n<\/span>(Inflammatory diseases are those that end in ‘-itis.’  <\/span>If you have arthritis, sinusitis, or heart
\ndisease-itis [J<\/span><\/span>]
\nas it should be called, omega 3’s can help.)<\/p>\n

2.      
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>2.  All omega 3’s are not created equal.  <\/span>For example, fish oil and flax oil are sources
\nof omega 3 fatty acids.  <\/span>Fish oil is
\n8-10x more potent than flax oil in terms of its ability to reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n

3.      
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>3.  A quick way to know if your supplement is a
\npotent source of omega 3’s- calculate how much EPA and DHA is in each
\ncapsule.  <\/span>EPA and DHA (short for very
\nlong chemical names you don’t need to know) are the strongest of the omega 3’s.  <\/span>The more in your supplement, the better in
\ntoday’s culture of inflammation.  <\/span>If you
\nare taking a 1000 mg capsule of fish oil, but only 400 mg of it is in the form
\nof EPA and DHA, that’s how much you can likely bank on in terms of helping to
\nreduce inflammation.<\/p>\n

4.      
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>4.  Studies show 1000mg of fish oil (remember, I
\nwould say EPA + DHA) can help most adults prevent heart disease risks and 2000
\nmg- 4000 mg of good omega 3’s could be prescribed for others with riskier
\nhealth conditions.<\/p>\n

5.      
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>5.  All fish oil is not created equal.  <\/span>Even if it has the same amount of EPA + DHA,
\nif the manufacturer of your fish oil has not purified out the bad stuff like
\nmercury, PCB and dioxin, you might get other problems in the process.  <\/span>Remember, fish are a product of the water they
\nlive in and the water these days is not as clean as it used to be.  <\/span>Look for a product that uses a distillation
\nprocess that takes out the bad chemicals and saturated fat that you don’t need
\nin your supplement regimen.  <\/span><\/p>\n

This is just the beginning of more to come on this
\nsubject.  <\/span>If you get yourself going with these tips and add in a healthy dose of good nutrition, regular physical activity and a happier
\ndisposition, you are sure to be ahead of most Americans on your path to
\npreventing disease.  <\/span>But do me a favor… please
\npass this on to anyone who takes fish oil. 
\n<\/span>I see way too many people wasting their hard earned money on substandard
\nfish oil supplements that likely are not helping them and potentially hurting
\nthem.  <\/span>Pay it forward…the more they know,
\nthe more they help themselves.  Then, they can join you in the ranks of Patients Powered by
\nKnowledge<\/i>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newsflash:  “You should be taking a fish oil for good health!”  How many times have you heard the terms “fish oil,” “omega 3,” or “omega 3 fatty acid” being plastered in health bulletins or recommendations lately?  If you are paying any attention, it’s everywhere!  Why?  Because there is so much excitement over the prospect of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everyday-health-tips","category-womens-health"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Choose the Right Fish Oil - Medicine to Move You<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Choose the Right Fish Oil - Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Newsflash:  “You should be taking a fish oil for good health!”  How many times have you heard the terms “fish oil,” “omega 3,” or “omega 3 fatty acid” being plastered in health bulletins or recommendations lately?  If you are paying any attention, it’s everywhere!  Why?  Because there is so much excitement over the prospect of…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-11-21T20:46:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Choose the Right Fish Oil - Medicine to Move You","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Choose the Right Fish Oil - Medicine to Move You","og_description":"Newsflash:  “You should be taking a fish oil for good health!”  How many times have you heard the terms “fish oil,” “omega 3,” or “omega 3 fatty acid” being plastered in health bulletins or recommendations lately?  If you are paying any attention, it’s everywhere!  Why?  Because there is so much excitement over the prospect of…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2010\/11\/how-to-choose-the-right-fish-oil.html","og_site_name":"Medicine to Move You","article_published_time":"2010-11-21T20:46:40+00:00","author":"Dr. Shilpa P. 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