[Below is my transcript of my video about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, along with supplemental information on the topic.]
Today, I want to talk to you about the omega-3 benefits. Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for your health, yet I would say around 95 percent of Americans aren’t getting enough omega-3 fats in their diet.
There are two types of fats that you want to keep balanced in your body: omega-3s and omega-6s. Most of us have way too many omega-6s, not enough omega-3s, and that causes inflammation.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center,
It is important to have the proper ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 (another essential fatty acid) in the diet. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, and most omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation. The typical American diet tends to contain 14–25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids, which many nutritionally oriented physicians consider to be way too high on the omega-6 side.
Omega-3s Foods Reduce Disease
Many of you have probably heard of something called the Mediterranean diet, which is full of anti-inflammatory foods. Unfortunately, inflammation is a major cause of all disease today.
In fact, anything that says “itis” at the end, in Latin that means inflammation. For example, arthritis — that’s inflammation of your joints. Ulcerative colitis — that’s inflammation of your colon. Heart disease today is not caused from high cholesterol; instead, it’s essentially inflammation in your arteries.
Many studies show that omega-3 fatty acids help many conditions, including the following:
- Cardiovascular health (by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, plaque buildup in the arteries, and the chance of having a heart attack or stroke)
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels (preventing diabetes)
- Reducing muscle, bone and joint pain by lowering inflammation
- Helping balance cholesterol levels
- Improving mood and preventing depression
- Sharpening the mind and helping with concentration and learning
- Boosting immunity
- Treating digestive disorders like ulcerative colitis
- Reducing risk for cancer and helping prevent cancer reoccurence
- Improving appearance, especially skin health
If you want to heal from any chronic health condition, you’ve got to reduce inflammation in your body, and the best way to do that is to get more omega-3 fats in your diet, so you’ve really got to start with omega-3 foods. You want to start consuming grass-fed animal products, like grass-fed beef and bison. That’s a great place to start. When you’re buying eggs, you can buy free-range eggs or omega-3 eggs.
And then of course, wild-caught fish, like wild salmon and mackerel, even sardines. Eating wild-caught salmon two to three days a week is a great way to boost your omega-3s. Also consuming super seeds, like chia seeds and flaxseeds, are packed with omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3 Supplements to Consider
Last but not least, the majority of people today should be taking a quality omega-3 supplement in the form of a omega-3 fish oil or cod liver oil. With fish oil, you want to buy a better brand — something that’s well-protected so it doesn’t oxidize. For fish oil, 1,000 milligrams a day is your key to balancing out those omega-3 levels.
What is the ideal kind of fish oil if you want to supplement your diet? I believe that the best form of omega-3 fish oil contains astaxanthin (a powerful antioxidant that also helps stabilize fish oil), so my preferred choice is fish oil made from wild-caught pacific salmon, which has high levels of DHA/EPA and astaxanthin.
Starting Reaping Omega-3 Benefits
The benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids include reducing inflammation, helping reverse heart disease, reducing your risk of cancer, helping with athletic performance and recovery, speeding weight loss, and improving brain function. The list could go on and on, even for things like brain, mood and depression.
Simply, you need to get more omega-3 fats in your diet if you want to reach your optimal level of health.