After hearing so much about fish oil, you might be wondering what the health benefits of fish oil supplements are. Perhaps, by knowing how this oil benefits the body, you will understand why more and more people are relying on fish supplements to lead a healthier life, and who knows, you might even be persuaded to join the bandwagon yourself like I did.
Oily fish that feed on algae contain great amounts of Omega-3, and these essential fatty acids are the main reasons for the health benefits of fish oil supplements, which include:
* Nourishing the brain. Majority of the brain is made up of fats, and it needs these essential fatty acids to function normally. People who happen to have not enough Omega-3s are more likely to get depressed and anxious; they too are more likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease. Supplementing the diet with these essential fatty acids can sharpen one's memory, too. Omega-3 fatty acids are also necessary in brain development, the reason why pregnant women are often advised to have these essential fats in their daily diet.
* Controlling symptoms of ADHD and ADD. The incidence of childhood disorders, such as ADHD and ADD, seems to be higher in children with insufficient Omega-3s.
* Regulating inflammatory processes. Inflammation can cause pain and abnormal inflammatory processes can increase your risk for developing chronic diseases like cancer. Consuming fish oil with Omega-3 regularly reduces this risk as well as the intensity and severity of the pain.
* Decreasing the bad cholesterol. This is by and large the most popular of the fish oil benefits. Bad cholesterol levels have to be kept at the minimum for you to enjoy life at the fullest. These bad fats can cause the formation of plaque which can harden eventually, causing very unfortunate confences.
* Increasing the good cholesterol. Some anti-cholesterol drugs only bring down the levels of the bad cholesterol, but Omega-3 fatty acids do more than that. Besides regulating bad cholesterol levels, Omega-3 fats increase the good cholesterol at the same time. Now why would you need to increase the good cholesterol? Well, the fact that it is called good cholesterol has to mean a lot. As it is, the good cholesterol helps to clear the walls of the arteries and brings the bad cholesterol out of the body.
In order to fully appreciate the benefits of Omega-3, take it with Vitamin E. Vitamin E is necessary in the processing and metabolism of these essential fatty acids. Not a lot of people are unaware of this, but this fact needs to be emphasized, otherwise the Omega-3s will be of very little value to you.
Like per other all supplements, fish oil does have its fair share of drawbacks, too, and these include:
* Stomach upset
* Abdominal pain
* Diarrhea
* Fishy after taste
The intensity of these reactions may, however, be minimal with the pharmaceutical grade fish supplements. These are the types of supplements that have gone through the process of molecular distillation, rendering them free of toxins but still pure nonetheless.
As to the fishy after-taste, that can be easily resolved by taking the supplement with flavored water, juice, or along with meals. Anyhow, these are quite insignificant when you think about all the health benefits of fish oil supplements.