Fitness: Fish Oil Or Snake Oil?
Is this supplement really all that?
With most talk centered around fat as being “bad”, it can be hard to conceive some kinds are actually good for you. Enter EFAs (essential fatty acids), so-called because the body requires them to survive but can’t synthesize them so needs a direct food source. Of all the fats only two, omega-3 and omega-6, both unsaturated, are called “essential.” They turn into important derivatives in the body, provided the right ratios are supplied. (We’re discussing the biological processes of ‘good’ fats here, not “non-essential” fats that the body can produce, or fats that act as fuel.)
Formerly called ‘Vitamin F’, it was reclassified from vitamins to fats. Now, getting fat off your body or out of your diet is commendable, but don’t get them conflated. Essential fatty acids don’t make you fat; they help you burn it. But that’s only a peripheral, compared to the other great benefits. For there’s an invidious overlooked nutritional fat deficiency afflicting most everyone that’s been overlooked and neglected in all of the hubbub. In fact, there’s a very good likelihood that you are suffering from too little omega-3 in your system, Gertrude.
EFAs are critical to the complex functions of many metabolic processes. But they must be ingested in the right amounts, from the right sources to help establish and maintain health. And while we’re referring to very small amounts, when was the last time you had sardines? Running a constant deficiency may take time to reveal the dangers but like any car that’s out of balance sooner or later the wobbling starts and next thing, phhtttt!, it’s off to the car shop or, in this case, the doctor’s office. One of the most important functions of omega-3 is embedding EPA and DHA derivatives into the membranes of every cell (you have trillions of them) where they serve multiple complicated functions.
Think of them as a kind of viscous liquid that keeps your metabolism running smoothly.
And if you suffer from any of the following symptoms, you might want to give this supplement a try…
- Depression
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Fatigue
- Dry itchy skin
- Brittle hair and nails
- Inability to concentrate
- Joint pain
…because here are just a few of the things it can do for you:
- Increase energy, performance and stamina
- Strengthen the immune system
- Reduce inflammation
- Lower most risk factors for cardiovascular disease
- Improve mood, intelligence, behavior and vision
- Aid in weight reduction
- Regulate organs and glands
- Speed recovery and healing
- Support healthy child development
- Improve digestion
- Decrease infection
- Keep bones strong
- Fight cancer
- Ease PMS
- Strengthen skin, hair and nails
Empirical evidence also pegs it as a good fat-burner, and a panacea for “runner’s knee”.
So where can you get this excellent stuff? Mostly from food! And while great sources of omega-3 are found in high-fat, cold-water fish such as albacore tuna, sardines, Atlantic halibut and salmon, Coho, pink and king salmon, Pacific and Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, and lake trout (small amounts are also found in oysters and other shellfish) still, how many people eat fish at least twice a week? (If you’re one of them, congratulations!) They’re also found in walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds and green leafy vegetables. Research appears to indicate that omega-3s are better absorbed from food, but supplements are still a fantastic method for the pill-poppers or fish-adverse.
(Omega-6—the other “essential” fat—is found in sunflower, sesame and other seeds and nuts, but most people’s ratios are way out of balance to it; so concentrate instead on consuming omega-3 food sources.)
Essential fats are by far the most abused essential nutrient as they are perishable and chemically unstable, easily damaged by heat, water, air, light and time. Almost all supermarket oils, including those used in processed foods, have been damaged by destructive processing techniques including refining, bleaching, overheating, and/or partial hydrogenation, a process that produces deadly trans fats.
Research is also underway to find an optimal blood level of omega-3 that doctors can monitor and measure against, much like cholesterol testing. Everything is pointing to EFAs as a super-supplement that won’t fizzle out in real life like chromium picolinate (for building muscle) or pyruvate (fat burning). Just remember to follow the directions. Nowhere does it say that if 2 are good for you then 4 must be better!
Right?
For more information from Miami Beach’s premier fitness trainer contact crazykidjoey@gmail.com.
