Benefits of Fish Oil for Fitness and Health

Many people who are health conscious tend to take cover when they hear the words fats and oils. What isn't realized, there are good fats and bad fats. By completely avoiding the intake of fats and oils could be more harmful than beneficial to their health.

Facts About Fish Oil

There are essential fatty acids that must be a part of our daily diets. Without the fatty acids in our diets this will affect how much sooner our bodies will start to die off. There are two categories essential fatty acids fall into. These two categories are omega-3 EFAS and omega-6 EFAS.

However, there are very slight differences between the two groups of fatty acids, but studies have show with an excessive consumption of the omega-6 fatty acids, it can lead to blood clots, tumor growths, and inflammation. The upside to this is the omega-3 fatty acids hold the opposite effects. Vegetable oils hold the omega-6 fatty acids and fish oils hold the omega-3 fatty acids.

The Battle of the Essential Fatty Acids

Scientists and doctors have came to the same belief with the causes behind hypertension and high blood pressure, obesity, premature aging, certain kinds of cancers, and the increase of heart disease. They have came to these decisions from seeing the unbalanced intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in people's diets.

As mentioned earlier in the article, the omega-6 fatty acids are found in vegetable oils. The omega-6 fatty acids can be found in corn and soy oils which contain high amounts of linoleic acid.

Not only can the omega-3 fatty acids be found in fish oils, it can be found in marine plankton and walnut and flaxseed oils. Fatty fish and fish oils contain eicosapentaenoic, also known as EPA, and docosahexaenoic, also known as DHA, acids which provide the body with many different benefits. A study done in the early 1970's was performed with the Eskimos in Greenland. This study showed on of the main reasons why they rarely suffered from any type of heart disease was due to their high-fat diet that was mainly comprised of fish.