Heart Health Course
Lesson 2

Alright... take that down! I love fish but have always hated sardines for some reason.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been, for lack of a better word, a fad for sometime. In fact they were considered a fad even 12 years ago... pretty interesting isn't it? Well regardless of what science tells us and in light of all the conflicting studies, I personally believe that Omega 3's are a great supplement to take... though I do prefer the veggie kind.

There are 4 pretty big benefits of omega 3's that have been witnessed regardless of what really happens... you might be new to these for sure.

1. They lower triglycerides

Well not directly, but what they do is lower the rate at which the liver manufactures triglycerides. Triglycerides are the major component of LDL cholesterol. This is the bad cholesterol that is responsible for greatly increasing our risks of heart disease.

As with many different nutrient issues, this does not mean that you can go ahead and use it as a band-aid consuming high cholesterol foods.

2. Reduce the blood clots

One of the reasons that heart disease and strokes occur is because blood clots. For example.. cholesterol hardens and sticks to your artery walls making it difficult for blood to pass. The platelets in your blood will then stick together and form a blockage giving you a heart attack. The same process happens with a stroke, only in the brain.

Omega 3's act like a blood thinner and reduce the tendency for blood platelets to stick together, which leads to the formation of blood clots. So Omega 3's keep your blood flowing easier because it is thinner. This greatly lessens the chances for heart attacks and strokes.

3. Reduce damage caused by lack of oxygen

Another major problem when arteries become clogged is the lack of oxygen to vital organs and tissues. This makes sense giving the fact that with less blood there is less oxygen getting through.

Step in omega 3's again... to compliment the thinning effect they have on blood, they also help repair the damage to these vital organs and tissues because of the lack of oxygen by making it more available. So they are really working almost double time when it comes to the clogging arteries.

4. Lower blood pressure

Blood pressure as you may know is the pressure exerted on your artery walls by the blood that is flowing through the system as well as the pressure the heart is able to pump to get the blood out to your body. Without going into too much detail about blood pressure, omega 3's have the ability to help lower it.

This is very helpful because blood pressure again is a risk warning for strokes and heart disease. Think about it like this... in a perfectly normal artery, blood should stay fairly consistent with its pressure. Things can change of course with your emotional state and stress, but if the artery were to be smaller what would happen?

The pressure would increase. This must mean that something is blocking a portion of the artery. So again step in omega 3's to help combat this.

They are not all perfect though because the thinning of the blood that occurs along with many different medications that people take could cause extreme thinning of the blood. If a wound of some sort were to take place then that person could have some serious bleeding issues.

Omega 3's come from many different sources. The most popular is fish oils. You can find these with supplements and of course in fish. However you can also find Omega 3's in dark green veggies like spinach. It just so happens that supplements are made of the veggie kind.

I personally prefer the veggie kind. I have strayed from the fish oil ever since I heard you can taste the fish taste. And that leads straight to your final lesson...

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