23 July 2009

What Is The Link Between Fish Oil And Diabetes?

By Peter Bertonich

Diabetes is on the increase in the US, and every year somewhere around a million people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It isn't usually fatal, but can be and can have serious impacts on the lives of sufferers. Is there any fish oil and diabetes link? Or can fish oil help reduce the impact of diabetes?

Scientists are worried about the rate of diabetes in our society. There are also enormous costs imposed on sufferers as well as the impact on their families and on the health system. So what can be done to reduce the impact of this explosion on diabetes rates?

There are certainly a range of lifestyle factors that can assist in the reduction of the risks and impact of diabetes, like improving diet and exercise levels and losing weight, but as I mainly look at the value of Omega 3 fats I'll concentrate on that.

There is now clear evidence of a link between fish oil and diabetes showing that taking fish oil supplements can reduce some of the risks associated with diabetes. Fish oil has Omega 3 fats in it, and the main Omega 3 fats the are of benefit are DHA and EPA.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that results in an excess of sugar levels in the blood. Insulin in the blood is unable to sufficiently deal with the sugar in the blood, so sugar levels rise.

The result is that the insulin in the blood cannot deal with fats in the blood either, and levels of triglycerides rise, and HDL, (good cholesterol) falls. The figures for the risks to diabetics are frightening. 6 times higher risk of heart attack and up to 8 times higher risk of heart disease.

So is there any fish oil diabetes link? Is there evidence that taking fish oil lowers any of the risks of diabetes? Yes, scientists are finding that taking omega 3 fats from fish oil do indeed lower some of the risks of diabetes.

Why is there a fish oil supplements and diabetes link? Because fish oil is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, and studies have shown that polyunsaturated Omega 3 fats reduce the amount of triglycerides in the blood, reduce abnormal heart rhythms, reduce blood pressure by small but significant amounts, and improve blood clotting regulation.

One study showed very impressive heart benefits verifying the fish oil diabetes link, including reducing the risk of death by heart attack by up to 45%, and cardiovascular deaths generally by up to 30%.

It seems crystal clear now that taking more Omega 3 fish oil in the diet does lower some of the risks associated with diabetes.

How should you be getting your fish oil? Well of course eating fish high in fat is a good way, the American Heart Association recommends eating 2 fish meals a week, but there are also warnings for certain people of eating too much fish due to the incidence of some heavy metals and in particular contaminants like mercury in fish.

So by far the best way to get daily Omega 3 in the diet is to take the very best Omega 3 supplements. The best ones use fish from the southern ocean, the cleanest ocean in the world. These fish are naturally high in DHA and EPA, and the oil taken is then purified by a process called molecular distillation so that the are no detectable levels of nasty contaminants in the oil.

So it seems clear, if you suffer from type 2 diabetes there are good reasons to include Omega3 fish oil supplements in your diet daily.The lowering of the risks of death and disease are so striking its worth making the effort to up your intake of fish oil, daily.

You can find out which Omega 3 capsules are the best on my website.

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