There are clear benefits of increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids, the 2 most important being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). In particular there are well established heart benefits to taking more Omega 3 in your diet, however for anyone with high triglycerides it is also now clear that increasing your intake of essential fats can help in lowering triglycerides.

Research has established that almost all of us have levels of Omega3 fats that are too low. Omega 3 fats are found in fish oil and the research also shows that by increasing our intake of fish oil in our diet by way of supplementation we also attract a range of heart and other health benefits.

Some of the important heart health benefits from increasing omega 3 in the diet include reducing blood pressure, reducing the growth of plaque in the arteries, reducing the risk of fatal heart attack and now also helping to lower triglyceride levels.

Triglycerides are a form of fat that can be manufactured in the body from the food you eat and exist in the blood. Having high triglycerides increases the risk of blood clots and can also lead to a lowering of your HDL (good) cholesterol. Basically high triglycerides are linked to coronary artery disease. And high triglycerides can also be a risk factor in some other diseases, for example diabetes.

A diet with high levels of saturated fat intake can increase triglyceride levels as can a diet of high sugar foods. Risk factors also include being overweight and drinking too much alcohol.

So lowering triglycerides is very important for many people who want to know how to lower triglycerides.

There’s a range of things that you can do to help lower triglycerides. If you eat less sugar and saturated fat in your diet, lose weight and reduce your alcohol intake these will all help lower triglycerides.

However research is now showing that increasing your intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil is also important in a strategy to lower triglycerides.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition publishes many of the studies about the benefits of omega 3 and a statement on the website says that “A dose-response relationship exists between omega-3 fatty acid intake and triglyceride lowering” and also that “omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreased serum triglyceride concentrations by 25% to 30%,”.

So it is now clear that improving your level of intake of omega 3 essential fatty acids can help lower triglycerides and because this is now clearly established the American Heart Association tells people with high triglycerides to maintain a level of intake of 2 to 4 grams per day of DHA and EPA by way of fish oil supplements under the care of a physician.

Many people have a problem with lowering triglycerides and this is good news for them and gives them a way to lower triglycerides naturally.

And as well as helping to lower triglycerides increasing Omega3 intake offers you a wide range of other health and heart benefits.

Of course you can eat more fish but fish is generally contaminated with mercury and can be extremely expensive. The best fish oil supplements are not contaminated and are much more cost-effective to be taken daily, though not all fish oil supplements are as good as others.

If you’re interested to find out how to compare fish oil supplements to find the best available (which I take myself) visit my website.

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