The Importance of Fish Oil

Whether you’re looking to maximize muscle building and fat loss or you’re simply looking to take the best pathway to optimal health, fish oil is an important supplement to add to your daily diet. There are few supplements on the market that offer as many benefits as fish oil does, so regardless of who you are, it’s almost certain you will benefit from it.

What is Fish Oil?
Fish oil is a form of fatty acid that is derived from the tissues of oily fish. It contains the omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are what has gained the most attention with regards to health research over the last few years.

Individuals who consume a high amount of fatty fish in their diet tend not to need to supplement with fish oil capsule, as much or as often, however you should also remember that many of the fish varieties do contain higher levels of mercury, which also needs to be monitored in the human body.

If these levels of mercury get too high, that can cause problems too, so it’s vital that you keep a good balance. Fish oil capsules along with fatty fish on occasion will be the best way to meet your needs safely.

Benefits of Omega 3s:

  • Enhances heart health by maintaining elasticity of cardio tissue
  • Helps the heart beat in a strong and healthy way
  • Ensures efficient heart function so that this key organ will last longer
  • Increases lean body mass
  • Increases metabolism by up to 400Kcal/day
  • Reduced inflammation within muscle and connective tissue
  • Improves fat burning
  • Important for cell membrane structure and essential for proper brain function
  • Improves insulin efficiency
  • Prevents excessive muscle breakdown
  • Increases brain health
  • Improves nervous system function
  • Contains antioxidants and their benefits
  • Reduced muscle soreness

Inflammation:
The scientific literature indicates that Omega 3 oil is good for general health issues, and has been reported to control inflammation, prevent sudden cardiac death, and to lower serum triglycerides. Inflammation is either a cause or result of diverse diseases such as asthma, ulcerative colitis, congestive heart failure, and Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise will induce inflammation. Besides increasing pain, inflammation will degrade muscle. It is very important to control chronic inflammation.

Fish oils are proven to reduce the risk of inflammation. Over time, our bodies develop injuries and suffer joint pain. Fish oils have been tested for their effectiveness to reduce inflammation and joint pain. Research has proven that fish oils help the body reduce inflammation and joint tenderness. When the joints and tendons are healthy, people are able to increase their level of workout intensity and be able to perform more frequent training routines.

Support Bone Health:
As you grow older, especially in the case of women who are entering the menopausal years and who don’t have the standard estrogen and progesterone hormone levels any longer, the bones may begin to thin, which then sets you up to experience osteoporosis.

Studies have looked at the implications that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes have on the bone density and calcium balance in menopausal women and have found that those who do take in higher levels may help support healthy bones.

There will never be any better way to support your overall bone health than being sure you’re getting enough calcium in your diet regularly, but after that’s been looked after, it would be a very smart move to start paying attention to your fish oil consumption habits.

One thing that is important to note though is that it’s important that you’re getting a good ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids in the body as if you aren’t that can actually put you at a higher risk for a lower bone mineral density.

Mood Support:
Another reason to start including fish oil in your diet on a regular basis is because of the support for positive mood.

The diets of many people are so filled with processed foods that there isn’t enough quality nutrition coming in to support a healthy system, which only adds to the stress build-up that tends to set these disorders off.

Fish oil consumption helps support the levels of serotonin in the body, which is often termed the ‘feel good’ hormone. You’ll typically reap the benefits of serotonin after eating a carbohydrate heavy meal, which is what puts you in a relaxed and peaceful state. Individuals typically crave high-carbohydrate foods when they are stressed for this reason.

By supplementing with fish oil you will naturally support your own serotonin release in the body, which may help manage stress.

Conclusion:
Be sure you keep these points in mind. Fish oil isn’t necessarily going to help you build muscle at an accelerated pace directly, but indirectly it will help support the quality of your workouts and more importantly, really enhance your overall health.

Both these are important aspects if you hope to pursue workouts over a longer period of time.