Fish Oil – The Best Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

If we could only recommend one nutritional supplement to improve your health and power up your weight loss, it would be fish oil.

Why? 3 reasons:

1. Unless you take daily fish oil supplements, you are likely to be sadly deficient in omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Fish oil increases your ability to burn fat and lose weight.
3. Fish oil can improve your health and slow down aging … better than any other supplement available.^*

Omega-3 fats are a special breed of fat. They do not get stored in the body as fat. Instead, they are building blocks for brain tissue. They form important anti-inflammatory signaling molecules called eicosanoids. And they have other important roles in the body.

EPA and DHA - the most important omega-3 fatty acids

Fish oils contain the most important omega-3 fats. These are the 20-carbon EPA and the 22-carbon DHA. Both of these fats are found in fatty fish. These fatty acids are termed essential because you cannot synthesize them from scratch.

You can, however, make EPA from alpha-linolenic acid, the 18-carbon fatty acid found in flax seed. But there are problems with relying on flax oil as your only source of omega-3s, as we will explain shortly.

Burn fat with omega-3 fish oil

As we said earlier, omega-3 fatty acids are different from other fats in your diet. Unlike most fats, they don’t add to your calorie burden and they don’t make you fat.

Instead, they actually stimulate fat burning. They help you lose weight by “talking” to your genes. Important new research has shown us that omega-3 fats stimulate the DNA of muscle cells to burn fat for fuel. Read more about my recommended source of fish oil to improve your health and enhance weight loss

Exercisers lose more weight with fish oil

A 2006 study reported from the University of South Australia found that fish oil supplements helped exercisers lose weight. 68 overweight and obese individuals were randomly divided into one of 4 groups:

• Group l: Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids)
• Group 2: Sunflower oil (omega-6 fatty acids)
• Group 3: Fish oil plus exercise
• Group 4: Sunflower oil plus exercise

These 4 groups were observed for 12 weeks. The exercisers walked or ran for 45 minutes, 3 x per week. Important to notice is that the subjects did not change their diet during this time.

The conclusion? The fish oil plus exercise group lost an average of 4.5 pounds over the 12 week period. None of the other groups lost weight. The fish oil dose that led to weight loss was reportedly 6 grams/day, providing 25% DHA.

The lead researcher speculated that the fish oil improved blood flow to muscles during exercise.

It does appear that fish oil enhances the effects of exercise to cause weight loss. There may be other mechanisms involved as well. Other research indicates that the fish oil stimulates fat burning enzyme production.

The message is clear. You can become a better fat burner if you have enough fish oils on board.^*

EPA and DHA have special fat-burning properties.

Research has shown that EPA and DHA can:

1. Increase insulin sensitivity (and decrease insulin resistance). Insulin resistance can prevent fat burning and obstruct weight loss. So, increasing EPA in your diet may allow you to tame insulin and burn more fat.

   Rats given fish oil had lower blood sugar and lower insulin levels after eating a high sugar meal. This Japanese study suggests that diabetics may have better blood sugar control if they consume plenty of fish oil.

2. Turn on a number of genes in fat and muscle tissue which lead to the production of fat-burning enzymes. The omega-3 fats trigger PPAR receptors. These are recently discovered receptors which turn genes on and off throughout various tissues of the body, including fat cells. Production of fat-burning enzymes can be stimulated and enzymes that make and store fats can be decreased by this mechanism.
3. Increase thermogenesis by stimulating an uncoupling protein which wastes calories through heat production.
4. Control hunger and food-seeking behavior. EPA and DHA can affect the brain to improve mood and fight depression. DHA is the major fat of brain tissue and supports healthy support of brain function. These fats may also be part of the signaling mechanism between the digestive tract and the brain which reduces appetite.

As you can see, omega-3 fats help us lose weight in several different ways. They allow our bodies to burn more fat, increase our metabolism, control our appetite, and improve our mood.

Unfortunately, the modern diet is extremely deficient in these fats. We highly recommend taking a fish oil supplement since even a good diet is likely to be low in these fats, and the best source (fish) may be high in mercury. In fact, some experts estimate that 99% of us are deficient in omega-3 fats.

How much should you take? Start with 1 - 2 grams, and work up to 4 - 6 grams/day. The exercisers who lost weight with fish oil took 6 grams/day. You might want to take one to two grams (1 - 2 capsules) with each meal. If you are on a blood-thinner drug, you need to speak with your doctor about how much fish oil to take. Fish oil also has anticoagulant effects.

We think everyone should be taking a fish oil supplement! Children and pregnant women can benefit from improving their fatty acid nutrition.

Health benefits of fish oil^*

Even if you aren’t interested in weight loss, you can benefit from the anti-aging effects of fish oil. We found research that tells us that:

• Fish oil lessens your chance of sudden cardiac death
• Fish oil can improve your cholesterol profile by increasing the good HDL and decreasing triglycerides
• Fish oil supports insulin sensitivity to help you avoid weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes
• Fish oil helps platelet stickiness, and so may lessen the chance of stroke caused by blood clots in brain vessels
• Fish oil fights heart disease
• Fish oil can thin the blood
• Fish oil may lessen your chance of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. Those who eat a lot of fish are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease, so it makes sense that fish oil would be just a helpful.
• Fish oil can be used to improve depression and bipolar disorder
• Fish oil helps prevent postpartum depression
• Fish oil supplements may boost intelligence in children
• Fish oil can lower blood pressure
• Fish oil may have a role in preventing hormone-dependent cancers like breast and prostate cancer
• Fish oil fights inflammatory disorders like arthritis, asthma, and colitis
• Fish oil has been shown to improve athletic performance
• Fish oil calms inflammation in the skin to fight eczema, acne, and other skin disorders

How can omega-3 fats affect so many bodily functions and so many diseases?

Because… the types of fats you consume determine the types of eicosanoids you produce in your body. If you improve your eicosanoid profile, you can dramatically improve your health, slow down the aging process, cool inflammation, and lose weight.

Eicosanoids are signal molecules formed from essential fatty acids in response to a variety of conditions and hormone influences.

Eicosanoids have widely varying effects throughout the body. Some eicosanoid families are derived from omega – 3 fats while others come from the omega-6 group. Eicosanoids include prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, and prostacyclins.

The eicosanoids formed from omega-3 fats often have opposing effects to those controlled by the omega-6 derived eicosanoids.

Eicosanoids affect local blood flow and clotting mechanisms, smooth muscle contraction, cell growth, and the local effects of hormones. They also talk to our genes. They tell various genes to increase or decrease production of various enzymes and other products.

In a word, eicosanoids control all bodily functions.

It seems that the eicosanoids made from the omega-3 fats promote lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, decrease blood clotting, and improve cholesterol function. These benefits translate into less heart disease.

Omega-3 prostaglandins stimulate PPAR receptors to “talk” to your genes. They modulate gene expression. In fat tissues, the omega-3 eicosanoids promote the production of fat burning enzymes and inhibit fat storing enzymes.

You may have thought that what was written in your genes was written in stone. But that’s not true. The food and supplements that you put in your body can affect gene expression, for good or for bad. You can change your destiny when you take good care of yourself! Don’t miss out on the multiple benefits of fish oil.

Fish oil vs. Flax seed oil

It’s important to point out here that:

We recommend fish oil rather than relying on flax seed oil for the majority of your omega-3 needs. The important fats are EPA and DHA. These are plentiful in fish oil. The fat from flax seed oil, alpha-linolenic acid, must be converted into EPA within the body in order to be most useful.

However, this conversion is inhibited by high insulin levels. If you are overweight, your insulin levels may be too high. You may not make nearly as much EPA as you need. That is why we recommend taking fish oils as your primary source of omega 3 fats. We have found a trusted source at a great price.

We must point out that when you take omega-3 supplements, you should also be taking antioxidants like vitamin E and alpha lipoic acid. They will protect the highly unsaturated omega-3 fats from free radical destruction.

Fish oil supplementation is important for those who don’t consume enough fish in their diets, or who want to avoid the hazards of mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants showing up in our fish.

To purchase a fish oil supplement, you need to find a reputable source in order to ensure that the oil has been distilled and purified. It is essential that all heavy metals and toxins are removed and that the oil does not become rancid (free radical oxidation) by sitting on the shelf too long.

Remember that omega-3 fats are important for everyone in your family, even if they are not interested in weight loss. You can find liquid fish oil supplements that are flavored to cover up the fishy taste and are easy to get down, perfect for children.

Omega-3 fats, particularly DHA, are necessary for brain development in kids. What’s more, supplementation with omega-3 fats may help improve mood and attention in both children and adults.

Fish oil capsules are sealed within gelcaps, along with antioxidants to preserve them, and have a much longer shelf life compared to the liquid oil. If you do buy liquid flax seed oil or liquid fish oil, purchase from a high volume source to ensure that it has not been sitting on the grocery store shelf for weeks or months. Once you bring it home, be sure to keep it refrigerated to prevent free radical oxidation and use it all up within 6 – 8 weeks.

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