Omega 3 Healing

People with Diabetes Mellitus interested in learning more about Omega-3 fatty acids know that the leading causes of death are usually associated with cardiovascular problems.

And one of the leading causes is a high level of serum triglyceride. This triglyceride is most common with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Omega-3 can help lower the levels of this serum triglyceride. It has proven especially helpful for people suffering from tends to hypertriglyceridemia.

Hypertriglyceridemia is the abnormally high level of triglycerides and cholesterol. There are five different types of Hypertriglyceridemia.

While research has shown that Omega-3 does help reduce triglycerides, there is no solid evidence from the researchers with the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University that Omega-3 fatty acids are highly effective when it comes to fighting high cholesterol.

Advice for people with diabetes from The American Diabetes Association… a diet that includes two to three 3-oz servings of fish every week.

Omega-3 fatty acids are just one of the ingredients of a diet that will help our brains perform more effectively.

At UCLA, professor of neurosurgery Fernando Gómez-Pinilla and his team have been researching what foods fuel the brain’s best performance, and Omega-3 fatty acids are on the menu.

“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain,” says Dr. Gomez-Pinilla.
“Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function. This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of aging.”

Where does Omega-3 fit in?

For starters, helping to prevent depression and schizophrenia. By improving our memory and our learning skills, Omega-3 fatty acids are effective.

“Omega-3 fatty acids support synaptic plasticity and seem to positively affect the expression of several molecules related to learning and memory that are found on synapses,” says Dr. Gómez-Pinilla said. “Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function.

Just as increasing our consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids can help our brain, not getting enough Omega-3 can hurt.

“Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia,” says Dr. Gomez-Patilla. “A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in rodents results in impaired learning and memory.”

Source: David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

The exact role Omega-3 plays in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer isn’t clear. But Japanese researchers with the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital and Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya wanted to learn more.

In a 2006 project, scientists studied the link between the fatty acid compositions of red blood cell membranes, or erythrocytes for people with colorectal cancer and 221 healthy people who were cancer-free. Research controls were matched by age and sex.

The role of Omega-3 fatty acids was not entirely clear. What was clear: the role of saturated fatty acids, or SFAs.

“We could clearly show decreased and increased risks for colorectal cancer related to PUFAs and SFAs compositions in erythrocyte membranes, respectively,” said lead researcher Kiyonori Kuriki.

So Omega-3 did show promise. Scientists working on the research team suggested that the risk of colorectal cancer by 85 per cent when people are consuming Omega-3 fatty acids.

Sources: Aichi Cancer Center Hospital

Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine

Omega-3 fatty acids are not a key ingredient of cranberries. If you’re looking for Omega-3s in cranberries, you’re looking in the wrong place… cranberries are good for your polyphenol antioxidants, anthocyanidin flavonoids, cyanidin, peonidin and quercetin.

Cranberry products can be a good source of antioxidants, but like all products, consumers need to keep a watchful eye on the ingredient label of specific products.

Marketers are calling cranberries “superfruits” and in their pure form, rightly so… cranberries are rich in antioxidants.

Omega-3 fatty acids are not considered polyphenols, or anti-oxidants, which are found in the cranberry, but Omega-3s do deliver similar anti-inflammatory benefits.

Cranberry seeds are often used to produce oils. Manufacturers such as Fruit Essentials are now marketing cranberry seed oil products.

Cranberries are also loaded with tannins. Tannins offer anti-clotting properties which can help cut down on dental plaque and may reduce urinary tract infections.

The growing number of health benefits associated with Omega-3 means good times for the business side of things.

In Europe right now, Omega-3 supplements are selling at the rate of roughly a million U.S. dollars a day.

At the business research firm Frost & Sullivan, Dr. S. Chandrasekhar is forecasting an annual growth rate in European sales of Omega-3 of more than 20% for the next six years.

What does this mean for consumers? The laws of supply and demand are coming into play. At the same time more and more of us discovering the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids, raw material supplies for supplement manufacturers are growing tight.

Retail prices for Omega-3 supplements in Europe are already increasing by 15% a year.

More than 80% of the ingredients used by Omega-3 supplement manufacturers are marine oils. But what we are starting to see is more food manufacturers using Omega-3 fatty acids in their products, a trend which strains the supplies for the supplement manufacturers.

Dr. Chandrasekhar sees this trend gaining such steam that in 2014, we will see as much Omega-3 used as a supplement in food products as is used in oils and capsules.

Source: Frost & Sullivan