Seal blubber! A great deal of the Inuit diet is made up of seal blubber and yet heart disease is almost non existent among this aboriginal people from the Canadian arctic. This was enough to catch the attention of many a physician as to how a diet so high in saturated fat was not causing these people to drop dead like flies. There are so many proven cardiovascular benefits of fish oil, that to disregard them could actually harm your health.
After some research it was found that the reason the Inuit heart was so healthy despite their diet was because of their diet. The other major part of the Inuit food intake is cold water fatty fish. It was found that cold water fatty fish species such as Salmon, Tuna and trout are high in Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (docosahexaenoic acid).
Research has found that regular consumption of these fatty acids greatly increased the levels of HDL (High-density lipoprotein) or ‘good’ cholesterol and lowered the levels of LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) or ‘bad’ cholesterol. Both lipoproteins enable fats to move through a water based liquid such as blood, but the HDL does it better and if you have a high level, it signals good health due to a good diet. High levels of LDL cholesterol are used in a cholesterol test to warn of health problems such as cardiovascular disease. The details of this research can be looked up on the internet if one is interested in further study.
From the brief description given above one can understand the cardiovascular benefits of fish oil. In western society, with a diet high in saturated fat rich foods such as red meat and dairy products, this sort of protection is exactly what one’s heart needs. It enables one to get the benefits of the fish oil if one cannot eat fish because one doesn’t like the taste. It would, however, be wise to consult a physician if one is allergic to fish and fish products before taking fish oil supplements.
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