Fish Oil Benefits

If you are one of those people who is looking for ways to improve your health, then you might have considered consuming fish oil because of its numerous benefits, from improving your heart health to boosting your brain functions.

This article will guide you on what’s special about fish oil and why it should be included in your diet, keeping in mind the fish oil benefits and how they can help you improve your life.

What is fish oil?

Fish oil is the fat extracted from fish, and the most special thing about it is that it is rich in two types of omega-3 fatty acids, which are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

Omega 3 is a type of polyunsaturated fat that is essential for your health and provides many benefits. You can get omega-3 fatty acids from eating fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines or by taking fish oil supplements. It is recommended to take 2–3 grams of fish oil daily.

People who do not consume enough omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to various health problems, including heart diseases, cancer, arthritis, and mood disorders. Even though fish oil is considered safe, like other things, having too much of it is not a good idea. Some side effects include fishy breath, burping, indigestion, or nausea.

Fish Oil Benefits

Research has shown that fish oil can provide the following benefits:

Supports Heart Health

Countless people lose their lives due to heart problems; it is known to be one of the leading causes of death in the world. Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in fish oil, can help reduce some risks linked to heart disease. The benefits of fish oil for the heart include:

• Improves cholesterol levels. By making better levels of good cholesterol and letting down levels of bad cholesterol.
• Reduce triglycerides. Having fish oil can help keep triglyceride levels in a healthy range.
• Lessen the probability of an abnormal heart rhythm.
• Reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death in people with heart problems. The fatty acids in fish oil can slow the development of plaque in the arteries. So, people who already have heart problems are advised to use fish oil to avoid the risk of plaque buildup again.

Supports Eye Health

Omega-3 fatty acids can be beneficial to your ocular health. They can preserve your vision and also help you relieve dry eyes, which is a chronic condition in which your eyes do not provide enough tears, so your eyes feel itchy and dry.

Having enough omega-3 fatty acids can not only help you improve your vision but can also aid you in preventing certain types of diseases and, hence, improve your overall eye health.

Supports Kidney Health

With time, kidney functions gradually decrease and cause kidney problems like chronic kidney disease, which is a serious problem that can result in transplants or dialysis. Many types of research have been conducted to see the benefits fish oil can pose to kidney problems. The result shows that the DHA and EPA in fish oil can slow down the decline of kidney function and help regulate its functions.

Reduces Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is known to damage your health in many ways. It can harm your most important organs, like the heart and kidneys, by ruining your arteries and making them less elastic.

Adding fish oil to your diet is an excellent way to keep your blood pressure in check, as it can reduce blood pressure by lowering inflammation and oxidative stress, which cause hypertension in people. Fish oil is also known to improve the lipid profile, which also works to reduce blood pressure.

Reduces Inflammation

Inflammation is part of the body’s natural healing system, but it may be slowly damaging your body without your knowledge, especially if you suffer from chronic inflammation. If left unchecked, it can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

The EPA and DHA in fish oil can partly block many aspects of inflammation, so increasing their consumption can help reduce chronic inflammation in the body, thus helping reduce the symptoms of these inflammatory diseases.

Boosts Weight Loss

The anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil can help reduce weight by bringing down inflammation and blood pressure. It can also reduce appetite and increase your metabolism.

It is also commonly known to reduce liver and abdominal fat. The liver processes most of your body fat, and fish oil can help improve liver functions and thus reduce the number of fats in your liver, leading to your losing weight.

Improves Skin and Hair

Fish oil capsules are well known for their hair and skin benefits.

They are known as the natural remedy for many skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis, mainly because of their anti-inflammatory properties, which not only reduce inflammation but also boost skin health by improving the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.

Also, they are known to improve hair by triggering hair growth, promoting hair strength, and nourishing hair follicles. Along with making it healthy, they also help to add shine to your hair.

Improves Brain Function

Fish oil may help treat some mental health conditions, as your brain is made up of about 60% fat. So, increasing fish oil consumption provides fatty acids to improve brain functions. It may reduce some symptoms of schizophrenia, psychotic disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder.

The omega-3 fatty acids interact with mood-related molecules and boost your mood. They also improve your memory and reaction time, making you fast and smart.

Improves Allergy and Asthma

Various studies show that a higher intake of fish oil and fish may reduce asthma symptoms, which cause shortness of breath. It may also reduce the risk of allergies. Especially if taken during pregnancy, it reduces the risk of asthma and allergies in children.

High in Vitamin D

Fish oil is a good source of vitamin D, which is important for your health as it keeps a check on the amount of phosphate and calcium in your body. Calcium and phosphate are needed to keep your bones, teeth, and muscles healthy.

If you don’t intake high levels of vitamin D, then it can lead to lower calcium blood levels, which can be harmful in the long term as it will cause poor bone health and development. For children, it can lead to problems like rickets, and for adults, it can cause osteomalacia.

Improves Bone Health

As you age, you need to focus more on maintaining healthy bones, as with age they begin to lose their necessary minerals and start breaking. For that, you need to have a diet that improves your bone health. Along with vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA are also important for bone health.

Also, having higher consumption of omega-3 maintains and boosts bone mineral density, which reduces bone breakdown among adults and strengthens fragile bones in children.

Relieve Joint Pain

Having joint pain makes it difficult for you to perform your daily tasks. Fish oil provides a natural remedy to relieve that pain so that you can carry on easily. Fish oil is known to lower the intensity of joint symptoms like discomfort, swelling, pain, and morning stiffness by increasing blood flow throughout the body, reducing inflammation in joints, and by restoring and supplementing joint tissues.

Contribute to Anti-aging

We can slow the effects of aging early by our way of life, our movements, stress management, looking after our health, and most importantly, by a good diet, as you are what you eat.

As seen above, the benefits of fish oil can lead you to age gracefully. The anti-inflammatory role of fish oil leads to an overall anti-aging process in your whole body by supporting your cardiovascular health, promoting weight control, improving your mental health, and boosting your skin health.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that fish oil leads to various research-backed health benefits. It improves your overall health, so you should consider adding it to your diet. If you are not up for eating fatty fish, then you should try fish oil supplements.