Benefits of Fish Oil Supplements

Someone told me a few months back that taking fish oil supplements would be a good idea in order to do everything I can to make it less likely for me to have postpartum depression again with this baby since research shows that they can alleviate depression symptoms.  I started taking them about a month ago, maybe a bit longer.  Since then I have definitely noticed a difference in my mood!  Even in the beginning of my pregnancy I was noticing my hormones starting to go wonky on me again and every so often those same feelings would creep up on me in small amounts.  I noticed the other day that I haven’t really been feeling like that since I started taking these supplements.  I’m sure part of that is due to some leveling of my hormones as I come out of my first trimester, but the changes happened before then, so I’m starting to really think this stuff is working.  I guess we’ll see for sure next January, huh?

In the meantime, I looked-up the other benefits to taking fish oil supplements, and it’s pretty amazing.  I read these outloud to Clay, and he’s going to start taking them with me.  I mean, why not pop a pill and get healthier?

1. Less Pain and Inflammation. Omega 3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body’s inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, prostatitis, cystitis and anything else ending in “itis.”

2. Cardiovascular Health. Omega 3 fatty acids have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help to lower cholesterol, tryglicerides, LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy.

3. Protection from Stroke and Heart Attack. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes what’s known as a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. Research shows omega 3 fatty acids break up clots before they can cause any damage.

4. Better Brain Function and Higher Intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with fish oil. For adults, omega 3 improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You’ll swear you’re getting younger and smarter.

5. Less Depression and Psychosis. Making you smarter is not all omega 3 does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield, along with many other research studies, found that omega 3 fish oil supplements “alleviate” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis (Journal of Affective Disorder Vol. 48(2-3);149-55).

6. Lower Incidence of Childhood Disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to omega 3 oils.

7. Reduction of Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancer. And finally, omega 3 fish oil has been shown to help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer – breast, colon and prostate. Science tells us that omega 3s accomplish this in three ways. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and causing apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.

http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Fish-Oil-Benefits-Proven-by-Research&id=415032