It is common knowledge that omega-3 is good for you. These fatty acids are recommended by virtually every dietician and nutritionist in the world – and that’s because they have a number of health benefits for you and your body both in the short and long term. However, imagine if you were to go to the doctor and they spoke to you about your health. You would find it pretty strange if they were to recommend eating several portions of salmon to stay healthy.
But, truth be told, there’s no reason that this wouldn’t have the same effect as taking the omega-3 pills that so many people obsess over and could not do without in their daily routine. In fact, the idea of eating fish in place of taking the pills might actually be very beneficial for a number of reasons according to esteemed MD Carl Lavie. Lavie believes that eating fish is an important method in securing a healthy heart for a long time.
Dr Lavie has now published a review of a number of studies that looked at the heart health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in fish such as salmon and easily available in the form of these small fish oil supplements that you have probably seen in your local supermarket or health shop. The research has consistently shown that omega-3s are able to reduce heart failure, hold back the effects of artery disease and even reduce the risk of death from major cardiac events, which include things like heart attacks but can also refer to less serious problems.
The science is undoubtedly very clear that omega-3s are very good for you – this cannot be doubted. But Dr Lavie was also interested in the best way to get omega-3s into your body – and the science behind this is far less obvious and there are many competing theories and ideas. It effectively boils down to that some people believe it is far better to get your omega-3s naturally from the fish that you eat, while others contend that it is fine to get the omega-3s in supplement form and there is no need to eat many portions of fish in order to get your regular intake of these beneficial nutrients.
So lets now take a look at some of the facts behind the case and analyse the pros and cons of either taking fish or just taking the fish oil supplements:
Fish
Pros: You can get all the nutrients of the omega-3 that you need from simply eating two portions of fish a week. Of course, it is also naturally much easier for you body to absorb nutrients from your food that it is in tablet form, because your body is naturally used to breaking down the compounds in this manner.
Cons: Trying to choose the right fish to eat can be quite tough. Aside from the fact that you should always try to choose sustainably sourced fish, you also have the issue that some fish does not have the right amounts of omega-3 to make it worthwhile to eat for the benefits.
Fish Oil
Pros: There is no getting around it – fish is somewhat of an acquired taste and many people simply don’t like it enough to eat it regularly, even with the apparent health benefits. And fortunately most fish oil tablets are created from small fish which do not suffer from the effects of over-farming.
Cons: We may well be harming the environment by removing so many small fish, which would often be eaten by larger fish. And as previously stated it’s harder for the body to take on fish oil that to absorb it from food.
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