Taking Fish Oil And Why DHA Is Vital To The Body

Fish oil is a supplement that a lot of people are talking about recently. Mostly, it’s because of the fact the Standard American Diet (SAD) has become so deficient in healthy omega 3 essential fatty acids, which fish oil is greatly rich in. One of the omega 3s is a compound called DHA.

DHA has a huge role in our everyday health and welfare. Not only is DHA considered brain fuel that assists in boosting mental clarity and thought, it has a extensive range of other critical functions also. DHA has recently started being added into many prenatal supplement vitamins due to recent studies that have shown that DHA during pregnancy is crucial to the healthy development of the baby, and can also have strong benefits to the mother. How does it accomplish this?

Recenlty, DHA has been the subject of much study much in relation to how if affects depression. Persons afflicted by depression also typically seem to show a scarcity of DHA in their daily diet. And since a lot of the body’s DHA is used up during pregnancy for the development of the infant’s brain and central nervous network, this is assumed to be one of the biggest contributors to postpartum depression.

Not only has DHA shown some good results in battling postpartum depression in new moms, it’s also showing some strong results in battling other kinds of depression as well. It makes sense that when a diet is deficient in foods that feed the brain, your attitude and mood, and your perspective can all begin to suffer.

Another great benefit of fish oil is that it doesn’t have the same risks that come with eating fish. Fish samples frequently show mercury contamination, and people are wary of eating fish that have come from fish farms. But high quality fish oil is free from that sort of contamination, giving you all the benefits while not having to deal with any of the side effects.

Fish oil is considered one of the finest supplements a person can take.DHA prenatal vitamins are becoming extremely popular, as are dopamine supplements which help boost clarity of thought and brain function.

Is It A Good Idea To Take Fish Oil In Pregnancy?

It’s now quite clear that Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil are good for your health. But what about during pregnancy?Should you take Omega 3 during pregnancy?

There’s a few questions here. Firstly is fish oil safe to take in pregnancy? Absolutely. There are no documented risks to taking fish oil capsules during pregnancy, for the normal healthy mother.

And the second question is, what are the health benefits to both the mother and the baby of taking fish oil in pregnancy?

Studies suggest a very wide range of health benefits to adults, both healthy and unhealthy, from taking fish oil supplements. So any pregnant mother should get the same benefits. But there’s more which I discuss below.

But most importantly, what are the benefits, if any, to the fetus and later infant from the mother taking fish oil supplements in pregnancy?

Well studies have shown quite a wide range of benefits. About 95% of adults in the US are deficient in DHA, the most important of the Omega 3 fatty acids. You get DHA from fish oil.

The brain is made up of a high percentage of fat, and the most common fat in the brain is DHA. It is essential for good brain development. The fetal brain develops most during the third trimester of pregnancy, and during this time has a high demand for EFAs, or essential fatty acids. If there is a deficiency there are possible implications for brain development and later performance.

Some studies are now showing that fish oil supplements in pregnancy can increase the supply of DHA to the fetal brain with some or all of the following benefits:

Improved brain function. Increased ability to concentrate as a child. Improvements in hand/eye coordination. Improvement in the ability to concentrate. Better sleep patterns in infancy. Improvements in visual acuity. A beneficial, or preventative effect for ADHD.

and a lot more.

And studies have also shown that a low level of DHA during pregnancy can lead to a higher risk of premature birth and also to higher risk of needing a cesarean.

So that’s pretty impressive. There’s some serious benefits there. Lets return to the benefits of taking Omega 3 in pregnancy to the mother.

Reduced risk of breast cancer. Lower risk of developing pre-eclampsia. Reduced risk of a cesarean birth. Lower risk of postpartum depression.

Are you convinced yet of the benefits of taking fish oil in pregnancy? Remember the statistic. 95% of US adults are deficient in Omega 3 essential fatty acids. That isn’t any different in pregnancy unless you make it change yourself.

So what about eating fish during pregnancy? Well that’s ok except that the US government, through it’s agencies, tells us that fish is contaminated with mercury and we shouldn’t eat a lot, especially if we are pregnant.

If you want to find out how to compare the different Omega 3 capsules, or more about Omega 3 in pregnancy, visit my website.

Want to know more about Fish Oil Benefits? Or more about taking Fish Oil During Pregnancy? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.

Your Nutritionist: Too Fat to Fish?

This morning I got an email from an acquaintance who has just been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. I really try not to read email first thing in the morning, because if I run across a good story like this one, I forget the time and don’t get on to other things.

John loves to eat and loves to drink beer. He is in his mid-fifties and weighs about 20-25 pounds more than he should, so he’s not exactly fat, but he’s certainly not thin either. With this new diagnosis of Type II Diabetes, he is going to have to make some lifestyle changes, if he knows what’s good for him.

John weighs about 225-230 and is 6’1″ His email said that his family practitioner recommended a nutritionist for him after she diagnosed him with diabetes. I think John could get back into shape in about three months.

John took his doctor’s advice and made an appointment with the nutritionist. Upon arriving for his appointment he was checked-in by a receptionist who really could be called obese — she was probably 250 pounds and maybe 5’5″

John thought it was a little odd that a nutrition clinic would have a lardass at the front door, but with all the crazy laws on hiring, he thought that maybe they didn’t have a choice.

He waited for about twenty minutes, before his name was called and he was ushered into a big office. Then the nutrionist arrived, and John was stunned. She was about 5’10″, but she weighed 300 pounds and not an ounce less, according to his story.

She started into her routine, and talked and talked, but John couldn’t hear anything. His mind kept asking him, “Why are the two people I have seen in this nutrition clinic so fat?”

The nutritionist got to the part where she was displaying plastic food to show John about correct portion sizes, but John could not keep silent. Finally he blurted out, “If you know so much about nutrition and the rules of dieting, why are you so overweight?”

The nutritionist stopped talking and looked stunned. Finally she said, as if she had not heard him, “What did you just say?”

So he repeated what he said, “If you know all the rules about dieting, why are you so fat?”

At this point the nutritionist flew off the handle, and started screaming at him, telling him to get out of her office immediately. He obliged, but didn’t think his question was out of line. The receptionist asked him if there was a problem, on his way out, and he said that someone apparently couldn’t handle her own advice.

John went back to see his family practitioner and told her what had happened. His doctor turned red and tried to hold back, but after a moment she just burst out laughing.

After that, John was told of some rules that he really had to pay attention to.

I recommend, as John’s doctor does, supplementation with pharmaceutical grade fish oil, especially for patients with Type II diabetes. Diabetes really ups the risk for cardiac issues, and although John does not have heart problems right now, his risk level is high. The pharmaceutical-grade fish oil is useful in the treatment of diabetes because it can help control lipid levels, particularly triglyceride levels. These levels are often elevated in patients with diabetes.

pharmaceutical grade fish oil is useful in treating other problems as well. It has been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancers, and has been linked to mood improvement and good joint health.

Mood improvement is so important for Type II diabetes patients, who have a high risk of depression caused by the diabetes.

My friend John was right to question the nutritionist. It would be the same situation as getting advice from a pulmonologist who smoked.

Nutritionists need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

John told me she had two cases of Diet Coke on a shelf behind her, too (more fat people drink Diet Coke, than any other beverage.)

Don’t hesitate to get another opinion, especially in a situation like this, where you have reason to doubt the validity of what your practitioner is telling you, based on his or her own habits.