Posts Tagged omega 3 fatty acids
Eating Healthy For Your Heart
Posted by admin in Eating Healthy on June 18, 2011
When you make the decision to eat healthier, to get into shape, and become more fit, you also need to consider eating better for the health of your heart. You need to include more fresh vegetables and fresh fruits and stick with leaner proteins to promote your heart health.
Also in order to maintain the health of your heart, consider the following:
Stay away from canned and prepackaged foods. These typically are high in sodium and eating too much salt will lead to high blood pressure and eventual problems with your heart.
Choose to eat smart protein foods, including fish, chicken, and lean meats. Non or low-fat dairy products and legumes are also heart-smart sources of protein.
Don’t skip out on fat. You should stay away from trans-fats and saturated fats but consume monosaturated fats such as those found in olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids, which you can get from fish, certain vegetables, and nuts.
Increase your intake in soluable fiber, which is found in oat bran, green vegetables, beans, and citrus fruits. These soluable fibers help to lower levels of cholesterol, leaving your heart in better shape.Leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the main risk factors for heart disease. Read the rest of this entry »
How Important is Omega-3 For Optimum Brain Health?
Posted by admin in Brain Health on June 18, 2011
Aside from benefiting the heart, Omega-3 is beneficial for a person’s optimum brain health. Long-term diet and food choices not only affect the way we look and feel but also the way we think.
Studies have linked emotional, mental, and psychiatric disorders to dietary deficiencies more than genetics.
In fact, people with Alzheimer’s disease, who struggle with memory loss, or who have difficulty in learning new tasks are shown to lack Omega-3 fatty acids. Deficiencies of Omega-3 in adults have been also linked to various disorders affecting mental and emotional state.
Low levels of DHA are linked to bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, autism, schizophrenia, general learning difficulties, and even bad mood.
Known as the docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, Omega-3 fatty acid is an important component for optimum brain health. DHA is found in high concentration in the brain. It plays an important function in the transmission of brain signals and how our cell membranes communicate. Maintaining cell membranes is an important job of the Omega-3 fatty acids for if a cell membrane breaks down, normal flow of communication between cells is interrupted.
Omega-3 essential fatty acids are not produced in the body and should therefore be sourced from our diet. Valuable sources of these acids include fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood like algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. Read the rest of this entry »