How Fish Oils Contribute to General Health

A common question I often hear from people who are starting to supplement their diet is, "what does fish oil do?"

It actually does a number of things. What you will most commonly hear about is it's beneficial effects on heart disease and cholesterol. This is true, scientists have found that omega three fatty acids from fish oils when consumed regularly by those over the age of forty have up to a 30% reduction in cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Omega 3 fatty acids have also been linked to improvements in vision, attention span and learning ability in children. Imagine the implications of a find like this. There are enormous amounts of children who are being prescribed strong stimulants in order to attempt to remedy attention and behavioral issues in schools. While there is no guarantee that these oils will remedy these issues they may prove in the future to be safe natural alternative remedies.

In the elderly they have been shown to improve memory. This is not surprising as the majority of the brain is made up of fats. In the most basic sense these oils are providing high quality materials with which the body and brain can sustain itself. There are a number of other benefits. Reduction of arthritis pain, psoriasis and other skin ailments commonly occur after the consumption of omega 3 acids. This is due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the oils.

So, what does fish oil do? Generally they improve physical health. However, not all types of fish contain omega three fatty acids. Fatty salt water fish such as salmon or tuna tend to have high amounts. Fresh water fish tend to have lower amounts. It is also important that the fish are wild caught as they will contain less pollutants such as mercury.