Concentrated Fish Oil - The Secret Behind Lower Triglycerides, Cholesterol And A Healthy Heart

It has been known for several decades now that the traditional native populations of Greenland, northern Canada and Alaska have very low rates of heart disease, in spite of the fact that they eat a diet very high in saturated fat and cholesterol. In fact, their traditional diet consists of about 80% protein and fat, the complete opposite of what most doctors today would recommend for a healthy heart. And yet, they almost never get heart disease.

Their secret? Apart from eating a lot of meat, the Eskimo diet is very high in fatty fish, seal meat and whale blubber. This type of marine fat is very high in the polyunsaturated fatty acids DHA and EPA, also known as omega-3 fatty acids. It is EPA and DHA which protect this population from heart disease.

Cholesterol itself is a waxy substance produced in the liver. At least 80% of the cholesterol in our blood is actually made by our own liver and is not eaten through food. When cholesterol travels towards the blood vessels to plug the holes created by oxidation, it is called low-density lipoprotein, or LDL. The protein that transports the waxy substance back to the liver is known as high-density lipoprotein, or HDL.

It has long been known that high levels of triglycerides lower your good cholesterol. This creates an imbalance which can cause cholesterol buildup in the blood vessels. There is simply too much cholesterol going towards the arteries and not enough being removed.

But what researchers have found, especially in several prestigious Scandinavian research facilities, such as the Karolinska institute in Sweden, is that concentrated fish oil is very effective at lowering triglyceride levels and balancing levels of cholesterol in the blood. Combining concentrated fish oil supplements with a diet designed to lower triglyceride levels (that is, a diet very low in simple carbohydrates) can be a very effective therapy for the cardiovascular system.

Concentrated fish oil supplements actually help to keep our blood vessels free of blockages. Taken daily, along with a broad-spectrum multivitamin, concentrated fish oil capsules can play a very important role in keeping us healthy and active into very old age.