There are two main categories of essential fatty acids (EFA) known as omega 3 (primarily EPA and DHA) and omega 6. They are called essential fatty acids because the human body needs them but can't make them on its own.

It has been estimated by many researchers in the field that approximately 80% of the population of the United States consumes inadequate quantities of these essential fatty acids. However, the typical American diet includes too much omega-6 fatty acids and too little omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have numerous benefits but too much of the omega-6 fatty acids may increase irregular heart beats, blood clots, and in some studies strongly promotes some types of cancer.

Over half of your brain consists of fats, and DHA is the most abundant. It is particularly crucial in the synapses, the spaces between neurons where communication between nerve cells takes place, and the neurons' mitochondria, or energy-producing factories. When your brain cells receive inadequate amounts of DHA, they are forced to make do with inferior fats, and as a result, they are unable to function at their peak.

DHA plays a critical role in brain development in infants and children and affects cognitive functioning throughout life. Low levels of DHA are associated with an increased risk of memory loss, and according to data from the long-term Framingham Heart Study, people with low levels are more likely to develop dementia in their later years. Dementia is a problem in the brain that makes it hard for a person to remember, learn and communicate. A recent study at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, found that Alzheimer's sufferers as well as elderly subjects with other forms of cognitive impairment all had lower levels of DHA than did elderly subjects with normal cognitive functioning.

Many studies prove DHA can prevent and reverse many psychiatric disorders including depression.

Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids have been observed in depression and other psychological disorders. Studies suggest that some patients with these disorders cannot properly metabolize certain fats, and fish oil supplementation can have a positive effect in their treatment. In 1999, researchers from Harvard Medical School conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study which found that manic-depressive patients taking omega-3-rich fish oil capsules were symptom-free for a significantly longer time than those taking a placebo. The evidence linking psychiatric illness with low levels of omega-3s continues to grow, and some researchers have even suggested that the documented rise of depression in the Western world may be linked to decreasing fish consumption. Of course, the corresponding increase in our intake of harmful saturated fats and trans fatty acids probably plays a role as well. Schizophrenia is linked with abnormalities in fatty acid metabolism, and preliminary research suggests that fish oil supplementation may be helpful to people with schizophrenia.

Fish oil is a time-tested therapy with important benefits for the cardiovascular system and other diseases.

1999, Lancet. A landmark study, the Italian GISSI-Prevention Trial, involved over 11,000 people who had already survived myocardial infarction. This was the first large scale trial that showed supplementation of essential fatty acids significantly lowered the risk of death. This trial used a supplement with a ratio of DHA to EPA of approximately 2:1. This is important to note, as most fish oil products contain more EPA than DHA. In this Italian study, researchers found that simply adding 1,000 mg of fish oil per day to a healthy diet resulted in a 20% reduction in deaths.

April, 2001, Journal of the American Medical Association. A 16-year study of almost 85,000 women found that those who ate fish two to four times weekly cut their risk of heart disease by 30 percent, compared with women who rarely ate fish. Women who ate fish five or more times weekly reduced their risk 34 percent. Past studies showed similar benefits for men.

In a study published in the prestigious journal Circulation in April 2002, 11,000 patients were randomly assigned to receive either 1 gram daily of DHA/EPA, 300 units vitamin E, both essential fatty acids and vitamin E with a fourth group receiving no treatment. After only three months of treatment, those individuals receiving the essential fatty acids had a significant reduction in the total mortality by over 40%. The reduction in risk of sudden death at four months had increased to 53%. It was concluded that low dose (1 gm daily) of omega 3 DHA and EPA on total mortality and sudden death supported the hypothesis that this nutrient had an anti-arrhythmic effect.

In the most recent edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers conducted an extensive case control study of cardiovascular disease in adults over the age of 65. Researchers measured plasma phospholipid concentrations of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blood of over 5,000 men and women. Over the next few years, 54 of these individuals experienced fatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) or sudden death from a cardiac cause. This group was then matched against a control group who did not have fatal heart attacks. It was found that a higher concentration of combined DHA and EPA omega 3 EFA reduced the risk of fatal heart disease by approximately 70% compared to the control group. What was even more amazing is the total cholesterol levels between the two groups was the lowest in the group with the fatal heart attacks. This proves that total cholesterol levels should not be relied upon alone to determine the health of your heart. This study also indicates those with the highest levels of omega-6 consumption (primarily from corn oil, sunflower, sesame, soybean oil and safflower oil in the American diet) had a 800% higher risk of death compared to the group with the highest omega-3 consumption. Please read the labels of foods you buy, almost all snack foods, baked foods, boxed foods, use these harmful oils. Even worse many are partially hydrogenated. Also it is important to realize that the fast food industry fries its food in these harmful oils.

A 17-year study of men with no history of heart disease - published in The New England Journal of Medicine - found that those with the highest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids - the healthy fat found in fish - were more than 80 percent less likely to die suddenly from heart disease.

To obtain most benefits for the cardiovascular and central nervous system, you should

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