How important is taking the right type of fish oil?
Not all inflammation is damaging, however long-term inflammation can damage healthy tissue, create disease, allergies, and heart disease. We know that a limited exposure to inflammation is needed to heal injuries, but exposure to inflammation for an extended period causes the changes that occur with autoimmune diseases, it breaks down the collagen of joints, and skin causing joint pain and sagging skin, arteriosclerosis and creates a hyper-allergic state like asthma and eczema. We test for inflammation with a blood test called Highly Sensitive CRP.
We try to control inflammation in our patients to help them avoid the consequences of inflammation listed above. We do this by treating our patients with curcumin, and turmeric two herbal supplements that decrease inflammation. This is generally not enough to reverse longstanding inflammation. We use all the ways we know to limit the damage done by inflammation.
We also use the following methods of inflammation reversal:
- Testosterone replacement when low T is found
- Cox 2 inhibitors, Celebrex prescription
- Weight loss
- Treating longstanding infection or injured joints that continue to cause chronic inflammation
- Treatment with Omega 3 oils, and decrease of the intake of Omega 6 oils
We have reviewed the first four methods of treating inflammation in other healthcasts, but we have become aware of a very effect oil and increasing the amount of Omega 3 oils. Omega 3 oils in your diet. We find Omega 3 oil in Marine fish and shellfish, so if a person increases their intake of fish like: Salmon, Halibut, Herring, Sardines, Trout, Oysters, Mackerel, and Tuna. You should eat at least 3 servings of fish a week or you can take Omega 3 oils in the form of DHA and Eicosatetraenoic Acid (EPA) every day as a supplement.
Omega 3 oils (DHA and EPA) are used by the body to limit the inflammatory process. Inflammation can be improved by limiting Omega 6 oils and increasing Omega 3 oil. Omega 6 fatty acids primarily increase inflammation by increasing prostaglandins which have many positive actions in the body, so the goal is to increase Omega 3 oils from marine fish and shellfish, over and above the Omega 6 oils. By changing the ratio between Omega 3 oils and Omega 6 oils we can prevent or improve the symptoms of Crohns’ Disease, inflammatory bowel disease, endometriosis, and autoimmune disease.
The healthy amount of Omega 3 oil required to maintain a health, and prevent inflammatory diseases and side effects, is much higher than the amount that most American’s ingest every day. The ideal ratio of Marine Omega 3 oil, to the Omega 6 oils from seeds and nuts is 4:1. Most Americans consume Omega 3: Omega 6 oils in the ratio of 1: 20. New studies say this puts Americans in a state of inflammation throughout their lives and therefore there is a huge increase in inflammatory based foods.
In the past, we thought that oils made from seeds and nuts was healthier than fat and oil from animals and corn, so we thought we were healthier when we cook with oils made from seeds like sunflower oil or peanut oil. We now find out that that change in our diet has caused us all to be filled with inflammation! Now we know that Olive oil is the best oil to cook with to avoid using sunflower oil and other nut oils.
Patients who have inflammation on blood work (highly sensitive CRP > 3) require diet changes that changes the fats that they intake, decreasing the nut oils and increasing olive and fish oil.
This lifestyle change takes up to up to 18 weeks to reverse inflammation, but the process can be hurried along by taking fish oil with DHA, and EPA. Fish oil has both DHA and EPA in it.
Omega 3 oils should be increased for patients with high CRP, to decrease inflammation, and the diseases caused by it. If you have a high CRP this indicates inflammation, then changing your diet to eat more fish oil with DHA and EPA in it for as long as it takes to decrease your symptoms and your HS CRP is required. It is no wonder we have so many autoimmune diseases in our present patient population…our diet has changed to an unhealthy high level of Omega 6 fats and a low ratio of Omega 3: Omega 6 oils and the outcome is a deluge of autoimmune inflammatory diseases, allergies, and obesity!
Omega 3 oils are also vital to the health of your brain and arteries. For a long healthy, productive life, changing your diet is necessary. Sometimes being someone who doesn’t follow the crowd pays off, and in this case the crowd is headed off a cliff like lemmings!
You are what you eat and suffering from these diseases is the outcome of eating the wrong way!
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com • (314) 993-0963.
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