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The list of Omega 3 benefits is long and dense! It’s one of the best supplements you could possibly take for your overall health! You can get omega 3 from a variety of foods, as well as supplements! Some of these foods include fatty fish like salmon, flax seeds and walnuts.

Here are just seven benefits that Medline Plus says are possible from omega 3:

1.    Freedom from pain and inflammation. The National Institute of Health’s website, Medline Plus says, “Omega-3 fatty acids reduce pain and swelling.” How? Omega 3 fish oil fatty acids, particularly EPA, are involved in your body’s inflammatory response and inflammation cycle. Relieving the inflammation (swelling) will help reduce the pain.

2.    Better brain function and higher intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers who include omega 3 fatty acids in their diets, may have a positive impact on their babies intelligence. For adults, fish oil is also being researched in association with improved memory, recall, reasoning and focus.

3.    Feeling better with much less depression. Making you smarter is not all that fish oil may do for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield UK, along with other research studies, have seen the possibility that the omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements “alleviated” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis. 

4.    Lower incidence of childhood disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies suggest that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD may experience a greatly improved quality of life. From Medline Plus, “Taking fish oil seems to improve thinking skills and behavior in 8 to 12 year-old children with ADHD.”

5.    Superior cardiovascular health. Research has suggested that the DHA, EPA and DPA in fish oil may have a positive effect on heart disease. According to Medline Plus, “Fish oil may be effective in keeping people with healthy hearts free of heart disease. People who already have heart disease may be able to lower their risk of dying from heart disease by taking fish oil. Though not all researchers agree, some investigators believe that fish oil may be even more effective in reducing death from heart attacks than a group of commonly used cholesterol-lowering drugs called “statins.”

6.    Protection from heart attack and stroke. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes what’s known as a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. From Medline Plus: “Moderate fish consumption (once or twice a week) seems to lower the risk of having a stroke by as much as 27%.”

7.    Reduction of menstrual pain. And finally, it seem that fish oil may have a positive effect on the discomfort associated with menstrual pain or dysmenorrheal. According to Medline Plus: “Taking fish oil alone or in combination with vitamin B12 seems to improve painful periods and reduce the need for pain medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).”