Grumpy Old Man

Although it is not critical to know all the specifics of the relationship between fish oil and LDL cholesterol on your health, some basic knowledge should be useful to encourage you to get regular amounts of fish oil. Initially you must understand that cholesterol is normally divided into two major classes. What is known as HDL cholesterol is generally good in that it is able to move easily to the liver to be processed out of the body. Contrarily, LDL cholestrol is considerably less dense than HDL cholesterol and will adhear to the walls of the blood vessels narrowing them with plaque. Since today on average some seventy-five to eighty percent of the cholesterol in the human body is LDL cholesterol which contributes to plaque formation which can contribute significantly to the development of heart disease as well as atherosclerosis anything which can do to reduce those percentages should be advantages to ones health.

Synthetic Drugs or Fish Oil?

Keeping the LDL cholesterol low should be your major concern to diminish your heart disease risk. If your LDL cholesterol level is over 100 mg/dl, as a rule of thumb, it would be wise to begin looking for a way to reduce that level. Today this can be accomplished with man made drugs developed for this precise purpose but often along with these drugs come the potential of side effects which may not be much better than not taking the drugs at all. If these medicines are appropriate for you ar not should only be determined after seriously consulting with your doctor.

However, there are alternatices to these man made drugs. History and testing have indicated that the LDL cholesterol is facilitated in acting like HDL to move excess cholesterol to the liver for processing when it interacts with fish oil. Fish oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. The chances of LDL cholesterol creating plaque in the blood vessels is diminished by these three fatty acids, ALA, EPA and DHA, ability to bond with it. The overall effect is that the combination of fish oil and LDL cholesterol is that it achieves similar results without exposeure to the harmful side effects as the synthetic drugs.

Best Source of Fish Oil

The book seems to still be open on what the best source is for the Omega 3 fatty acids. Many indicate that fish high in Omega 3 such as mackerel, tuna or salmon should be eaten at least three times a week. Some indicate that a good pill made by a responsible distributor is an effective way to go. The debate will probably continue for sometime but it will not be about fish oil and LDL cholesterol but rather about how to take the fish oil.

Technorati Tags: cholesterol, fish oil, ldl cholesterol