Fish Oil: Cod's gift to the world

When I was a kid, I had these little dry skin bumps on the back of my upper arms. They looked like little red dots, and no matter what I did, they never seemed to go away. I never really cared, I'd seen a lot of kids with these barely-there little arm bumps but my mother was concerned (as any overly concerned mother is). She took me to numerous doctors to find out why I had these bumps and how to get them to go away. I remember being poked and prodded, tested for allergies, and talking to dermatologists. The answer from the doctors was always, "It's just dry skin, apply some lotion." Frustrated, she never could figure out what it was that was causing these little bumps.

Yummm

Also as a child, I had a liking for fried food, particularly french fries. I remember my friends wanting ice cream, chocolate or candy but all I wanted was fries. We would go out to restaurants and I'd order a cheeseburger and fries, take two bites out of my burger and eat the entire basket of fries. To this day, my mom teases me about my fry-diction and it wasn't until a year or so ago, I realized why it is I prefer those french fries over a sweet treat.

Since I am now a student at University specializing in the natural sciences, I figured it might be beneficial to ask my professors about why it is I crave fried food. I approached one of my instructors one day with the question, "I can't seem to curb my cravings for french fries. Do you have any idea why that might be?" She began answering my question with some insight on cravings in general. She told me that often people crave foods that contain nutrients they may be deficient in. For example, if you are iron deficient you might crave foods that contain a lot of iron, like red meat or chocolate. Your body knows what it needs to be healthy and it entices you with cravings for foods with specific nutrients. My professor then posed the question, "Do you eat a lot of seafood?" I answered, "Rarely." She said, "Well, you are probably omega fatty acid deficient and that's why you crave high fat fried foods. You know those little red bumps people get on the back of their arms? That's often a cause of omega fatty acid deficiency too."

Whoaaa. It took less than 30 seconds to find the answer to a question I'd been wondering for 21 years. Who would have thought, a nutritionist could tell me what a dermatologist couldn't for years. Yes, those little bumps were dry skin, but now I knew why they were there and maybe I could figure out how to get them to go away.

Trusted Brand of Fish Oil
Nordic Naturals

Essential omega fatty acids can only be received in effective amounts by eating fish. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). EPA is known mostly to have cardiovascular benefits and DHA is known more for brain development and learning. EPA and DHA are incredibly important because they are derived from essential fatty acids -- meaning that your body cannot synthesize them independently so you must obtain them from your diet. Fish has the highest source of omega-3 fatty acids and there is truly no other animal or plant that can provide you with the amount of omega-3's your body needs for optimal function. Flaxseed is often boasted as being rich in omega-3's but to put it in perspective, 2 fish oil supplements at 1,000 mg each is equal to 44, 1000 mg flaxseed oil supplements in their EPA/DHA content.



Fish oil comes from oily tissued fish (duh). The fish themselves do not have omega-3's but they eat microalgae that does, or they eat other fish that eats the microalgae.

There are a laundry list of reasons why people take fish oil supplements and research has shown it be beneficial to many tissues of the body.

Some Benefits
-Cardiovascular health
-Vision
-Lung function
-Joint flexibility
-Learning and memory
-Sleep
-Healthy hair and skin
-Immune function
-Healthy pregnancy
-Focus and learning
-Brain development
-Anti inflammatory purposes
-Depression

Before you buy fish oil supplements, it's important to know that not all omega-3 supplements are alike. Many have been rated by the Consumer's Lab Report to have high levels of toxic substances such as mercury, PCBs and dioxin. Most people are aware that it's recommended to limit seafood intake because of these substances, so it's important to remember that these toxic properties can be in supplements too. There are some trusted brands that are safe to be taken on a daily basis. Bastyr University is a proponent of certain fish oil brands. Carlson and Nordic Naturals are among the top of the list because they have been shown to have negligible amounts of toxins. Fish oil is expensive but the cheaper the supplement, the worse it probably is in it's composition.

After talking with my instructor and doing some more research, I started taking fish oil supplements a few days a week and about a month later, those little red bumps on the back of my arms had almost completely vanished. If I take fish oil at least once a day (sometimes I'm not very good at this), my cravings for those delicious fat filled foods decrease.

After I realized I was omega fatty acid deficient, fish oil improved my life and it could do the same for you. It reduced my cravings, improved my focus and made my skin softer and smoother. If you think fish oil can help you, give it a try for a month and see if you feel any different.

You don't have to be a brain sturgeon to understand the benefits of omega fatty acids. Try some fish oil. Ya know, just for the halibut.