For healthy hearts: Temper your cholesterol levels with fish oil | Fish Oil Blog

Cholesterol is a great buster of health. When your bad cholesterol levels go up, you end up being a victim of heart diseases. Omega 3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats which can reduce your bad cholesterol levels. A combination of polyunsaturated fatty acids like DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), fish oil is a great alleviator of cholesterol related problems. Fish oil reduces atherosclerosis and other heart diseases by reducing the amount of triglycerides in the body. People taking omega 3 fish oil supplements have less risk of heart disease and sudden deaths. Let us analyze in detail on how fish oil tempers your cholesterol levels.

The ills of high cholesterol levels: Cholesterol is not easy to handle. You have to be on caution always, for fear of heart attacks, strokes and other ailments. High cholesterol can exhibit itself in various ways. But several reasons may contribute to the disease:

• Inactive lifestyle
• Lack of daily exercise
• Unhealthy food habits – Too much of junk food
• Constant exposure to passive smoking
• Heredity of high cholesterol levels
• Aging or some other chronic condition like diabetes
• Thyroid gland conditions
• Illnesses that affect liver and kidney
• Obesity or uncontrolled food habits

Fish oil – A cholesterol-buster: Its appropriate to call fish oil a cholesterol buster. Reason: It can regulate and eliminate the bad cholesterol levels in your blood, reducing your risk of heart ailments or blood pressure. In short, cholesterol makes your heart function normally. It supports rhythmic flow of blood, and prevents stroke, which is otherwise known as “sydanverisuonisairaus”. So health professionals recommend to intake of DHA and EPA in the form fish oil supplements.

Omega 3 reduces heart diseases by:

• Reducing blood triglyceride and fat levels.
• Increasing the level of “good” (HDL) cholesterol.
• Reducing the level of non-HDL cholesterol
• Reducing risk of arrhythmia

How to increase your HDL levels? It is good to have increased levels of HDL, but bad to have higher amount of LDL in your body. Below are few tips to maintain HDL and LDL balance in the body:

1. Regular exercise: Regular physical activity may reduce triglycerides and raise HDL cholesterol levels.

2. Consumption of alcohol: Intake of alcohol increases HDL (good) cholesterol but does not lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Doctors do not know for certain whether alcohol also reduces the risk of heart disease. Drinking too much alcohol can damage the liver and heart muscle which can lead to high blood pressure and increase in triglyceride levels. So if you want to prevent heart diseases, quit  drinking of alcoholic beverages and safeguard your heart.

3. Stress and depression: Several studies have revealed that stress raises blood cholesterol levels and can cause high blood pressure. Cholesterol levels can go up because of unhealthy food habits too. Saturated fat can contribute to very high levels of blood cholesterol.

Fish oil does contain cholesterol but, in a fish oil capsule the amount of cholesterol is very minimal. So, consult a health professional before you take fish oil supplements in your regular diet.