Omega 3 Cholesterol Benefits

Are you aware of the effective omega 3 cholesterol lowering effects?

Technically speaking, cholesterol is not all bad. In fact, cholesterol is critical for the healthy function of the human body. Cholesterol is a kind of fat which is both made by the body as well as found in foods. It is carried through the bloodstream by high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDLs bring cholesterol away from the arteries, helping to prevent deposition on their walls - this is why HDL cholesterol is called "good" cholesterol.

On the other hand, LDLs bring cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body, and high levels of LDL cholesterol raise one's risk of heart disease, which is why it is called "bad" cholesterol.

Most people today, due to poor lifestyles and diets, have excessively high levels of LDL cholesterol. When we speak of lowering cholesterol, we are almost always referring to lowering unhealthily high LDL cholesterol levels.

Omega 3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA, which are richly found in fish oil, have many important health benefits. Among them, these essential fatty acids are able to lower and regulate cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Triglycerides, a type of lipid quite similar to cholesterol, can also cause arterial damage. These omega 3 cholesterol benefits - the ability to boost HDL cholesterol while lowering LDL cholesterol and triglycerides - have been shown in hundreds of studies.

These omega 3 cholesterol benefits have important knock-on effects, too. High cholesterol levels boost risk of heart attacks and strokes, and lowering them can thus offer significant protection against these ailments. Omega 3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA also make the blood less "sticky" and thus less likely to clump together or clot - again, this lowers heart attack and stroke risk. These two diseases are major killers in the modern world today, and preventing them is of paramount importance.

To improve and magnify the health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids in cholesterol reduction, it is a good idea to cut down or even cut out consumption of saturated fats, which are very unhealthy.