The Unlikely Hero of the Heart: Fish Oil
There is one kind of polyunsaturated oil that may be especially protective against heart attacks—yet, you’d never want to sprinkle it over your beautiful fresh spinach salad. Fish oil.
The first clues that there might be something “fishy” about fish oil turned up some years ago, when scientists studying the health of different world populations noticed an especially low incidence of coronary heart disease among Eskimos of Greenland and Japanese people living in fishing villages on the sea. Though widely separated geographically, these two populations had at least one thing in common: Both groups consumed tremendous amounts of fatty fish, fish oil, whale blubber and other marine life that fed on fish. At first, their healthy hearts seemed incongruous, since very high levels of fat in the diet—regardless of the source of that fat—are considered a risk factor in heart disease. Further studies revealed that both the maritime Japanese and Eskimos had low levels of triglycerides (a kind of blood fat), high levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol—the good kind of cholesterol—and a reduced tendency for their blood to clot. All those things are classic signs suggesting a sound, healthy cardiovascular system. W hat was going on?
Tags: fish oil for heart, healthy cardiovascular system, protective against heart attacks, the good kind of cholesterol