BY GARRY F. GORDON, MD, DO, MD(H)
Hippocrates, considered to be the father of medicine in Western civilization, advised people to let food be their medicine. This advice can easily be understood relative to fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids, which confer important health benefits related to the reduction of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and symptoms associated with hormonal imbalances.
• A dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids are shown to lower blood pressure, prevent blood cells from clumping,and reduce the risk of primary cardiac arrest.
• Omega-3s are beneficial to maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, by elevating beneficial high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and lowering triglycerides.
• Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, and are useful in the management of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupuserythematosus, multiple sclerosis and migraine headaches.
These potential health benefits are consistent with epidemiological evidence that shows the incidence of heart disease, various cancers, and menopausal symptoms are much lower among populations that consume diets rich in lignans and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 from fish oil, which contains both EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and DHA (docosahexanoic acid), is one of the most valuable single nutritional supplements available to us today; apparently able to reduce all major diseases (and mortality), from brain and immune dysfunction in infants and children, to all the major common degenerative diseases of aging—vascular and arthritic, immune and mental/cognitive—by 50 percent!
The World Health Organization classifies omega-3 fatty acids as “essential” to optimal health and life, and the American Heart Association recommends eating omega-3 rich foods at least twice a week. Wild-caught, cold-water fishes such as herring, cod, salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, and albacore tuna have traditionally supplied dietary omega-3 fatty acids. Many older generations were brought up on a daily spoonful of cod liver oil (Scotts Emulsion), but that custom has fallen into abeyance.
Unfortunately, ocean pollution, diminishing populations of cold-water fish rich in omega-3s, and the advent of industrialized mass food production has affected the delicate polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Today, in refined supermarket foods, omega-3s have either been destroyed, transformed to potentially toxic compounds, or deliberately removed to avoid spoilage and increase shelf life. Our current intake of omega-3 has decreased by 80 percent during the last 80 years.
We are eating more saturated fats and vegetable oils, which only contain omega-6 fatty acids. It is estimated that the historical, and recommended, 6:1 ratio of dietary omega-6:omega-3 in the western diet has actually risen adversely to 20:1. While both fats are essential to good health, having an overabundance of omega-6s stimulates an inflammatory response, which is recognized as a major underlying factor in autoimmune conditions, heart disease, and premature aging.
We can’t create omega-3 in our body, it must come from the food we eat—our cellular structure requires it—omega-3 fats form the basic structure of our cell membranes. If this ingredient is depleted from our diets because we’ve been eating too many omega-6s and trans fats, then our entire system is overfed, undernourished, and toxic. As a result, cellular communications slow down, we become acidic, hormones hardly can do their job, and inflammation runs rampant.
Natural fish oil is by far the best source, but some people are sensitive or allergic, or simply don’t like the fish taste. Fortunately, there are many other good omega-3 sources, including flaxseed, chia seed, various nuts like walnuts and butternuts, green leafy vegetables, sea vegetables, wild game, and free-range livestock animals grazing on green, grassy vegetation (rather than GMO corn and grain).
Removing harmful saturated and trans fats from your diet, consuming wild cold-water fish and/or supplementing with any of the omega-3 sources mentioned above, is part of my FIGHT for Your Health protocol, and one that I personally follow every day. The key is to both increase your omega-3s, and decrease intake of omega-6s.
For more information on Dr. Gordon’s FIGHT for Your Health program, or to acquire a copy of his book The Omega-3 Miracle, contact Longevity Plus at 1-800-580-7587, or go to longevityplus.com or gordonresearch.com.
For more information about my F.I.G.H.T. For Your Health Program, and about zeolite and ZeoGold, visit Gordon Research Institute at www.gordonresearch.com, and learn why there is nothing like the power of MHZ Zeolite for removing toxins from the body, both internally and externally.
SOURCES
Gordon, G. and Joiner-Bey, H. The Omega-3 Miracle: The Icelandic Longevity Secret. Freedom Press, California 2004. Pg(s) 11-14; 23-26.
Chen L.Y., et al. “Effect of stable fish oil on arterial thrombogenesis, platelet aggregation, and superoxide dismutase activity.” J Cardiovasc Pharmacol, Mar 2000; 35(3):502-505.
Cen, X., & Wang, R. “Study on the dose-effect relationship of hypolipidemic effect of deep sea fish oil.” Wei Sheng Yen Chiu, Sept 1997; 26(5):337-339.
Simopoulos A.P, MD, FACN. “Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.”
J Am Coll Nutr, December 2002; 21(6): 495-505. jacn.org/content/21/6/495.full
