How Inactivity Harms Your Health

I came across this nifty diagram showing how being inactive contributes to illness. Get moving to stay healthy! When you don't move you gain weight, especially around the middle. White blood cells from your immune system move into the fat around your organs. This ignites inflammation everywhere in your body, which leads to insulin resistance and more weight gain, and ultimately diabetes. This raises your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. This inflammation also leads to brain issues like dementia, Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Also increased is your risk for cancer. It is worth saying again. Get moving to protect your health!

Take your fish oils! To get to a target level you need 1500 to 2000 mg of EPA+DHA daily.

It takes 4 months to raise your Omega-3 Index levels when you begin to increase your dose of EPA and DHA. Shoot for 1500 to 2000 mg of EPA + DHA daily. The image below says it all.

Do you know your omega-3 blood levels?

Although regular intake of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA is believed to have several health benefits, some questions remain unanswered. Do we all need more omega-3 or just some of us? Is eating fish sufficient or do we need to take supplements? Is there a way to tell if the cells in our body are getting enough omega-3 or if we are deficient? Yes. The Omega-3 Index may provide answers to some of these questions.

The Omega-3 Index reflects the relative amount of omega-3 fatty acids within red blood cell membranes. The index can be measured using a simple blood sample. You do not need your doctor to order this test for you, it is a self administered test you can do at home.  Measurements of fatty acids in red blood cell membranes can provide important information about fatty acid intake. Recently, the relative amount of omega-3 fatty acids in red blood cells has attracted interest as it
may provide information about the future risk of heart disease.

Studies show that a low Omega-3 Index is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and it has been proposed that raising the index may help to reduce risk.

The Omega-3 Index reflects the relative amount of EPA + DHA in red blood cells. It is expressed as the percentage of the total amount of fatty acids present. In fact it’s quite simple; if 8% of all the fatty acids present in red cell membranes is EPA+DHA, the Omega-3 Index is 8%.

The Omega-3 Index and Cardiovascular Risk

It has been hypothesized that the Omega-3 Index may predict the risk of future cardiovascular events such as coronary heart disease and cardiac arrest. If that’s correct, a low Omega-3 Index may be regarded as a risk factor, similar to smoking, high blood pressure and high blood levels of LDL cholesterol.

The average Omega-3 Index in the United States is believed to be between 4-5 %. In Japan, where coronary artery disease is less common and life
span longer, the average Omega-3 Index is 9-10%. This is because the population in Japan eats more fish than the population in the US.

Data from epidemiological studies and randomized controlled trials demonstrate that the Omega-3 Index was inversely associated with the risk for mortality from coronary heart disease. An Omega-3 Index of ≥8% was associated with the greatest protection, whereas an index of ≤4% was associated with the least.

Another study, published 2008 showed that the Omega-3 Index as independently associated with the risk of developing acute coronary syndrome.

An Omega-3 Index >8% is optimal while an index of <4% may be regarded as deficient.

The simplest way to improve the Omega-3 Index is to increase your intake of EPA and DHA by eating marine products rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Recommendations For the Intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

For people without cardiovascular disease, most experts recommend eating a variety of fish (preferably oily) at least twice a week to maintain a mean intake of 4-500 mg of EPA+DHA daily.

For those with documented coronary heart disease, a daily dose of EPA+DHA of 1.000 mg per day is recommended.

For someone wanting to achieve the suggested ideal Omega-3 Index of 8% 2000 mg of EPA + DHA daily is suggested.

Finally for individuals with elevated serum triglycerides a daily dose of EPA + DHA of 2000 mg to 4000 mg per day is what doctors suggest. Since fish may be contaminated with mercury and other pollutants, be sure the fish oil supplement you choose is purified and has been third party tested.

IFOS, The InternationalFish Oil Standards program offers consumers a way to compare the highest quality fish oil brands. Carlson offers a wide array of potent pure fish oil supplements that have been tested by IFOS.

Do you know your omega-3 status?

Many Americans don’t.

Currently, 95.7% of Americans are not consuming enough omega-3 EPA + DHA to reach cardioprotective levels. 1. 

A large and growing body of evidence shows that insufficient levels of omega-3 EPA + DHA may be associated with serious health complications for many Americans. 2.

Low levels of omega-3 are related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. 3.

Harvard researchers evaluated the mortality effects of several dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors in the United States. They found that insufficient levels of omega-3 were associated with serious health complications and nearly 100,000 premature deaths each year. 4.

Don't be a statistic when Omega-3s offer such a wealth of health benefits. Get 500 mg of EPA DHA Omega-3 daily. You can do that by having two fish meals each week that feature salmon, tuna, sardines or other high omega-3 fish.  

If you have heart disease or risk factors that lead to higher risk of heart disease you need 1000 mg of EPA DHA daily. 

Finally if you have elevated triglycerides you should aim for 4000 mg of EPA DHA daily.

Ask your doctor to run a simple blood test, the Omega-3 Index at your next visit. The goal for optimal health is 8%.

1. Murphy RA, Yu EA, Ciappio ED, Mehta S, McBurney MI.Suboptimal Plasma Long Chain n-3 Concentrations are Common among Adults in theUnited States, NHANES 2003–2004.

2.  Kris-Etherton PM, Harris WS, Appel LJ. Fishconsumption, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation.2002;106:2747-57.

3. Mozaffarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS et al. Heart Diseaseand Stroke Statistics-2016 Update: A Report From the American HeartAssociation. Circulation. 2016;133:e38-e360

4. Danaei G, Ding E, Ezzati M et al. The preventable causes of death in the United States: Comparative risk assessment of dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors. PLoS Med. 2009;6:e1000058