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Fish Oil and Its Affect on LDL Cholesterol

May 3rd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Although it is not critical to understand all the details of the relationship between fish oil and LDL cholesterol on your health, a little basic knowledge should be helpful to convince you to get regular amounts of fish oil. Initially we need to recognize that cholesterol is typically broken down into two major categories. What is known as HDL cholesterol is usually good in that it is capable of moving easily to the liver to be elliminated from the body. Contrarily, LDL cholesterol is much less dense than HDL cholesterol and will cling to the walls of the blood vessels narrowing them with plaque. Since today on average some seventy-five to eighty percent of the cholesterol in the human body is LDL cholesterol which contributes to plaque formation which can contribute significantly to the development of heart disease as well as atherosclerosis anything which can do to reduce those percentages should be advantages to ones health.

Synthetic Drugs or Fish Oil?

A primary factor to reduce the risk of heart disease is keeping the LDL cholesterol levels low. It is usually time to look for a way to reduce the LDL cholesterol when it is above 100 mg/dl. Naturally this can be done with man made drugs produced for this specific purpose but remember along with these drugs there can be potential side effects that may be worse than not taking the medicine at all. If these medicines are appropriate for you or not, should only be determined after seriously consulting with your doctor.

However, these synthetic drugs have alternatives. Both testing and history have indicated that fish oil and LDL cholesterol interact in such a way that the LDL cholesterol is assisted in working like HDL to help move any axcess cholesterol back to the liver for processing. Fish oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. The capability of these three fatty acids, EPA, DHA and ALA to adhere to the LDL cholesterol reduces the likelihood of it developing plaque in the blood stream. The overall effect is that the combination of LDL cholesterol and fish oil is that it creates similar results as the synthetic drugs but without the potentially negative side effects.

Best Source of Fish Oil

The book seems to still be open on what the best source is for the Omega 3 fatty acids. Many indicate that fish high in Omega 3 such as mackerel, tuna or salmon should be eaten at least three times a week. Some indicate that a good pill made by a responsible distributor is an effective way to go. The debate will probably go on for sometime but it will not be about fish oil and LDL cholesterol but rather about how to take the fish oil.