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Heart and Cardiovascular System Health

The cardiovascular system is a network of veins and arteries, which circulate blood around the body. The heart, acting as a pump creates the movement. Blood is

pumped into the arteries for delivery to the cells where it is needed, then drawn back through the veins to the heart to begin the cycle over again. To maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, there must not be any hindrance to the free flow of the blood.

Heart and cardiovascular health was the first area investigated with regard to the health impact of Omega-3 fatty acids. It was noticed in the early 1970s that the Inuit people of Greenland had a high fat, high cholesterol diet, yet were able to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. Subsequent investigations concluded that this was due to the high level of Omega-3 fatty acids in their native diet of fish and marine animals. Since then several other studies, including two large American studies in 1997 and 1998 have revealed the same thing: that heart and cardiovascular health is enhanced among weekly fish eaters when compared to those who ate fish only infrequently. Studies using fish oil supplements instead of fish oil consumption have shown similar results.

Omega-3 may help increase the flexibility of the red-blood-cell membranes, thus making the blood less sludgy and more fluid. This not only helps maintain healthy circulation everywhere in the body, including the brain, but may make it easier for the heart to do its job of continuous pumping.

Numerous studies have found that a diet that includes a serving of fatty fish, especially those rich in Omega-3, provide a health benefit to the heart and cardiovascular system. And even a diet that includes a fish serving only once per week has been shown to provide this benefit. In a 1998 study of 20,551 male physicians aged 40 to 84 years, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, it was found that eating fish at least once a week helped to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system when compared to those who only ate fish less than once a month.

Another study published in the same journal in 1995 found similar results: researchers found that the intake of just one portion of fatty, Omega-3-rich fish per week helped people maintain a healthy heart when compared to controls, even after adjusting for age, smoking, family history of heart attacks, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, physical activity, education, and cholesterol level. The researchers believe that consumption of fatty fish, fish oil, or linolenic acid increases the levels of the Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, in the membranes of the red blood cells, and confers the healthy heart benefits. This was confirmed by blood samples taken from the comparative groups.

A healthy diet that includes a serving of fatty fish rich in Omega-3 at least once a week is just one factor that may help a person maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. It is also prudent to take other "heart healthy" measures, such as a diet low in saturated fats and high in fruits and vegetables, regular exercise, and abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol.