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Heart

Heart Health

Heart disease is a multi-factorial condition in which poor diet, stress, and smoking along with being overweight, eating too much sugar and drinking too much alcohol all contribute to increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.

One way to help reduce your risk is to make sure that your blood fats are within recommended parameters. Having too many of the ‘sticky’ saturated fats, triglycerides or LDL cholesterol circulating your bloodstream can tip you into the danger zone.

Big Results From A Little Capsule

Interestingly studies have shown that supplementing with omega 3 oils helps to lower these ‘sticky’ fatty components in the blood, increase the more protective HDL cholesterol and improve other anti-inflammatory substances considered to be important for heart health.

One recent study has highlighted the effectiveness of a particular new form of omega 3 called krill oil revealing that supplementation with krill oil can increase the “good” HDL cholesterol by 14% compared with just 3% when supplementing with a standard fish oils.

Furthermore, a reduction in triglycerides in the blood is also known to reduce the risk of heart disease and the study showed that supplementing with Cleanmarine reduced triglycerides by 13% as opposed to 1% using fish oil.

(Ref: Ulven SM, Kirkhus B, Lamglait A, Basu S, Elind E, Haider T, berge K, Vik H and Pedersen JI Uptake and effects of krill oil supplement on serum lipids in healthy volunteers Lipids November 2010)

This is another study which proves that the body needs less EPA & DHA from Krill Oil than from Fish Oils to achieve excellent results. When 120 patients were given Krill Oil (1g) or Fish Oil (3g) for 90 days, blood lipid changes were as follows:

(Ref: Comparison of the Effects of Krill Oil Fish Oil on Blood Lipids After 90 Days. Bunea et al Alt Med Rev 9 (2004) 420-8)

Diet For A Healthy Heart

Of course taking a supplement is just one part of the picture as correcting your diet is paramount to good health and longevity. Reducing your sugar, alcohol, salt and saturated fat intake and also increasing your intake of fibre and antioxidants is good dietary advice for a healthy heart. Following the 5-a-day guidelines and focusing more on vegetables than fruit is also a good tip for heart health. Fresh fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants all needed to support a healthy circulatory system.