I’ve talked before about many of the health benefits of fish oil supplements. Theres a range of health benifits of fish oil, amongst them to your heart. Lets have a look at Omega 3 and cholesterol today.

The results of a new study into the heart benefits of fish oil have been published in the Jan/Feb issue of Sports Health, A Multidisciplinary Approach.

This particular study studied the heart benefits of fish oil supplements and it looked at the benefits to the heart of fish oil supplements high in DHA and EPA, the two major Omega 3 fats.

These football players took either fish oil capsules or a placebo, the fish oil capsules containing 2560 mg of omega-3 fatty acids (650 mg EPA and 450 mg DHA in each capsule.) 36 players took part.

The results of the study backed up many other studies that demonstrate the benefits of essential fatty acid supplements in the form of omega 3 or fish oil supplements.

The football players had an improvement in their HDL levels (their good cholesterol) and a reduction in their LDL levels (their bad cholesterol).

And triglycerides went down too, an excellent result.

And this isn’t the first time a study has found that there are significant heart benefits to taking fish oil supplements. There are now many studies backing up the health benefits of fish oil supplementation.

In fact the American Heart Association now recommends the intake of EPA and DHA (the two major beneficial Omega 3 fats) daily, at a dose of 1 gram a day, more for those with elevated triglycerides.

So now you know. There are significant benefits to your heart health from taking Omega 3 fish oil capsules, so you ought to be making sure you’re doing so. How? By taking the very best Omega 3 fish oil capsules.

Be aware that not all Omega 3 supplements are created equal. There are issues with both the quantity of DHA in each capsule as well as the purity of the fish oil, some fish oils being contaminated with heavy metals and PCBs and mercury. These are only small amounts but the best fish oil capsules contain higher levels of DHA than most others and undetectable levels of contaminants.

So if youre at risk of heart health problems, and who isnt, there are now significant fish oil supplements studies backing up the benefits daily fatty acid supplements. Make sure you get enough fish oils in your diet, every day.

Visit my website to find out which are the best fish oil supplements.

With all the talk of EPA and DHA and ALA, how do you choose your Omega 3 capsules?

You know what it’s like. The more you read the worse it gets. You start learning about EPA and DHA, and long chain and short chain omega 3 fats. About ALA and converting ALA to DHA.

For example a reader recently asked me about how to choose his omega 3 fish oil capsules. He was confused about the difference between long chain and short chain Omega 3 fats, and confused about which were the best Omega 3 supplements.

I can understand his confusion. Heres a short explanation, and then well have a look at how to choose the best Omega 3 fish oil supplements.

Of the three main Omega 3 fats (DHA, EPA and ALA) the most important by far is DHA. It makes up a major part of your brain.

ALA is primarily found in plant foods like flax, whilst EPA and DHA are found in sea foods like fish. ALA is the less important Omega3 nutrient. And ALA is a short chain fat. No need to go into complete detail on what a short chain fat is as its really complicated.

The most important Omega 3 fat that you need is DHA and that comes from fish oil capsules, along with EPA. No need for flax seed capsules.

Every fish oils capsule has DHA regardless of the brand.

So it seems that fish oil supplements are better than flax seed Omega 3 supplements, but how do you choose between the different fish oil supplements?

There are two factors in choosing the best fish oil supplements. You need to consider the quantity of DHA you get in each capsule and you need to look at the purity of the fish oil. That’s all.

You can’t decide which are the best value fish oil tablets without knowing how much DHA you get from them.

So if you look at supplements that are half the price of some others they may seem good value, but if you get a third of the DHA they aren’t.

And thats not all, you need to consider the purity of the oils too, because, sad to say, many of our fish are contaminated with toxins. You wouldnt want to take Omega 3 capsules with traces of mercury and PCBs would you?

That’s the process of choosing your Omega 3 supplements. There’s only 2 things to consider, so forget long and short chain fats and so on.

That though, isn’t easy to do. Actually making that comparison isn’t as simple as you may imagine. The good news though is that I’ve done some serous comparisons and one brand comes up as the best value on DHA quantity and the same brand comes up as the best on purity as well.

If you want to find out which brand visit my website.

How many of you have heard people desperately, repeatedly screaming, Does anybody know CPR? — Somebody call 911! as they stand around an unconscious, non-breathing man, woman or child? Suddenly a passing off-duty policeman or nurse or just an ordinary man or woman arrives and, placing their hands on the victims chest and there mouth over the victims, begins CPR. Soon the victim is breathing, an ambulance finally arrives, and the crisis has passed. Most of us have not had this experience in real life, but have seen it over and over on TV and in the movies.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, (CPR) performing alternating upper body compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing, will supply a continuous flow of oxygen to the lungs and brain and can help a sufferer regain consciousness. If a person is not responding right away, CPR needs to be continued until well trained medical personnel arrive. The human brain can only survive an average of five minutes without oxygen.

In order to avoid major brain injury, CPR should be performed to resuscitate a victim. CPR may be necessary due to a person suffering various conditions causing unconsciousness including heart attack or stroke, suffocation, drowning, choking, severe allergic reaction, drug or alcohol overdose, or insulin shock. Immediately upon becoming aware that a person is in danger, CPR should be initiated by anyone trained in the procedure. The victim’s chances of survival decrease with each passing moment of unconsciousness, especially if they are having difficulty or unable to breathe.

The non-breathing victims condition is often the result of cardiac arrest, stroke, drowning, severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), drug/alcohol overdose, insulin shock, or SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome; not uncommon occurrences. The sooner CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) can be administered to help prevent permanent brain damage the greater are the victims chances of survival.

CPR is carried out by alternating chest compression (deflating the victims lungs and forcing air into the blood stream) decompressing while filling the victims lungs with the air in ones own lungs from mouth to mouth. The procedure is carried out repeatedly to maintain a continuous flow of oxygen to the lungs and brain and can help a victim regain consciousness. CPR needs to be continued until the victim is breathing normally or until professionally trained medical personnel arrive.

With combined classroom and online experience offered by the American Health Care Academy, you can benefit from completing tutoring at your own pace, under the supervision of trained coaches. All programs that offer legitimate certifications abide by the CPR guidelines of the American Heart Association.

Each student is permitted up to 60 days to finish an online training course from the American Health Care Academy. (Find the website at www.cpraedcourse.com.) The academy provides continuing communication so that any questions can be answered quickly and clearly.

The online portion of the CPR course includes step-by-step video illustrations and reading materials to guide you. Once the student feels confident in their understanding of the subject matter, He/she can take the online exam. If the student passes, they will instantly receive a printable wallet size CPR certification. The American Health Care Academy will also send a documented copy by mail. If necessary, the exam can be retaken at no additional charge.

The online portion of the CPR course from the American Health Care Academy offers simple instructions to get you started. Step-by-step video illustrations and reading material will lead you through the CPR principles. Once you have a very well understanding of the subject matter and feel confident, you can take the online quiz. If you pass, you will instantly receive your printable wallet size CPR certification. The American Health Care Academy will send you a documented copy by mail. Should you fail the test, it can be retaken at no additional charge.

I’ve been taking omega 3 supplements for quite a while. It seems to me that there is overwhelming evidence that omega 3 fatty acids in your diet is one of the most important things you can do for your health, and that our diet is currently too low in Omega 3 fats.

However speaking to a friend recently he told me that he wouldn’t take supplements. I asked him why, and he told me that supplements are untested, unproven and unscientific. Not mainstream. I thought I’d address that.

Because there seems to be the perception that dietary supplements are a bit of voodoo, something that makes money for the people who make them, but quite unnecessary.

And plenty of people also see the taking of dietary supplementation as “alternative” and not recognized by the medical profession. That real people won’t take them.

So lets consider whether there are down to earth recognized medical authorities that recommend the intake of Omega 3 oils and fats.

Well lets start with the American Heart Association. They say that, I quote here:

“Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of ” or who have ” cardiovascular disease.”

They make recommendations for the intake of Omega 3 fats and suggest that we eat at least a 2 servings of fish a week, and other foods high in Omega oils like soybeans and tofu.

They make specific recommendations for anyone suffering from Coronary Heart Disease. They ought to eat at least a gram of EPA and DHA (found in Omega 3 oils) every day, and if they need to lower their triglycerides it should be from 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA each day, as capsules, supervised by a doctor.

So that’s pretty clear isn’t it. The AHA recommends the intake of a distinct amount of omega 3 fats each day, and recognize the benefits of this for heart health. They also accept the intake of Omega 3 fatty acids by capsule.

Diet is of course a great way to take your Omega 3. But it isn’t always quite as easy to take in enough good fats by diet alone, and I’ll give you an example of why.

You can get Omega 3 oils in meat. Good old beef and lamb. But not if you buy beef and lamb that is grain fed, because although grass reared beef and lamb has omega 3 fats, grain fed beef and lamb doesn’t have much. And ours is grain fed.

So it isn’t actually that easy getting enough good fats in your diet, and so studies have found that our diets are deficient in them.

And if you’re only prepared to accept dietary supplementation if it’s mainstream, then you can’t get any more mainstream than the American Heart Association. They don’t consider Omega 3 capsules as “alternative” or untested, or they wouldn’t recommend them.

Visit my website to find out more about Omega 3 fats and their benefits to your health at my website. And the best source of Omega 3 capsules.