Discover Fish Oil Health Benefits
An interesting fish oil health benefit was recently written about in the Cambridge Journal of Epidemiology. Studies in the past had shown that eating oily fish or taking fish oil supplements were beneficial for reducing pain and improving mobility in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or RA.
In the recent study, researchers concluded that it might also reduce the risk of developing RA. When you know a little bit about the subject, it all makes sense.
Treating RA has been a challenge for doctors. Understanding the cause was the biggest challenge. It has been classified as an autoimmune disease for a number of years, meaning that the bodyâ??s immune system is involved.
Inflammation is one of the immune systemâ??s first reactions to infection, illness or injury. Fluids, white blood cells and other compounds rush to the battle scene. The fluids cause swelling, which helps to protect the affected area from further injury. Eventually, as the wound starts to heal or the infection clears up, the swelling goes down. Signals are sent out to let the body know that there is no further need for inflammation.
One of the fish oil health benefits that have been recently described is that it stimulates the production of those anti-inflammatory signals. For at least a decade, we have known that omega-3 fatty acids play a role in reducing inflammation, throughout the body. Scientists are still learning how they do that.
In RA and some other autoimmune diseases, inflammation occurs without cause. As it continues, it causes damage to the joints and can eventually cause deformities. Trying to figure out why the immune system would turn against healthy cells has been more than challenging. There is no explanation.
There are, however, some interesting theories, having to do with a personâ??s diet. Some foods contribute to the production of inflammatory hormones, while others contribute to the production of less inflammatory ones. Both are still used by the body in many of the same ways. But, when the more inflammatory hormones are produced consistently, they start to damage the body.
System-wide inflammation can occur, not just in the joints, but in the arteries, the digestive system and in all of the cells of the body. This type of inflammation is deadly. It contributes to heart disease and cancer, our two biggest killers.
In addition to the RA study mentioned above, research has shown that there is a reduced risk of allergies, which are also caused by an over-reactive immune system, asthma, which is caused by unnecessary inflammation of the bronchial passages, and heart disease, because of reduced inflammation in the arteries. Those arenâ??t even all of the fish oil health benefits, just the highlights.
Laurel Cohen
http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/discover-fish-oil-health-benefits-1284038.html
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