Routes To Self Improvement Ezine
Issue 16
The Mediterranean Diet is one of the most popular diets around these days. It is an unusual "diet" in that the Mediterranean Diet is not a specific diet; it revolves around the eating and drinking habits of the people in countries in the Mediterranean region in Europe.
It has long since been recognized that populations in these Mediterranean countries, such as Italy and Spain, were less prone to heart disease than people in northern Europe and North America. Once this was discovered, the Mediterranean diet became a diet of much interest, study and research.
There are various elements of the Mediterranean diet that are thought to be responsible for this healthier population. The most commonly known is probably the widespread use of olive oil. However, there is also fish oil to be taken into consideration, and in particular Omega 3 fatty acids.
Fish also plays an important role in the Mediterranean diet, and it is believed that this is a factor in the lower heart disease rate in the Mediterranean region. To consider this further, I have included and article by Jeannie Crabtree , which is reproduced below.
Heart Health – Fish Oils To The Rescue
In a world where heart disorders and diseases are becoming more common, lets take a look at something most of us can add to our weekly diet for prevention of heart problems.
Omega 3 fatty acids, found in fish oil promotes heart health. A daily dose of fish oil has helped prevent, slow or even reverse the hardening and narrowing of arteries in heart disease in some studies.
In a 2001 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the University of Munich reported that a fish-oil capsule a day may "modestly" improve blood flow to the heart and bolster traditional therapy in patients with atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. In a study of 223 men and women, those who took a dose of fish oil per day for two years had fewer atherosclerosis complications such as heart attack and stroke.
Fish oil, found in fish such as salmon, it is a key component of the low-saturated-fat Mediterranean diet that has been linked to the lower incidence of heart disease in that area of the world.
How does fish oil work? Researchers are not ready to say, but one team of doctors used x-ray to peer into patients heart arteries at the beginning and end of one study. They found that after two years, the arteries of the fish-oil patients, on average, offered more room for blood flow to flow through, with less plaque.
The improvements were not dramatic, however the doctor’s team concluded that the benefits found in this study are significant enough to warrant including fish oil as part of traditional heart-disease treatment. At minimum, taking a daily capsule or dining on fish twice weekly would fulfill the needed amount.
Fish oil has also been found to help heart rhythm problems and can help to thin the blood as well. Research continues and always finds Fish oils to be helpful for the heart. It is certainly worth adding fish a couple times per week to the diet, isn’t it?
Jeannie Crabtree C.Ac, EFT-CC. has helped people increase their health for the last 25 years. Visit her site at http://www.health-doc.com and her Healthy Living Blog at http://www.health-doc.com/blog/health-blog.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
