Do you ♥ your man?

Written by Ravinder Lilly – Nutritionist and Health Writer

You may already know that studies show that heart disease is still the number one killer of men in Australia and New Zealand. You most definitely know that men are experts at avoiding the doctor’s surgery for health checks – and even when they feel unwell! But did you know about the wide-ranging health effects that fish oils can make to your man?

Fish oils are loaded with essential heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They’re concentrated in oily fish like salmon and fresh tuna but are also found in smaller quantities in white fish. Yet the vast majority of us don’t eat the two to three portions per week recommended by the Heart Foundation.

Boosting EPA and DHA levels via fish oils seems to reduce the body’s levels of a type of harmful fat called triglycerides, whilst boosting heart healthy HDL-cholesterol (which helps to lower blood cholesterol levels).

Healthy blood pressure

It’s thought that fish oil helps to make the blood less sticky or likely to clot whilst also relaxing blood pressure thus easing the workload on the heart.

The European Society of Cardiology recently stated that supplements can be taken by people who don’t eat fish but they should be pharmaceutical grade products as many over-the-counter capsules don’t contain enough of the vital omega 3s.

One recent study published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine showed that taking fish oil provides ‘compelling’ evidence of its heart health benefits.

Prof Martin Cowie writing in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine. confirmed that giving 1g fish oil capsules (equivalent to two BiOmega^TM capsules daily) to patients with a heart condition could save 10,000 lives a year in the UK-based study. The results are now expected to be incorporated in European-wide guidelines for the treatment of heart failure.

BiOmega^TM is a highly purified source of therapeutic doses of fish oils; it contains 500 mg EPA and 480mg DHA and daily. BiOmega is one of the purest high quality fish oils available and virtually free of pesticides, eliminated through a double molecular distillation process to remove heavy metals, PCBs pesticides and organic residues.

The vast majority of us in Australia and New Zealand are not getting enough of vitamin D, which has a wide range of health benefits from bone health to immunity and lung function. Most fish oil purification processes remove the naturally-occurring vitamin D; BiOmega is fortified with vitamin D to supply an additional 200 IU per capsule.