There’s no doubt that unbalanced cholesterol levels can play havoc with your heart. Too much LDL or low levels of HDL can cause Angina, Stroke, Heart Attack and High Blood Pressure, amongst other health problems. Now, there are many different ways in which you can reduce your cholesterol. One such plan would be to take fish oil as a regular dietary supplement. Fish oil cholesterol benefits are something you would want to pay attention to.
The way fish oil works with cholesterol is that the omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil can be used to lower 
cholesterol levels. It has been clinically demonstrated that triglyceride levels can be reduced through taking fish oil. Now, this does not mean that you will never experience any cholesterol problems just because you are taking fish oil supplements. However, you may very well be able to maintain better cholesterol levels when you include fish oil as a regular part of your diet.
Fish oil also helps in lowering the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and increasing the levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Compare this to statin drugs commonly prescribed for reducing cholesterol levels, which actually just work on the LDL and do nothing for the triglycerides and HDL. It’s quite apparent which is the better choice here.
There is an exception though, too. In people who have high triglyceride levels, fish oil can actually raise LDL levels by a slight degree. This increase, however, is not significant enough to cause any detrimental effects.
The fact is, even LDL by itself is not very harmful for your heart. It’s when the LDL in your blood stream gets oxidized by free radicals, that it gets deposited in the arteries and leads to arteriosclerosis. These free radicals are actually generated from inflammation in the arteries, which can be linked back to an excess of omega six fatty acids in the body!
It’s all linked together
As you can see, by taking omega 3 fatty acids, you not only treat the symptom of LDL by reducing its levels, you also solve the root cause of the problem which is an omega three – omega six imbalance.
The typical American adult already has more than enough of omega six through various plant and animal sources which make for her regular diet. To balance it out, a regular intake of omega three through fish oil would be ideal. One important point to note here – instead of directly consuming fish, which can contain high levels of contaminants like Mercury inside, it would be smarter to opt for a quality fish oil supplement containing highly purified and concentrated oil.
This will ensure you get all the fish oil cholesterol benefits without any risk of side effects. Just make sure to choose a supplement from a reputed company, and one which contains high levels of purified, omega 3 rich oil.
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