Fish oil and the omega-3 fatty acids they contain get a lot of press, and for good reason. In high enough concentrations, omega-3 fatty acids for fish oils are powerful anti-inflammatory agents, and inflammation is at the core of almost every single chronic health conditions that plague our modern culture. The key phase in that sentence is “in high enough concentrations” as research shows that most people don’t take enough fish oil to provide this key benefit.
The diet of most people is very inflammatory; most people consume high levels of refined carbohydrates (think anything that comes in a bag, box, or package), high omega-6 vegetable oils (including fried foods, chips, crackers, desserts, breads, margarines, and fast food) and high amounts of meat, all of which increase inflammation in the body. In these cases, consuming adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids are even more important to keep diet-induced inflammatory imbalances in check.
Much of the current research supports the daily intake of 3000-5000 mg/day of omega-3 fatty acids to reduce physical discomfort and inflammatory imbalances. In many people, we recommend even higher doses up to 10-15 grams per day. Even though the safety of taking high dose fish oil is well established, there are a few things to keep in mind – this will be the topic of Part 2 in this series.
