The symptoms of arthritis can be generalized on the four most commonly occurring of all, and they are: swelling, stiffness, joint pain, and decreased range of motion within a joint. All these symptoms can be observed on the various forms of arthritis and have been found to cause patients much agony. There are still lots of questions as to what really causes the condition on patients but a number of probable causes have been named:
1. Being overweight contributes to the development of the disease because inordinate stresses put much pressure on the weight-bearing joints.
2. Lack of exercise cause muscles and joints to stiffen, thus exacerbating any inherent joint condition.
3. Deficiencies in vital nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and Omega 3 fatty acids inhibit the body’s ability to repair damaged tissue cells.
Now, over 40 million Americans are suffering from arthritis and because of this, a number of ongoing clinical trials and studies have been trying to find ways of curing the disease. One of the many controversial remedies for arthritis is the Omega 3 fatty acids available in fish oil supplements. Various clinic trials, laboratory, and animal studies have shown its great potential as a popular relief for the pain and inflammation caused by arthritis.
The pain felt in arthritis is believed to be a result of an over-activity of the inflammatory agents in arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is a form of Omega 6 fatty acid which is actually a type of fat that is essential to a person but all the while, contributory to the development of a number of chronic conditions as well as inflammation. It is in fact the continued consumption of arachidonic acid in the body that exacerbates the symptoms of joint pains, as arachidonic acid can very well be converted to inflammatory compounds.
Fish oil, on the hand, is comprised of Omega 3 fatty acids that have very good anti-inflammatory properties. They function to balance the Omega 6 fatty acids and so reduce the amount of inflammation to be formed in the body. It may be quite difficult to obtain the right amount of fish oil by eating fish alone. While dietitians have put a limit on the consumption of fish to just two 3-ounce servings of fish a week, this poses a problem in obtaining significant amount of fish oil that can balance the harmful Omega 6 fatty acids. This prompted the need for finding other means of obtaining fish oil other than by eating fish and the introduction of fish oil supplements in place of it.
There are many available brands of fish oil supplements in the market. But when you choose the brand to trust, make sure that you get the one that is ultra-refined to remove all the toxins and impurities such as mercury, PCBs, and lead. It should also be rich in Omega 3 fatty acids more specifically of DHA and EPA, because these two types are good inhibitors of the pro-inflammatory cytokines which is a type of protein that interacts with the immune system coordinating effective immune response, in the form of inflammation. DHA and EPA, in significant levels, inhibit this function of the cytokines by binding themselves to the immune cells and prohibiting response.
Other known benefits from fish oil supplements:
1. It decreases chronic pain in rheumatoid arthritis by reducing interleukin-1 beta that is one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines.
2. It successfully lowers bad cholesterol in the blood, thus protecting you from heart disease and the onset of high blood pressure.
3. It can be used to treat the hardening of the arteries and stabilize arterial plaques that build-up and break loose to initiate heart attacks.
4. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis can use fish oil as an alternative to prescription drugs that often cause flare-ups of joint pain.
With the many benefits of fish oil, a lot of people have now substituted the use some of fish oil instead of prescription drugs. As mentioned earlier, since there is a limit to the consumption of fish per week, fish oil supplements have become the best source of Omega 3 fatty acids for the body.
Fish oil comes in several preparations, but they are most popularly found in gel caps. Each gel cap would contain around 30% EPA/DHA.
1. For arthritis-related conditions fish oil capsules with 30 percent EPA/DHA is required.
2. For rheumatoid arthritis you take up to 2.6g of fish twice daily.
3. For mild pain, capsules with 1000mg of omega 3 should be good everyday.
4. For severe pain, up to 3g of fish oil is needed to reduce joint inflammation.
Despite the many good benefits of fish oil, you should know that there are a number of things that you should take note of first:
1. There are certain species of fish that have high levels of contaminants that they have absorbed from the environment. The use of fish oil from these fish would definitely pose as a risk especially to pregnant women and children. In line with this, avoid eating cold water fish.
2. Fish oil may contain fish liver oil that contains high levels of vitamin A, higher than what is recommended for daily consumption.
Otherwise, all the other effects that have been observed with the use of fish oil are very mild and very uncommon. Seek the advice of your doctor to better avoid harm. Remember, you are your body’s guardian- take good care of it.
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