EPA fish oil is one of two essential omega 3 fatty acids found in fish. It has many health benefits -- one of them extremely important to anyone with heart disease.
The two essential fatty acids (they are called essential because your body needs them and can't make them -- they must come from your diet or supplements) are EPA and DHA.
Together, they are a wonderful anti-inflammatory supplement for anyone's diet.
That is partly because in developed nations, experts find that too small an amount of omega 3's is probably the most common missing ingredient in the diet. Omega 3 fish oils have been shown to have a huge variety benefits, including brain health, vision, depression, heart disease, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and many others.
Inflammation is a common factor in chronic disease, and omega 3's are wonderful anti-inflammatory aids. And they don't have the long list of nasty side effects that are a risk of any prescription drug intended to reduce inflammation.
Omega 3's work in other ways to benefit health as well: they improve the blood's lipid profile (balancing cholesterol and trygliceride levels), improve irregular rhythms, are essential to a baby's brain and vision development (a third of the brain is DHA), and even seem to help with several kinds of cancer.
Study after study has shown that DHA is more powerful than EPA in most respects. But there is one great quality of EPA that everyone should know about, especially anyone who has had a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease.
EPA is the omega 3 that makes blood platelets more "slippery," making them less likely to clump and form blood clots. Blood clots can block arteries, causing heart attacks or strokes. EPA may well be the most important reason that convincing studies have shown that omega 3 fish oils lower the risk of a second heart heart.
Of course, it makes more sense to take omega 3 fish oils to prevent even a first heart attack!
That's why the American Heart Association recommends omega 3's for their heart benefits.
My website has specific recommendations on omega 3's and more details on EPA fish oil.
Kathryn Lane is a health and nutrition researcher. The best health products she finds have never been the most expensive or the most-advertised. See her website: http://www.quality-omega-3.com/
