There are now clearly established heart benefits from increasing your intake of the essential fatty acids found in fish oil known as omega 3 fats. For this reason the American Heart Association recommends that each of us undertake a minimum intake of Omega3 fats every week. These are heart benefits such as a reduction in the risks of coronary heart disease, but today lets ask whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link or whether increasing your intake of fish oil can help lower blood pressure.

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, affects many people in our population. Particularly those who are overweight can suffer from high blood pressure and may well spend years on drugs designed to lower blood pressure. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this may be good news to many peopleHigh blood pressure is called hypertension and effects very many people. People who are overweight have a higher risk of hypertension and some of these people may spend many years on drugs designed to reduce hypertension. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this is good news for many people.

And it is good news. There are clear studies demonstrating a link between increasing Omega3 intake and lowering blood pressure. One study examining this split 120 people into 5 groups and supplemented their diet with a combination of fish and fish oil and placebos. The conclusion of the study was that increasing the intake of omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil helped to lower blood pressure.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are the 2 primary essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats. A further study narrowed down the cause and effect and isolated DHA as the principle cause of this reduction in blood pressure.

People who are overweight have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Another study examined lowering hypertension with omega3 in overweight people. Again this study found a clear link between increasing intake of essential fatty acids and lowering blood pressure, including amongst overweight people, and concluded that increasing the intake of fishoil with omega 3 essential fatty acids can help reduce hypertension and when taken in conjunction with a weight-loss regime in people who are already taking antihypertensive drugs can “substantially” reduce their dependence on those drugs.

There are many health reasons to increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids and those reasons now extend to lowering blood pressure with fish oil. But even if you are not hypertensive there are other important health benefits and heart benefits which flow from a higher intake of Omega3 fats. This includes a lower risk of coronary heart disease, improvements in memory and mental acuity and a reduction of the risk of wide range of health problems related to age, and more.

The science is in on the heart benefits of increasing your intake of Omega3 fats in the American Heart Association tells us all to do this, given that over 90 percent of us have a deficient intake of omega 3. This is now more important for anyone with hypertension.

So it seems there is a clear omega 3 blood pressure link. If you increase your intake of Omega3 fats you will help lower high blood pressure and may also reduce any reliance on antihypertensive drugs.

So how do you increase your intake of Omega3 fats? You could eat more fish but fish is expensive and contaminated with mercury and for this reason the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish.

But it is perfectly adequate and indeed preferable, and very cost effective to take daily omega 3 supplements, and the best ones are contamination free, though there is a wide variation in the quality of the different brands.

I have examined the range of fish oil capsules available carefully. Visit my website to find out which Omega 3 supplements I choose for myself and my family.