Among the essential fatty acids that we require to live, omega-3s are crucial. These are fats that your body can’t produce on its own, so they need to come from food sources or supplements. While omega-3 is also present in flaxseed and flaxseed oil, the type that you obtain from fish and fish oil has some unique properties that are not found in other foods. The fish and fish oils are a direct source of two long-chain fatty acids generally known as EPA two long-chain fatty acids known as EPA (eicosapentanoic acid), and both are very important or heart health.
Another reason why doctors are confident about the benefits associated with fish oil is pragmatic. Nearly all studies on essential fatty acids have been done on fish oils. The good thing for flax oil is that recent study demonstrates flax oil can boost blood levels of good omega fatty acids. Other oils which contain ormega-3 fatty acids include hempseed oil and macadamian nut oil.

Fish became widely used as a “healthy hearth” food when scientists analyzed the Mediterranean diet-that is, the diet of many cultures around the Mediterranean during the 1960s in Crete, parts of Greece, and southern Italy. (There, as in many other cultures, the American diet has crept in, increasing the rate of heart disease and also other chronic diseases.) In the classic Mediterranean diet, people had many plant foods (vegetables, legumes, fruit, bread, pasta, nuts), lots of olive oil, and low to moderate amounts of fish, poultry, meat, dairy, eggs, and wine.

Nutritionists believe the intake of fish was one of the key benefits of this diet, which generated a much lower incidence of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. A four-year study of the Mediterranean diet discovered that people could reduce their risk of hearth attack by up to 70%.