Well, you shouldn’t! Despite everything that you have been led to believe through all these years, you need to know that adding more healthy fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids) into your diet can actually do wonders for your body – both inside and out.
Omega-3 Health Benefits – What You Need to Know
Omega-3’s can help promote better health in more ways than you can ever imagine. It can help keep your skin soft and supple, prevent acne and skin inflammation, delay the overall aging process and help you lose or maintain weight. For sure, every woman would love this!
Getting enough omega-3’s into your diet can also help keep your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels in check to avoid diabetes, heart diseases and stroke. It can also reduce your risk for arthritis, osteoporosis, emotional and mental disorders (ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia) and several forms of cancer (such as breast, colon and prostate cancer) as well.
Without a doubt, an omega-3 rich Mediterranean diet can be especially useful to women. Here are several reasons why:
- Omega-3 fatty acids can help relieve menstrual pain and cramping associated with dysmenorrhea. According to a report published in the April 1996 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, supplementing the diets of adolescent girls with omega-3 can significantly help alleviate menstrual pain.
- It can help enhance fertility. Studies indicate that omega-3 supplementation can help enhance female fertility by improving implantation rate. It can also reduce the risks for polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS, one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
- It can help reduce risk of premature birth. According to a report published in the June 2001 issue of the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, increased dietary intake of omega-3 can help reduce the risk of premature birth in high-risk pregnancies.
- It can help improve fetal brain development. If you are getting enough DHA in your diet, especially during the last trimester of your pregnancy and during the first two years after your baby’s birth (if you are breastfeeding), you can be assured of your baby’s optimal brain and visual development. Providing a DHA-rich Mediterranean-type diet to your baby can also lead to better muscle development and motor coordination.
- It can help prevent the development of certain cancers. Studies show that those who adhere to the guiding principles of the Mediterranean diet are about 56% less likely to develop cancer. Moreover, people who follow the Mediterranean way of eating are also about 65% less likely to die from any form of cancer. Does it get any better than that?
- It can help reduce the frequency and severity of post-menopausal symptoms. Since omega-3 can help reduce inflammation, it follows that getting more omega-3 food sources into your diet can help reduce the symptoms associated with menopause. As such, you can be sure that you will be less likely to experience hot flashes, vaginal dryness, joint pain, skin dryness and thinning hair, fatigue and depression, to name a few.
How Can You Get All These Omega-3 Health Benefits?
With all the benefits you can get from omega-3, how do you make sure that you are getting enough of it into your diet? Well, for starters, you should consume at least two servings of wild-caught Pacific salmon and other fatty fish such as sardines, cod, halibut and tuna into your diet at least twice per week. For good measure, don’t forget to add flax seeds, walnuts, cloves, kale and collard greens, tofu and soybeans into your diet as well.
Now is the perfect time to start eating a more Mediterranean-like type of diet so don’t waste another second. Remember, health is wealth – and the best way to achieve it is by adhering to the Mediterranean diet. You better believe it!
Make sure you get enough omega-3 today,
Ray Baker