If you want to stay healthy for life, hands-down one of the most important things you can do is to promote strong levels of your omega-3 essential fatty acids.
That’s because the omega-3s found in fatty fish, like salmon and sardines, have been found to:
They’ve even been found to act like natural painkillers. And if all of this wasn’t enough, there’s more…
During the pandemic, you may have noticed there was a lot of research into whether dietary nutrients could afford us some level of protection from the effects of COVID-19. Well, now that researchers have had a chance to go back and analyze how things went, the protective role of omega-3s is standing out…
Higher omega-3 levels = better outcomes all around
The research involved data from more than 127,000 people in the UK Biobank to explore the role of omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA, and whether they might be protective against contracting and/or suffering adverse outcomes of COVID-19 infection.
Specifically, the study set out to compare patients’ omega-3 blood levels to their risk of testing positive, requiring hospitalization and death from the infection.
Here’s what they found:
- People who had the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had a 21 percent lower risk of testing positive for COVID compared to those with the lowest levels.
- For each additional quintile their levels went up, they experienced an additional eight percent lower risk of coming down with the infection.
- Those with the highest omega-3 levels were 26 percent less likely to be hospitalized than those with the lowest levels.
- Risk of hospitalization was further reduced by 11 percent per quintile increase in omega-3s.
The study also showed that as lower levels of omega-3s went up, risk of death from COVID-19 went down.
According to lead researcher, Dr. William S. Harris, Ph.D., “Altogether these results support the practice of increasing consumption of oily fish like salmon or omega-3 fish oil supplements as a potential risk reduction strategy when it comes to COVID-19.”
Omega-3s and good health go hand in hand
This backs up the extremely low severity of COVID-19 reported in Japan – a “blue zone” population which regularly consumes higher levels of fish.
Speaking of blue zones, they’re a primary reason that so much research has been done on the health effects of omega-3s. Knowing why people in these areas live longer and better is something all of us can benefit from.
And all of it makes perfect sense. Not only are omega-3s “essential” because your body doesn’t produce them on its own — but your good health depends on them.
So, on top of doing all the right things to cut your risks of COVID-19, and poor health in general, keep your levels up. Remember, the standard American diet is higher in omega-6. So if you’re not eating the right foods, supplementing omega-3s can help.
Sources:
Study shows those with a higher omega-3 index are more protected from severe COVID infection – EurekAlert!
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