Why Is Fish Oil So Remarkable?

The answer lies in its ability to reduce inflammation. There are two types of inflammation. The classic form of inflammation hurts. That’s why you take anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain. However, the second type is far more insidious. This is silent inflammation. This type of inflammation is below the perception of pain. It’s a marker of the inflammatory potential of a cell. It is not a disease, but it is the first clinical sign that you are no longer well. This is the type of inflammation that can’t be altered by any drug, but it can be reduced by fish oil. You need some inflammatory potential at the cellular level, but not too much. Therefore, if you had some nutritional way to reduce silent inflammation, then your state of wellness could be extended indefinitely. That is the promise of fish oil. It is not just fish oil, but the presence of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenonic acid (DHA) that are key in reducing silent inflammation. If taken at the appropriate levels, they have been shown to reduce excess silent inflammation within 30 days. With that reduction of silent inflammation comes a return to wellness.

Silent Inflammation: The Ultimate Enemy of Wellness

Silent inflammation is not a disease any more than free radicals are. Silent inflammation is an indicator of the imbalance of the building blocks of “good” and “bad” eicosanoids at the cellular level. Wellness requires a balance of both. Too few of the building blocks of “bad” eicosanoids, and the body will not to able to defend itself from microbial invaders or heal from injuries. On the other hand, if there is an excess of the same building blocks of “bad” eicosanoids, the body will be in a constant inflammatory state at the cellular level. What you need is balance. But at the same time you also need the building blocks for “good” eicosanoids that are the key to cellular rejuvenation as they repair the cellular damage caused by increased silent inflammation. The optimal balance of the building blocks of “good” and “bad” eicosanoids becomes the molecular definition of wellness. The best way to determine if you have excess levels of silent inflammation is a blood test that Dr. Sears developed and that has been extensively used in various clinical trials. However, you can use several subjective parameters to indicate whether or not you may have elevated silent inflammation. No single parameter is sufficient, but if you answer yes to at least three of the following questions, then you probably have high levels of silent inflammation, which means your wellness is already eroding.

1. Are you overweight?
2. Are you constantly hungry?
3. Are you groggy upon waking?
4. Do you constantly crave carbohydrates?
5. Are you fatigued throughout the day?
6. Are your fingernails brittle?

As you can see, a great number of Americans probably have elevated levels of silent inflammation. Clinical testing by Dr. Sears confirms this. Don’t despair, because you can correct this imbalance within 30 days.

The ABC’s of Eicosanoids

The reason that EPA/DHA concentrates have such significant benefits is its ability to alter the levels of hormones known as eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are the most powerful hormones in the body. They ultimately control inflammation, but they also affect directly or indirectly a wide array of other hormones in the body. There are only three essential fatty acids that can be made into eicosanoids. Arachidonic acid (AA) is an omega-6 fatty acid, which is the building block for powerful pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that are associated with chronic disease and aging. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is the omega-3 fatty acid that partially inhibits the formation of AA. Although the eicosanoids derived from EPA are neutral, by reducing AA formation, they will have some anti-inflammatory benefits. However, the real power for maintaining wellness are the powerful anti-inflammatory eicosanoids that come from another omega-6 fatty acid known as dihomo gamma linolenic acid (DGLA). To achieve the maximum benefits of fish oil, you have to simutaneously reduce AA levels while increasing DGLA levels.

There are “good” eicosanoids that reverse inflammation, and there are “bad” eicosanoids that promote inflammation. Wellness requires a balance of both. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans are making more bad ones than good ones. That’s why there is an epidemic of silent inflammation in the country, which is driving our obesity epidemic as well as setting the stage for the development of chronic disease at an earlier age. The fastest way to restore a healthy balance of good and bad eicosanoids is to ensure that your diet is rich in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). These are long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids found in oily cold-water fish and fish oils. EPA not only helps quench silent inflammation but also naturally inhibits the brain’s hunger signals. DHA is the key fat for increasing the expression of the genes that help promote the synthesis of fat-burning enzymes as well as being required for optimal brain function.

It’s All About Eicosanoid Balance

The reason that EPA/DHA concentrates have such significant benefits is its ability to alter the levels of hormones known as eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are the most powerful hormones in the body. They ultimately control inflammation, but they also affect directly or indirectly a wide array of other hormones in the body. There are only three essential fatty acids that can be made into eicosanoids. Arachidonic acid (AA) is an omega-6 fatty acid, which is the building block for powerful pro-inflammatory eicosanoids that are associated with chronic disease and aging. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is the omega-3 fatty acid that partially inhibits the formation of AA. Although the eicosanoids derived from EPA are neutral, by reducing AA formation, they will have some anti-inflammatory benefits. However, the real power for maintaining wellness are the powerful anti-inflammatory eicosanoids that come from another omega-6 fatty acid known as dihomo gamma linolenic acid (DGLA). To achieve the maximum benefits of fish oil, you have to simutaneously reduce AA levels while increasing DGLA levels.

Why Zone Labs Uses Ethyl Ester?

There is a lot of misconception concerning EPA/DHA concentrates. First, natural fish oils are generally very low in EPA and DHA. For example, only 15% of the fatty acids in cod liver oil consist of EPA and DHA. The only way to increase the potency of EPA and DHA is to convert them to ethyl esters and then distill over EPA and DHA at low temperature to increase their concentration. In the process, you also remove much of the inherent contaminants, such as dioxins and PCBs. The higher the potency of an EPA/DHA concentrate, the lower the levels of the contaminants it contains. Furthermore, it is the ethyl ester form of EPA and DHA that has been used in the vast majority of clinical trials that have demonstrated the remarkable benefits of omega-3 fatty acids as nutritional supplements. Some manufacturers try to synthetically reconvert these ethyl esters back into a triglyceride form touting it as “natural”. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reconstituted triglyceride molecule has a totally different positioning of the EPA and DHA as found in low-potency natural fish oils. More ominously, during the conversion process, some of the EPA and DHA are polymerized to make a sludge that cannot be removed from the mixture. When you are taking a product consisting of a reconstituted triglyceride, that polymerized sludge is part of your supplementation.

If you want truly pure EPA/DHA concentrates that have been clinically tested, then insist on ultra-refined ethyl esters.