Pollutants (Mercury)present in Fish-Eliminated by Selenium Intake

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Pollutants (Mercury)presentin Fish-Eliminated by Selenium

JoAnn Guest

Jan 29, 2003 21:19 PST

 

 

We now know that consumption of fish:

 

*Thins the blood

*Protects arteries from damage.

*Inhibits blood clots (anti-thrombotic)

*Reduces blood triglycerides

*Lowers LDL blood cholesterol

*Lowers blood pressure

*Reduces risk of heart attack and stroke

*Eases symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

*Reduces risk of lupus

*Relieves migraine headaches

*Fights inflammation

*Helps regulate the immune system

*Inhibits cancer in animals (and possibly humans)

*Soothes bronchial asthma

*Combats early kidney disease

 

 

The key to the healing powers of fish lies in the omega-3 fatty

acids.

These are particularly concentrated in cold-water fish such as

anchovies, bluefish, herring lake trout, mackerel, sablefish,

whitefish, blue fin tuna, salmon and sardines.

 

For more than 200 years, cod-liver oil was prescribed for a number

of ailments, including rheumatism and arthritis, because, it was

believed, it could " lubricate the joints. "

 

But it was not until 1985 that doctors writing in the New England

Journal of medicine recommended that arthritis sufferers could

benefit from eating fish once or twice a week.

 

In the case of arthritis, for example, the omega-3 oils

do " lubricate "

the joints by reducing painful inflammation.

 

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin

Diseases says the oils*…unquestionably are anti-inflammatory agents. "

 

 

 

Research funded through the Institute demonstrated that these oils

blocked the formation of something called leukotriene B4, which

triggers inflammation.

 

The Institute reported *…a significant correlation between the drop

in leukotriene B4 and decrease in the number of tender joints… "

after the oils were prescribed.

 

Other research at Albany Medical College, New York, confirmed these

findings. Dr. Joel M. Kramer, an associate professor of medicine,

observed that patients who received omega-3 in capsule form daily

for 14 weeks suffered less pain than before the oil treatment. Their

stamina was also much improved.

 

The three capsules were equivalent to the amount of oil contained in

the average salmon dinner or one can of sardines,

 

yet the pain was significantly relieved for several days after the

omega-3 treatment period ended.

 

" Systemic lupus erythematosis " , another inflammatory disease that

attacks the skin, also reacted positively to experimental fish oil

treatments, leading on Harvard researcher to proclaim it as

 

" …the most striking protective effect ever seen. "

 

Fish oil was once something of a joke among many nutritionists. No

one

is laughing today about the healing powers of fish.

 

Certain seafoods appear to even offer protection against killers

like heart disease and cancer.

 

The reason it would seem, is that the natural oils found in fish

appear

to curtail the body's overproduction of several hormone-like

substances

called prostaglandins and leukotrienes.

 

Overactive prostaglandins and leukotrienes can cause blood clots,

inflammations, and serious glitches in the immune system.

 

 

Omega-3 oils halt these destructive reactions before they get out of

control, something that is critical in preventing heart disease –

today's number one killer.

 

There are three villains lurking deep inside our bodies that cause

heart attacks and strokes.

 

They are the plaque that can clog arteries and dangerously restrict

blood flow; the accumulation platelets (sticky pieces of blood

cells) that clump together and form clots, and the sudden

unexplained spasms of blood vessels that can throw the heart out of

kilter or halt the flow of

blood to the brain, causing strokes.

 

Studies on fish oil show it works wonders in reducing or eliminating

all three risks.

 

People who eat lots of fish seem to have thinner blood, which is

less prone to clotting.

 

Omega –3 oils also reduce triglycerides and dangerous

LDL cholesterol and that, say the experts, may be why fish is such a

powerful ally in the battle against heart disease.

 

Eskimos eat about 13 ounces of omega-3 rich seafood a day and rarely

ever suffer from heart attacks. The same is true of Japanese

fishermen and their families who consume, on average, at least seven

ounces of fish daily.

 

Norwegian scientists recently discovered that a mere three ounces of

mackerel in the daily diet, thins the blood within six weeks,

significantly reducing the risks of clogged arteries, heart attacks

and strokes.

 

 

In Britain, a study involving hundreds of participants revealed that

those on a heavy fish diet developed higher concentrations of " good "

HDL cholesterol than even vegetarians.

 

The best news is that it might not even take very much fish to fight

off heart disease. Researchers at the University of Leiden in the

Netherlands monitored residents of one small town who ate only one

ounce of fish a week.

 

The results were astonishing. The risk of heart disease in the study

group was 50 percent, less than among those who ate no fish at all.

 

Experts warn that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the red

light warning us that a life-threatening heart attack may be headed

toward us like a runaway train. To stop it, they say, get that blood

pressure under control!

 

The Central Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Berlin studied

24 men with slightly elevated blood pressure. For two weeks, half of

the group dined daily on two seven-ounce cans of mackerel and

followed that with three cans a week for the next eight months.

Mackerel was chosen

for its very high levels of omega-3 oils.

 

The results? The higher the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their

blood, the more their blood pressure dropped.

 

The conclusion: A minimum of only three ounces of mackerel a week

lowered blood pressure about seven percent- and eliminated the need

for medication.

 

Fish oils seem to be just as important in fighting cancer. Those

over active prostaglandins that may touch off heart problems, are

also present in most cancers, says Rutgers University researcher Dr.

Rashida Karmali,

 

Now, encouraging studies at Rutgers and elsewhere indicate that fish

oils are highly effective at putting the clamps on that

overproduction.

And once the heavy concentration of those nasty prostaglandins is

reduced, the risks of breast, pancreatic, lung, prostate and colon

cancer also drops.

 

Eskimo and Japanese women for example eat lost of fish and seldom

develop breast cancer.

 

Migraine sufferers too may find relief with omega-3 fish oils,

according to a team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati,

Of those who took part in that study, 60 percent reported that their

chronic migraines were less severe and the frequency reduced by half

over six weeks when they took fish oil capsules.

 

The average number of attacks dropped from two a week to two every

two weeks.For some reason, men seemed to benefit more from the fish

oils than women??

 

 

 

A change in diet in which omega-3 fish oils replaced animal fats

also dramatically slowed down the rate of deterioration in people

suffering early kidney disease.

 

Fish oil may also help women who suffer from painful menstrual

cramps. These are apparently triggered by the same overactive

prostaglandins

that are the cause of so many other problems.

 

Asthma appears to be another of those inflammatory diseases in which

leukotrienes get out of hand and cause bronchial constriction. Fish

oils added to the diet have given outstanding relief in many cases,

again by stifling the over active leukotrienes production.

 

The condition of about two-thirds of psoriasis patients in another

study improved after they started taking omeg-3 fish oils, the Oils

seemed to move quickly into the blood and to the surface of the

skin. The more

oils that reached the epidermis, the more startling the improvement.

 

Remember the old wives tale about fish being a " brain food " that

makes you smarter?

Not true, say the experts, BUT the ingredients in fish and fish oils

do make it possible for you to boost your potential,

especially when you are fatigued and your mental energies are low.

 

The secret this time is not as much in the omega-3 oils, but in a

natural chemical in the fish called tyrosine.

 

Dr. Judith Wurtman, head of research team at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology, discovered that seafood is high in this

potent amino acid. It apparently stimulates the brain in to

producing extra

norepinephrine and dopamine.

 

 

These are the neurotransmitters that the brain needs to keep

functioning at peak efficiency. And that makes us feel more alert.

 

 

Concerns about high mercury content of certain seafoods can be

alleviated by taking 200 mcgs of Selenium on a daily basis.

 

 

 

One of the benefits of Selenium is that it tends to flush heavy

metals on out of the body more swiftly,

eliminating any possibility of serious liver damage.

 

JoAnn Guest

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