The Fats of Life
Omega-3s can help your heart, lungs, and joints. Here's how to get all you need.
By Phillip Rhodes, Runner's World
The next time you're shopping for ibuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory, consider picking up a couple of salmon fillets while you're at it. Your achy knees will thank you.
For some time, the popular fish has been viewed as one of the best dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, a group of polyunsaturated fats that is more commonly connected to heart health. But new research now links the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3s — which are also found in other fatty fish and plant-based foods like walnuts and flaxseed — to the relief of joint pain associated with arthritis or exercise.
In fact, "scientific evidence is leading us to believe that omega-3s may not only alleviate joint pain, but may also prevent it," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., a dietitian with Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wellness Institute in Chicago and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "Omega-3s are one of the key nutrients every runner should have in their diet." And not just for pain relief. Research has also shown that omega-3s may help prevent exercise-induced asthma. For some people, vigorous exercise can trigger a narrowing of the airways, restricting airflow. In a study from Indiana University, three weeks of fish-oil supplementation helped subjects extinguish airway inflammation and improve postexercise lung function by 64 percent.
Continue reading this fish tale here: http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100175857
