Thursday, July 17, 2008

Get more Omega-3s to Curb Hunger

By now most folks are aware of the remarkable health benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids as a part of a healthy diet. Omega 3s help to reduce inflammation and do good things for blood lipid markers, so they are definitely part of our main front line of defense against the number one killer, cardiovascular disease.

Dr. John Briffa describes a recent study in which Omega 3s were also found to be an invaluable tool for dieters. One of the main components of a weight loss diet is to reduce the amount of food energy you are consuming so that your body will have to burn its own stored energy.

Of course, there are other metabolic issues at play, so it is important to reduce your calorie count in a way that does not cause your body to go into "starvation mode" where it reduces the number of calories it is burning overall. This is why many doctors and researchers are recommending low carbohydrate diet programs, because they appear less likely to induce this metabolic downregulation.

All other things being equal, Briffa says, the main thing to think about in a diet is getting the maximum level of satiation or satisfaction from each calorie you consume. The study he references found that higher Omega 3 fatty acid intake led to higher overall satisfaction from food. The feeling of fullness that people eating Omega 3 rich meals experienced was not only greater immediately after their evening meal, but also a number of hours afterward.

Getting full and staying full on a diet is not always an easy task, so eating foods rich in Omega 3s or supplementing with a high-quality Omega 3 supplement may be a quick, easy, and inexpensive way for dieters to improve their overall health while feeling less hungry.

Other studies have shown that Omega 3s can help improve mood and decrease stress. If you're in the Chicago area and are feeling anxious, try consulting Chicago anxiety & stress relief. There you will find information and contacts for psychotherapists.

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