3 Ways to Reduce Inflammation and Reduce Heart Disease Through Diet
Cardiovascular disease and breast cancer are the two leading causes of death in the United States for women. Both are associated with inflammation.
Strategies to reduce inflammation may be an effective treatment option to reduce cardiovascular disease and breast cancer.
Chronic inflammation leads to the release of inflammatory cytokines. These inflammatory cytokines contribute to cellular damage, which leads to disease onset or progression. Chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and diabetes all have an inflammatory component.
There are medications to reduce inflammation, such as steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), but all medication comes with side effects and these are no exception. Potential side effects include nausea, constipation, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, weight gain, increase blood pressure, and immune suppression among others.
Alternate treatment options are desirable for treating inflammation, such as dietary interventions. Improving dietary quality with emphasis on specific anti-inflammatory nutrients is a safe strategy for reducing inflammation and disease risk.
A diet to reduce inflammation is low in added sugars, contains omega-3 fatty acids, and rich in dietary fiber.
Foods high in added sugar that should be avoided or limited include soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, cakes, pastries, donuts, fruit drinks, ice cream, pudding, cookies, candy, pie, and cobblers.
Here's another omega 3 option – Calamarine
The typical American diet tends to be low in omega 3 fatty acids, approximately 120 mg DHA/day, which is an omega 3 supplement may be beneficial. Some benefits omega 3’s have been linked to improvement in arrhythmias, blood pressure, lipoprotein(a) levels, arterial inflammation, HDL cholesterol, and endothelial function.
Fish oil is a very common source individuals choose to supplement to boost their intake of omega 3 fatty acids. Tuna, salmon, sardines, herring, and anchovies are common fish used for the production of fish oil supplements. Fish oil tends to have equal levels of EPA and DHA or in some cases may be slightly higher in EPA content.
A New Option
A new option produced by Pharma Marine Group is Calamarine. Calamarine is obtained from calamari, or squid, and contains higher levels of DHA. The company is also able to market Calamarine as “eco-friendly” because squid have a brief life cycle, breed rapidly, and are not endangered. Especially important with concerns regarding over-harvesting of our marine life, which fish oil production may play a part.
