These are essential compounds the body cannot make on its own and must be consumed from our diets.

Breast cancer is every womans No. 1 fear, but heart disease and stroke is our No. 1 killer. Now, a Danish study suggests that women who consume fish have a head start in protecting themselves from heart disease and stroke. Published in the January issue of Hypertension, the Danish study explored the intake of long chain n3 tty acids (also known as Omega 3) and the risk of cardiovascular disease in 48,627 young women between the ages of 29 and 47.

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Omega 3s are a girls best friend,The researchers who followed the women over eight years found a near three-fold increase in heart disease risk among women who never ate fish when compared to women who ate fish at least once every week. The protective qualities of fish come from their long-chain Omega 3 essential tty acids, says Dr. Atle Skattebol, a Norwegian expert in fish oil.

Fish for health has been an assumption for generations, but that old good-for-you message is now obscured by issues of sustainability, availability, cost and contamination. In the age of polluted waterways, its not safe to eat all the fish that swim in the sea, says Skattebol.

The Heart and Stroke Foundations Heart Truth campaign (with its signature event The Red Dress shion show March 8 in Toronto) raises womens awareness and motivates them to find out their personal risk and take action to reduce it. Check outhearttruth.ca.

Omega 3 oils protect the heart in different ways, he says. They lower triglyceride levels in the blood (a marker for heart disease), reduce inflammation of blood vessels (its buildup can lead to heart disease), make the blood less sticky (blood clot formation is reduced – and thus risk of heart attacks and stroke), and boost the bloods heart-protective HDL.

An educated consumer is best, Skattebol says, adding that consumers should know that Omega 3s contain two heart-healthy compounds, EPA and DHA. Check that the label contains a higher amount of EPA because a ratio of 2:1 is recommended for heart health.

Contaminants are one concern: In 2010 a California environmental group launched a labelling lawsuit against eight fish oil brands for excessive levels of PCBs. (Skattebol says that Epaxs oils come from some of the worlds cleanest waters that are rich in the plankton that sardines and anchovies feast on.) Fish oils also giepa and dhave many people indigestion. Skattebol takes his with food or before bedtime so he doesnt notice the repeats. Fish oil can also become rancid, so pay attention to the best before date.

They have heart

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Eight times as many women die from heart disease as from breast cancer. Symptoms of a heart attack include crushing chest pain and breathlessness, but in women in particOmega 3s are a girls best friendular symptoms may include back pain, indigestion-like discomfort, or nausea.

Fish oil expert Dr. Atle Skattebol says salmon, halibut, mackerel, sardines and other tty fish are good sources of Omega 3s, which make our cells function better, protects our brains and hearts. If you eat tuna, buy the one canned in water, not oil, he says. In tuna canned in oil, all the good tty acids leech out into the oil in the can. Cod-liver oil, he adds, is not as high in Omega 3s as sardines or anchovies.

Last months study in the New England Journal of Medicine included data from 250,000 men and women measured over a 30-year period and showed that heart disease risk ctors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes) are responsible for ones cardiovascular destiny. Women with two major risk ctors were three times as likely to die from heart disease as women with none or one risk ctor.

Whats your destiny?

In Canada,深圳学生网. Olympic medalist Joannie Rochette, who lost her mother to heart disease, is working to educate Canadians on blood pressure monitoring while opera singer Measha Brueggergosman is joining the heart healthy crusade after her bout with open heart surgery. In the U.S. Joy Behar, comedienne and co-host of The View, and her daughter, Eve, are also among heart-savvy celebs raising awareness. To download their brochure, Straight Talk: A Womans Guide to Heart Health, go totarget=_blank>iamproheart.com

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Fish oil supplements were among the top five dietary supplements in 2010. A 2011 report by Packaged Facts projects that the global retail sales for Omega 3 products will rise from $4.6 billion in 2007 to $8.2 billion in 2012. But despite their popularity, fish oils are not all easy to swallow.

When it becomes impractical or an economic burden, you look elsewhere.

That elsewhere is fish oil capsules, an alternative for those who hate fish, cant find fresh fish, or arent willing to pay the cost which, for some species, can be higher than filet mignon. Skattebol, who consumes fish oil capsules daily because he doesnt like the taste of most fish, is therefore well placed as chief medical officer of Epax, a Norwegian company that harvests from Perus southern Pacific fishing grounds near Antarctica. At Epaxs production cility in Norway, fish oils are extracted for pharmaceutical companies like Jamiesons.

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Somethings fishy