How Omega-3 Fish Oil Can Boost Your Immune System

by Norway Omega | 24/03/2021 | Blog

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Fish oil supplements such as Omega-3 of Norway contain omega-3 fatty acids which are associated with many health benefits. They can improve your skin, contribute to preventing heart disease and even support your immune system. Those essential fats have anti-inflammatory properties which help reduce inflammation in your body and tissue. New research also shows that they can activate and inhibit different types of immune cells, therefore further helping your body to stay healthy.

 

With Omega-3 Against Inflammatory Diseases

Inflammations can cause a threat to our health and wellbeing if they are not being dealt with. This is the job of our immune system, which is constantly fighting inflammation and other diseases that could harm our body. There are ways in which we can support our immune system to make sure it is working properly.

 

good diet = strong immune system

One way of doing so is through a healthy and varied diet, as well as regular exercise. However, to offer more support to our body we can also rely on food supplements such as organic omega-3 fish oil to make sure we do not lack any important nutrients. Such fish oil supplements contain essential omega-3 fatty acids that are important for our body but which we cannot produce ourselves.
These fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and therefore support our immune system. They can help combat chronic low-grade inflammation that often go undetected for a long time, but can influence the development of migraines, arthritis and skin conditions such as psoriasis.

 

The essential fatty acids EPA and DHA

There are 3 main types of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which both occur in fish oil, and alpha linolenic acid (ALA) which occurs in plant based foods such as walnuts and flaxseeds. They all are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids which, in the case of EPA and DHA, are preserved in their triglyceride form in our Omega 3 of Norway products. This is the form that they naturally occur in, which makes them more stable and easier to absorb into our body and  also provides insurance against their oxidation.

 

How Does Our Immune System Work?

The immune system is our defence system that protects our body from invading pathogens such as viruses or bacteria. It is active all over our bodies and is composed of a variety of different cell types that move around our body in the blood stream and can be activated, inhibited and sent to a specific location in our body where they are needed. The coordination of all those different immune cells and the regulation of their activity is crucial for maintaining an effective immune defence.

But how does our body manage all this? The coordination of all those different cells is often accomplished by the secretion of molecules by cells that then attract immune cells to the right place and regulate their activation or suppression.
A healthy and balanced diet is key for the correct function of every part of the immune system. Research also shows that some dietary factors can have immune-regulating properties, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids for example. We will now look more into the impact that omega-3 can have on your immune system.

 

Omega-3 Can Activate Immune Cells

While it has been known for a while that omega-3 has anti-inflammatory properties, new research shows that it further supports the immune system by influencing the functioning of immune cells such as white blood cells known as B cells. The consumption of fish oil rich in DHA and EPA can therefore boost our immune system.
There are several ways in which these alterations work: Omega-3 are important components of our cells’ membranes and can influence and regulate their properties such as membrane fluidity or the assembly of liquid rafts that move across cells. New research now shows that they can also play a role as signalling molecules and therefore influence where and how those immune cells are activated.

 

Impact of the omega – 6 to omega – 3 ratio

It has also been shown that the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in our body can influence the inflammatory response. This ratio is mainly determined by our diet which further underlines the importance of including high-quality omega-3 supplements into your diet to ensure that we can maintain the recommended ratio between those fatty acids. You can find more information on omega-6 in this blog article.

 

 

The Impact On Autoimmune Diseases And More

Sometimes our immune system starts to work against us. If we suffer from a so-called autoimmune disease, our immune system mistakes our own for foreign cells and starts to attack them.

 

Omega – 3 and Type 1 Diabetes

One example is Type 1 diabetes where the immune system attacks the cells in our pancreas that produce insulin. Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids can combat some of these diseases, especially in early life.
Getting enough omega-3  during the first year of life is linked to a reduced risk of many autoimmune diseases like Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis for example. It can also help to treat other illnesses such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

 

Health benefits of omega – 3

There are many more positive effects attributed to the consumption of omega-3. They range from reducing the risk of certain kind of cancers to lowering the risk of asthma in kids and young adults.
Omega-3 fatty acids therefore support our body in many ways and help us to stay healthy and fit. They have also been shown to have positive effects on the regeneration of muscles after exercise so many athletes also rely on taking omega-3 supplements to boost their performance and outcome of their training efforts.

How To Get Enough Omega-3

While it is possible to cover your daily need for omega-3 through a varied diet alone, it can be hard to maintain this dietary regime. To find out more about what foods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and what to look out for, there is more information here on our blog.

 

Make your life easier with supplements

However, it can be challenging to maintain such a diet and to include sufficient amounts of omega-3 in your daily meal plan, it might therefore be beneficial for your health to look into taking a high quality omega-3 food supplement such as the products by Omega 3 of Norway. We offer  a variety of products from fish- to krill oil that come in modern reusable packaging and can be sent directly to your doorstep.
Here at Omega 3 of Norway we value quality and use a state-of-the-art production facility to guarantee such a high quality product. We also value sustainability and use the newest technology to manufacture our omega-3 products such as our krill oil. Krill oil shares most of the health benefits of fish oil supplements, however it shows some differences in its molecular structure and therefore in the way it works and is absorbed into our body. The krill we are using for our oil is caught in the clean waters of the Southern Ocean and is processes immediately on our modern vessels which also release unwanted bycatch thanks to  our patented Eco-Harvesting® technology.

 

Conclusion

Overall, omega-3 has been associated with a variety of health benefits and its newly discovered function in supporting the immune system further reinforces its reputation as an important food supplement that no one should lack. Our immune system is constantly working to protect our body from viruses and other pathogens, and there are some things we can do to support it.

How to help your immune system to work at its best

  • a healthy diet and regular exercise
  • supplementing with omega – 3
  • reduce your intake of omega – 6

Head over to our shop page to browse around our selection of products and make your healthy choice today!