FUN FACTS

Fish oil for blood pressure is often recommended by health care providers, but there is still a lot of confusion as to why this act is being practiced. Some people claim that despite ingesting high volumes of concentrated fish oil, blood pressure remains relatively the same - or worse, there is even an increase in hypertensive levels. So can fish oil really do anything to improve blood pressure?

Yes. Fish oil for blood pressure can help improve blood circulation, but it cannot cure preexisting conditions like coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. Here is how fish oil for blood pressure works.

First, you need to understand the basics of LDL and HDL. LDL or low density lipoprotein and HDL or high density lipoprotein are the main molecule carriers in the blood stream. These are the ones responsible for bringing nutrients, oxygen and any other compounds derived from food and drinks in the blood.

As blood circulates throughout the body, these aforementioned nutrients, oxygen and compounds are distributed to different body parts as well. Unfortunately, especially with the case of LDL, some of the compounds they carry are not really favorable to good health. Cholesterol and other fats when combined with LDL becomes "bad cholesterol", simply because these are not dissolved in the blood and are transported everywhere in the body.

The smaller arteries, particularly around the heart area usually cannot accommodate these larger compounds. The bad cholesterol, along with other fatty deposits, is eventually trapped within the small walls becoming arterial plaques (hardened deposits) that constrict or even completely block off blood flow to that section.

High blood pressure or hypertension is due to these blockages. The more arteries that are blocked, and the tighter the arterial plaques are within the arterial walls, higher pressure is needed to pump blood back in and out of the heart.

On the other hand, when a person is given fish oil for blood pressure, this causes his or her HDL or high density lipoprotein to go on overdrive. HDL, when combined with cholesterol becomes "good cholesterol" because the fatty deposits are redirected almost immediately to the liver and no where else. The liver then processes these so that the fatty deposits can be expelled from the body, and thereby sparing the arteries of the heart from further blockages.

This helps improve or level blood pressure. However, as stated earlier, fish oil supplements, no matter how concentrated they are or how high the dosages are taken, cannot clear the already blocked arteries from the cholesterol plaques. At the same time, these supplements cannot remove all bad cholesterol from the body, since LDL is a natural occurring process in the circulatory system.

In order to gain the best benefits from regularly taking fish oil for blood pressure, the person must still limit - or better yet, eliminate fatty foods from his or her diet. Regular exercise as well as a healthier lifestyle is also recommended so that blood circulation improves and that blood pressure levels off to more comfortable settings. It would also be best to have a health care provider check the condition of the heart and its surrounding arteries in case more medication or treatment is needed.