We all love fish oil for its exceptional health benefits and healing powers (or, better said, for the health benefits and healing powers we know as of now).
We thank fish oils for stepping-up our serotonin production for a pure, natural state of positivity and happiness.
We thank them for healing so many hearts that suffered or are suffering from our nation's number one killer - heart disease. They tame inflammation and keep blood vessels nice and flexible to improve blood flow through them.
They tell platelets in our blood to stop clustering together, thus reducing the risk of a fatal blood clot.
Thanks to fish oils, you wake up feeling fresh again, not achey, by easing joint pain, stiffness, or swelling from arthritis.
Scientists continue to discover more and more health benefits of fish oils and the essential omega 3 fatty acids they provide. It's my pleasure to introduce you to another great discovery.
Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan found that fish oils transfrom fat-storage cells into fat-burning cells. You read that right. You mean they help prevent weight gain, too? Yep, that's exactly what that means.
How do fish oils go about turning fat storage cells into cells that metabolize fat? The researchers report that fish oils activate receptors in the digestive tract that fire the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This is one of two main responses our bodies have. The SNS ("fight or flight") fires when we move, bounce into action, are stressed, excited, or worked up.
This reaction can transform white fat tissue into brown fat tissue.
Wait, fat cells come in different shades?
Yep, not all fat tissues are alike. "White" fat cells store energy. "Brown" or "beige" fat tissue metabolizes or burn energy, much like muscle.
It's too simplistic to say white fats are bad and brown fats are good. Both are essential. White cells store a backup energy supply, provide insulation, and cushion or body and organs. When it comes to brown cells, however, think heat! They help our body maintain a stable body temperature.
As babies, we start out with tons of metabolizing brown cells. Unfortunately, the population of brown fat cells decrease as we age.
Animal studies at Kyoto University reveal that fish oil led to beige cells forming from white fat cells. As a result, there was less weight gain and body fat accumulation.
Behold another reason to celebrate fish oils. (I know what you're thinking. Why isn't there a national holiday yet?)
Are you getting your (ideally) two grams of fish oil each day?
REFERENCES
Scientific Reports, 2015; 5: 18013.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013 May;1831(5):969-85.