Heart Health Help #1: One pill is all you need

In today's culture, "healthy" has become synonymous with eating a nutritious diet and exercising. However, it is just as important - if not more so - to remember to treat our heart right to maintain a truly "healthy" lifestyle. While eating the right foods and staying fit will certainly help one achieve a healthy heart, there are other factors to take into consideration. In our blog posts this week, we will give you 5 different ways to stay well and keep your heart in tip-top shape. Even if you don't have a current heart condition or history of heart disease, these posts will provide great tips on achieving a healthy lifestyle and it is always a good idea to be proactive in your health habits.

Heart Health Help #1: One pill is all you need It's not fish tale. Experts reviewed studies involving tens of thousands of people and calculated just how powerful fish oil can be in helping those who have heart problems - or who are trying to prevent them. For people who have had a heart attack, taking omega-3 supplements, such as fish oil, reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular causes by 30 percent. But "substantial gains" were documented for others, too, says the experts.

The experts recommendation: everyone should get 500 mg a day of omega-3 fish oil containing both EPA and DHA; you can meet that goal by eating at least 2 servings of fish, such as salmon, sardines, or albacore tuna, each week, or with daily supplements. Those with heart disease should aim for 800-1,000 mg a day - a tough thing to do without a pill.

It's also difficult to get the right blend of EPA and DHA on a vegetarian diet. Flaxseed and canola oils are touted as plant-based alternatives to fish oil, but contain a different omega-3 and probably won't provide the same benefits, says study author Car Lavie, MD, of Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Beyond vegetarians, some people avoid fish oil because of worries about mercury. However, research shows you have nothing to fear; testing of more than 40 products by an independent lab found no contamination.