You Don't Have to Eat Fish
to get Fish Oil Benefits

When I was a kid I didn't know anything about fish oil benefits. I don't think my mother did either, but she served our family fish at least once a week. Let's see how she benefited her family, and how you can benefit, too.

As I recall, she was big on other oils, too. I remember when I was ill getting doses of castor oil and cod liver oil, both of which I hated more than being sick.

Not until much later in life did I learn that cod liver oil is very good for you.

I knew that oil went on salad along with vinegar and that my father took the car someplace to get the oil changed.

I liked to go fishing sometimes, but I didn't know that oil lurked inside those little creatures or within my body for that matter.

I didn't know there were any differences in oils or that some were better than others. And Lord help me, I knew nothing of saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils.

A true vegetarian wouldn't use fish oil in a high blood pressure diet or to lower blood pressure naturally.

She or he likely would use flax oil, a oil that has practically all the benefits of fish oil without the fishy taste. Flax oil can be taken straight and on salads. I wouldn't try that with fish oil.

I take two 1,000 milligram gel capsules of fish oil daily.

What this is supposed to do is make the platelets in my blood more slippery so they don't stick on artery walls and clog them. The oil has some blood thinning properties as well.

Flax oil does pretty much the same thing, so along with fish oil, they are two foods that lower blood pressure.

When you are looking at how to lower blood pressure naturally, you can't beat these oils.

You don't need to know their chemistry, but go ahead and google such terms as Omega 3, EPA or DHA for more information. While you're at it check out this great site about Omega 3.

Another great oil with heart benefits is olive oil, which is a monounsaturated oil used heavily in the Mediterranean Diet.

Another well known healthy oil is canola oil. Both canola and olive oil are fine for low temperature cooking. However, I've never seen canola oil touted as one of the ways to lower blood pressure.

Oils which are heavily polyunsaturated have some toxic reactions in the body, so I prefer monounsaturated oils such as fish, flax, olive and canola.

Other oils that have a large monounsaturated component are borage, evening primrose, black currant, walnut, avocado and safflower. Except for safflower oil, these oils are not usually found in super markets. Look for them in health food stores.

Heart healthy claims are made for each of these oils, and they probably are okay, but except for safflower oil, they are fairly expensive.

A competitor for olive oil seems to be grape seed oil. Even though this oil is polyunsaturated, it appears to withstand high temperature cooking better than olive oil. However, it's heart health benefits haven't been proven yet.

I'd stick with those oils that have proven fish oil benefits: fish oil (of course), flax oil, and olive oil.

These monounsaturated oils should help you maintain normal blood pressure and should be a part of your high blood pressure diet.

However, they are only a few of the ways to lower blood pressure naturally. See Your Diet Plan for more tips.

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