Can Eating Fish, or Taking Fish Oil Supplements, Help Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Fish oil is an anti inflammatory and my help prevent this nasty disease

Rheumatoid arthritis is an extremely unpleasant disease afflicting primarily older people. It is an inflammatory disorder that attacks, primarily, the flexible joints and is extremely painful for anyone who suffers from it.

And sufferers can experience a very substantial loss of function as well as loss of enjoyment of life, as well as pain.

It has long been known that the omega 3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA have an anti-inflammatory function, and so it comes as no surprise that studies are showing that an intake of DHA and EPA or more specifically oil from oily fish, can reduce your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

In fact it’s estimated, according to a recent study, that eating plenty of fish can actually reduce your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by about 50 percent.

The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are little understood, however notwithstanding that it does seem that some relief is in sight.

In a Swedish study of over 32,000 women aged on average around 72 the eating habits of these subjects were studied, and in particular they were questioned about the types of fish they ate. The study ran for 10 years.

It was observed in the study that women who ate one or more servings of fish, on average, per week, during the period of the study reduced their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 29 percent and they reduced their risk of developing the disease by 52 percent by eating for servings of fish per week.

This is not the 1st study to suggest that the omega 3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA can have a role in helping reduce the risk or even prevent the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

And of course eating fish does pose other risks, because fish can be contaminated with various environmental toxins like mercury, which poses its own risks.

In fact the suggestion was made that to reduce this risk of environmental contaminants in fish people can take high quality, and clean fish oil supplements instead of eating fish. And of course the same applies if you just don’t like fish.