Could Fish Oil Cure Type 2 Diabetes?
A diet rich in fish oils and flaxseed is associated with a low incidence of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis and related inflammatory conditions, and other degenerative disease. Such a diet increases insulin sensitivity, decreases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, and even protects against diabetic neuropathy.
There is no easier way to get a good supply of the anti-inflammatory n-3 essential fatty acids than popping a few capsules of a high-quality cold-water fish oil once or twice a day. And there is no doubt that n-3 reduce the inflammation that can cause weight gain and poor circulation in Type 2 diabetes.
You could even say that fish oil and similar products, such as the n-3 essential fatty acids extracted from microalgae, is an important tool for keeping Type 2 diabetes in check. But there is more involved than just taking a supplement.
Insulin resistance is in part due to the action of inflammatory hormones. When you consume more n-3 essential fatty acids, your body makes more anti-inflammatory hormones. When you consume more n-6 essential fatty acids, such as the fatty acids in meat, margarine, corn oil, and eggs, your body makes more pro-inflammatory hormones.
The human body needs both kinds of hormones. The problem is that most people consume vastly more of the n-6 essential fatty acids and not enough of the n-3.
If you:
increase consumption of n-3 essential fatty acids from fish oil, flaxseed oil, nuts and seeds, microalgae, and olive oil to at least 5 and up to 15 grams a day and keep your consumption of the more common fats found in meat, butter, margarine, and cooking oil to no more than 30 grams a day… which still allows you 300 calories (1260 kilojoules) a day from this kind of fat, your body begins to make the anti-inflammatory hormones that protect your pancreas and that reduce insulin resistance.
Cells respond to insulin more readily. Your blood sugar levels naturally fall, although the effects are unlikely to be dramatic (or cause hypoglycemia). Even more importantly, the anti-inflammatory hormones protect the insulin producing beta cells of your pancreas from cell death, keeping you from needing injected insulin.
The thing to remember is that there are two sides to the equation. More n-3, less n-6. As you get these two kinds of essential fatty acids in better balance, your blood sugar levels will be easier and easier to control.
