Cold wave is coming! 3 tips for fish oil supplementation to protect your cardiovascular system! Nutrition professor: Do this to stay away from the number one killer

The first cold wave of winter is coming! The weather is getting colder, be careful of cardiovascular disease alarm! The nutrition professor reminded that we should take preventive measures to protect our hearts. There are three levels of prevention for cardiovascular disease: primary prevention is mainly to maintain good eating and exercise habits, and secondary prevention is to moderately supplement with fish oil, which has heart-protecting benefits, especially pure EPA high-concentration fish oil, which is the preferred choice for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. In addition, tertiary prevention means that patients with moderate and severe illnesses receive professional treatment to prevent complications and the risk of death.

Professor Xie Mingzhe from the Department of Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University said that cardiovascular disease is a non-communicable disease with the highest mortality rate. The World Health Organization pointed out that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the world, with approximately 17.7 million people dying from cardiovascular disease each year. In Taiwan, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, heart disease has been ranked among the top three causes of death in the past 10 years, so we should have a good concept of preventive health care.

Preventive health care mainly includes two focuses: one is the promotion of health, and the other is the prevention of disease. Through these two focuses, we can prevent the occurrence of diseases and maintain a good physical, psychological and even social state. In practice, preventive care is divided into three main stages:

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, with approximately 17.7 million people dying from it each year. In Taiwan, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, heart disease has been ranked among the top three causes of death among Taiwanese people in the past 10 years.

Primary prevention: Primary prevention refers to adjusting modifiable risk factors to prevent the occurrence of disease. Simply put, it means maintaining good eating and exercise habits.

Secondary prevention: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection of the disease before serious and permanent damage occurs, and on ensuring quality of life through treatment of patients. In other words, it is treating patients with cardiovascular disease to prevent worsening and reduce the threat of death.

Tertiary prevention: Tertiary prevention is to provide professional treatment for moderate and severe patients to prevent complications and patient death.

Professor Hsieh Ming-che of the Department of Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University said that there are three levels of prevention for cardiovascular disease: primary prevention is mainly to maintain good eating and exercise habits, and secondary prevention can be moderate supplementation of fish oil with heart-protecting benefits, especially pure EPA high-concentration fish oil.

The primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is to maintain good eating and exercise habits. As for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, fish oil supplementation is very good for us. According to a 2022 study discussing "Comparison of the efficacy of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on major cardiovascular events: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials", the comparative efficacy of different EPA/DHA doses and formulas on patients with cardiovascular disease was determined. Results showed that in a network meta-analysis of 39 randomized controlled trials (88,359 participants), fish oil high in pure EPA is a good option for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

3 tips to prevent cardiovascular disease

Professor Xie Mingzhe reminds us that there are three tips for preventing cardiovascular diseases:

1. Maintain a good diet

2. Develop exercise habits

3. Supplement high concentration fish oil

In addition to maintaining a good diet and developing exercise habits to prevent cardiovascular disease, patients with mild cardiovascular disease can also consult a doctor or nutritionist and supplement with an appropriate amount of high-concentration fish oil to reduce the impact of the disease.

Professor Xie Mingzhe's Facebook