What Foods are Rich In Omega 3 Fatty Acids?

There’s been a lot of talk about Omega 3 fats in the last few years and how it can be used to help lose weight, gain weight, and just generally improve the bodies overall health. It is nothing new, what I mean by that is you’ve probably been having Omega 3 in your diets for years, all your life for some people. However, it’s only just recently been covered and researched by health professionals and people are still unsure of what food sources they can get this essential fatty acid from.

Foods that are rich in Omeag 3 can actually be seperated into two main categories which are plant foods and animal foods. There are not many animal sources that contain high amounts of omega 3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA. A well known source of Omega 3 is fish as it contains large amounts of both EPA and DHA.

Another great source of Omega 3 other than fish, shrimps, and various other sea foods is Plant oils. Oils such as Hemp oil, soybean oil and flax seed oil are all great sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acids. These oils have a number of healthy benefits as they are pure and do not contain and impurities whatsoever. Another plus for these oils is that they contain a good quantity of Omega 6 fats also which is required to compliment all the benefits of Omega 3 in the body.

Out of the mentioned plant oils, hemp oil has to be the number ones choice as it contains the best ratio of both omega 3 and 6. Flax seed oil is another great choice however as it contains better amounts of ALA which is a longer chain fatty acid. ALA is broken down by the body into both EPA and DHA.

Other sources that have been known to provide adequate amounts of Omega 3 are things such as tofu and omega 3 rich eggs which also provide good amounts of both DHA and EPA. Others include Navy beans, walnuts, kidney beans and almonds are all good sources of Omega 3.

If you don’t eat any of the sources that I have suggested above I would definitely think about adding them to your diet as soon as possible and have them on a regular basis as the benefits are extreme.

You can also buy supplements on the market which contain concentrated amounts of omega 3 and various other essential fatty acids. These products are really useful if you don’t have time to get the required daily amount of EFA’s and they can be consumed by people of all ages.

I would recommed only buying big name brands of this stuff made from only pharmaceutical grade fish oil. In addition to this advice I would also suggest, if possible, that you get products that are madel from the oil of the hoki fish which is found in New Zealand. This Omega 3 enriched fish not only has great amounts of EFA’s but it also has very low amounts of mercury and other various toxins.

Want to learn how to gain weight and build muscle naturally and healthily? Check out this site now and you will learn all you need to know on bodybuilding and nutrition.

The Best Weight Gain Supplements

A lot of weight gain supplements that are in the market do not work, there’s only a few that actually do. There are a few supplements that I have taken that I fully endorse, don’t get me wrong, but there are a lot of sales pitches around from big multi-million companies and people are falling for them and it needs to stop.You can search around the net or in the shops to find the best weight gain supplements for each goal you have, whether it be losing fat, gaining muscle, or gaining weight.

Some of the best weight gain supplements I’ve tried and have been successful with are:

DHEA - DHEA is an acronym for the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone.

In men 50% of testosterone comes from DHEA and it’s the most plentiful androgenic hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands. As you can see it’s very important to bodybuilders and athletes alike, women even get 75% of their estrogen from it, and it goes upto nearly 100% after menopause.

Your levels of DHEA are very high at birth, they drop through childhood, and peak to their highest levels during young childhood. After that the levels continue to drop throughout life. Luckily however this product is available in supplement form. As a building block hormone it is proven to help towards the production of several other hormones as well, and it’s been shown to help people lose weight, burn fat, and build muscle.

Using DHEA as a dietary supplement will help maintain adequate levels in the body and improve a person’s general well being. Medical professionals in America have discovered that DHEA levels in people who are depressed are lower than in those of a normal mental state, and when given DHEA supplements it reportedly improved their state of mind. There are plenty of good names for DHEA, some what I use and have used are; AST DHEA, Ultimate Nutrition DHEA, and High Power DHEA.

Protein – This supplement is one of the major nutrients responsible for growth and repair of muscles. People who lift weights and are undergoing heavy training will need more protein than the average person. Protein should be the number one nutrient taken for people who are trying to build muscle and gain weight.

There are several different protein sources you can buy, some of the best I recommend are whey, casein, and soy. Whey is well and truly the best protein available for the body as it utilizes it better than any other.

Some of the best protein brands I know are Best Isopure, Optimum Whey, and Met-Rx Whey.

Creatine – This for me is without doubt one of the best supplements for weight gain. It is a must for people who are weight training and are looking to gain strength, muscle mass, and also endurance.

Creatine is a naturally produced compound which is produced in our own bodies to help supply the muscle with energy. Why do we need an extra supplement? you ask. Well you need it because we don’t produce enough of it from whole foods on their own. It will increase endurance, overall power, and will also increase muscle size, so you can see why it is very useful to bodybuilders and people looking to gain weight and build muscle. It does these things by forcing water into the muscle cells, which forces the muscles to hold water within themselves instead of under the skin.

Creatine overall, is very safe and easy to use, and is one of the best weight gain supplements you can buy. It has definately served me very well over the years and it will continue to do so I’m sure. Some of the best brands for creatine are; Prolab Creatine, FSI Creatine, and High Power Micronized Creatine.

These are just a few of some of the best weight gain supplements that I have tried and use till this day. Please remember though, that there is no miracle cure, no magic pills, or no substitute for a good solid 6 meal a day diet and a quality training regime to gain weight or build muscle.

If the supplements are taken properly and often (which means consistently and not too much) then products like protein, creatine, and meal replacements will help you no-end in reaching your goals faster and more effectively than not taking them at all.

The Benefits of Flaxseed Oil

What is Flax seed oil and what are the benefits of it? Well, there’s been a lot of research of this product, mainly to do with bodybuilding and fitness. It has been found to contain an essential fatty acid (EFA) known as alpha linolenic acid. This is very useful because it is turned into Omega 3 fatty acid (well known EFA) in the body which in turn increases the insulin levels in the bodies muscle cells. The Flax seed oil also produces and increase in steroid production and therefore serves as a valuable source for energy, building muscle, and gaining weight.

That’s not all, to crank things up a bit, did you know that there are also tonnes of other very valuable nutrients included in flaxseed oil? Well, there sure is, when I say tonnes I mean it. Nutrients included are :

• Folic acid – Is a form of water soluble vitamin B9 which is essential for the growth of new cells, it’s also given to pregnant women during pregnancy to prevent anemia.
• Niacin – Is another water soluble form of supplement and it’s also known as vitamin B3. It’s main roles are energy metabolism and DNA repair, but it also helps in assisting in the production of steroid hormones made by the adrenal gland, such as sex hormones and stress-related hormones.
• Vitamin B1 – Is also known a thiamin, it plays an important role in helping the body metabolize carbohydrates and fat to produce energy.
• Vitamin B2 – (Also known a Riboflavin) Essential for converting carbohydrate into energy; Essential for normal tissue respiration; Necessary for healthy mucous membranes
• Vitamin B12 – Vitamin B12 is necessary for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and growth and development in children. Deficiency can cause anaemia. Vitamin B12 neuropathy, involving the degeneration of nerve fibres and irreversible neurological damage, can also occur.
• Vitamin A – helps maintain the health of skin and mucus linings (in the nose for example); helps strengthen immunity from infections; helps vision in dim light.
• Vitamin D – acts like a hormone, regulating the formation of bone and the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine. It helps to control the movement of calcium between bone and blood, and vice versa.
• Vitamin E – protects your cells against the effects of free radicals, which are potentially damaging by-products of energy metabolism.

If you want to experience the full benefits of flax seed, it is very important that you ground the seeds before you eat them or you can just use pure flax seed oil instead. The flax seed is way to hard to digest in the body and it will pass straight through the body without releasing any of it’s nutrients. I hope you can see the benefits of this oil for building muscle and gaining weight and that you go ahead if you’re not doing so already and use it.
If you want to know more information on how to gain weight and build muscle you can visit my Weight Training site to learn more.