6 Ways Omega-3 Fatty Acids Boost Your Body Every Day

Omega fatty acids are good for you and critical to your well-being because they provide support to your cells and membranes.

Chances are your doctor or nutritionist has told you to eat more of the good fats and stop eating bad fats—what makes a fat good or bad from a nutritional standpoint is a purely biochemical reason that we won’t get into here.

These must-have fats (the GOOD fats) come in different varieties like omega-3s and omega-6s, which serve as the building blocks that support your skin, brain, heart, joints, and immune system. As important as these compounds are to your overall health and well being, there is something particularly special about the 3’s compared to the 6’s.

Here are six ways omega-3's benefit your daily routine, health, and improve your quality of life.

Omega-3’s Keep Your Mind Sharp

Omega-3’s fatty acids play vital roles in your brain from birth to death, keeping your cells nourished and healthy, your neurons communicating back and forth, and protecting your brain against aging and dementia-related diseases like Alzheimer's.

Despite weighing only 2% of your full body weight, your brain is made up of over 60% fat and consumes over 20% of the oxygen you breathe. This large amount of fat and oxygen intake puts your brain at risk for damage since oxygen metabolism produces free radicals. As you age, the ability of your brain to protect itself against inflammation and oxidative damage decreases too.

If you want to keep your mind sharp you can start by eating more brain healthy foods like raw avocados and unrefined hemp oil, which are good sources of plant-derived omega-3’s.

Consuming omega-3 fats like DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) help stave off mental decline by fighting free radicals that turn on the inflammation switch in your brain.

Omega-3’s Protect Your Heart

Looking to make your heart stronger? Omega-3’s can do wonders for the health of your heart and cardiovascular system. Most American diets are high in bad fats that derive from eating too much meat, dairy, and foods fried in vegetable oil.

When you don’t burn off enough of your bad fats, your body stores these fats in the form of triglycerides. High triglyceride levels lead to heart problems like high blood pressure, reduced circulation and clogged arteries and increase your chance for a heart attack or stroke.

You can easily turn the health of your heart and incorporate more omega-3’s in your diet. Snacking on some flax seeds, hemp seeds, avocados will keep your omega-3 levels up and heart healthy.

The benefits of eating more omega-3’s are endless and include lower triglyceride levels and blood pressure, improved circulation, and a reduced risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Omega-3’s Fight Dry Skin

Did you know your skin is made up of over 50% fat? Yep, your skin loves blubber and easily absorbs oily and greasy substances.

Fatty acids are found naturally in your skin, along with ceramides and other waxy compounds. These molecules help your body regulate temperature and support the health of your skin by keeping your barrier strong, collagen thick, and layers moist.

When the fat and oil levels in your skin are low, you lose more water and become prone to damage and dryness. Chronic inflammatory skin conditions like eczema result from an overactive immune system and are usually accompanied by red, itchy, raw dry skin patches.

Adding some omega-3’s into your skincare routine may help fight both inflammation and dryness by boosting the amount of fat in your layers, locking in water, and tapping the brakes on your immune system.

Your days of itchiness and frustration are sure to lessen with daily use of omega-3 products—like GLAUX CHEM's Face & Body Oil (below).

Omega-3’s Activate Your Endocannabinoid System

Another added bonus of giving your body some omega-3 love comes with activation of your endocannabinoid system—a crucial systems regulator in your body. Your endocannabinoid system is present throughout your entire body, playing major roles to keep your brain, immune system, stress and hormone levels in balance.

Since the discovery in the early 1990s, doctors and scientists are constantly publishing new findings on how integral this system is for the regulation of pain, sleep, mood, wound healing, inflammation, and appetite. Medial physicians like Dr. Ethan Russo use the term clinical endocannabinoid deficiency as a theory to explain conditions that develop when the body’s endocannabinoid system isn’t functioning properly.

The high level of interaction and support that your endocannabinoid system gives your body is quite impressive and we still have many more things to learn about the endocannabinoid system.

Stay tuned for future blog discussions on this topic!

Omega-3’s Quell Arthritis & Joint Pain

As you age, your joints start to weaken and become less able to support your body. Arthritis and joint issues are painful and can drastically decrease your quality of life by limiting your ability to be active, enjoy time outdoors with your family and friends, or work out in the gym.

A major issue in arthritis is inflammation and fluid buildup around the deteriorating joint. While there is no cure for arthritis, adding omega-3’s into your daily routine may quell the pain in your joints by reducing stiffness, swelling, and tenderness caused by the excessive fluid.

Omega-3’s are strong anti-inflammatory compounds that stimulate your endocannabinoid system.

Omega-3’s Help You Sleep Better

Sleeeeeep. Who doesn’t need or want more?

When you sleep, your body uses the time to repair, heal, and fight illness. The repair process takes time and energy so ensure to give your body enough rest to take on each day.

You need at least 7 hours of sleep a night to keep you and your brain healthy, alert, and able to fend off damage from free radicals and stress hormones like cortisol that trigger inflammation.

Sleep deprivation is an all too common and serious issue linked to depression, weight loss, aging, dementia, and reduced ability to learn new things. The health and function of your brain are linked to how much rest you get so be sure to develop a nighttime routine and stick to it.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, getting more omega-3 fats in your diet can improve the quality of your sleep, which in turn improves the health of your brain.

We also recommend consuming a high CBD strain of cannabis about an hour before bed for added sleeping pleasure.

Omega-3 Fats + You = 🙌

The bottom line is omega fatty acids are essential nutrients your body and brain need to be functional, healthy, energetic, and glowing.

In fact, you literally cannot live without them.