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You've been told you need omega-3's in your diet. But you may not realize just how important they are.

Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids are linked to heart disease, cancer, asthma, obesity, stroke, dementia and other diseases. Higher levels are associated with a dramatic drop in these diseases. This is no gimmick - omega-3's are vital to a long, healthy life.

This informative article on MSNBC explores the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and the reasons most of us aren't getting enough of them.



In the early 1900's we didn't have to worry about supplementing omega-3's because they were naturally found in the foods we ate. But along with the industrialization of agriculture came the loss of omega-3 fatty acids in the American diet. Cattle and poultry used to graze on grasses and flowers that were loaded with omega-3's but today's livestock and poultry are fed differently - instead of grazing, they're stuffed full of corn, soybean oil and other seed oils (not to mention hormones and antibiotics). The result? Little to no omega-3's on our dinner table.

The spread of the seed-oil-rich Western diet around the world has been tracked by a statistical rise in the so-called diseases of civilization: asthma and arthritis, depression and Alzheimer's, heart disease and cancer, as well as metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity.

The danger is real - low levels of omega-3's mean you may not live as long as you should.

"Men in their forties and fifties can nearly reverse their risk of dying from sudden cardiac death by eating fish at least three times a week," says Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, MD, acting chief of the section on nutritional neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "And if they want to live longer and happier lives, there's substantial data that they should increase their body composition of omega-3s."

While eating seafood is the best way to get omega-3's, (fish also contains brain-selective minerals like zinc, iron, copper, iodine, and selenium) omega-3 fish oil capsules are a good alternative.

How to Get Your Omega-3's:

1. Eat sustainably harvested, wild-caught fish at least twice weekly.
2. Take pharmaceutical-grade fish oil capsules as a supplement.
3. Eat only grass-fed beef and free-range chicken and eggs.
4. Use high-quality olive oil and canola oil.
5. Eat avocados and nuts as part of a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables.