Over the past few years, researchers have touted fish oil as the new treasures from the deep blue sea. Let's take a sniff at this fishy substance and explore on some of the benefits of consuming it. By JAY WONG.

Fish oil benefits have been the topic of much research in recent years, as scientists are discovering more and more therapeutic applications for fish oil and the powerful Omega 3 fatty acids it contains. In fact, scientists are now recommending that by eating fish twice a week, one can reduce the chance of dying from heart disease by one-third.

Fish oil is harvested from cold-water fish, including mackerel, tuna, salmon, cod and others. While these fishes are good sources of Omega 3 for us, it is a fallacy to say that those fishes are the origin of
Omega 3.

If you were to take a closer look at the marine food chain, Omega 3 originates from the tiniest single-celled microorganism such as the algae, plankton and planktonic crustacea - right at the bottom of the chain! And those smaller fishes like the anchovy, sardine and mackerel would feed on the microorganism, and produces Omega 3 in its body.

The good news is that with the advancing food technology, fish oil is processed through pharmaceutical good practices and made available in many forms - capsules, tablets and even powdered milk fortified with Omega 3. This is certainly good news for us because the processed pharmaceutical-grade version of fish oil means that our body can better absorb sufficient amounts of two very important substances known as the EPA and DHA.

Expressed more simply, we are not going to get enough of fish oil from eating salmon, tuna or mackerel even if we eat them everyday! While eating a tuna salad for lunch or salmon would result in some benefits, this alone will not provide us with the required amounts of fish oil our bodies need. It is the high dose fish oil that we should focus on. And to understand this, let's look into the two important substances, namely the EPA and DHA.

EPA and DHA are the principal Omega 3 fatty acids found in the fish oil. EPA stands for eicosapentaenoic acid while DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid. So as not to overwhelm ourselves with the medical mumbo-jumbo, it makes sense to just limit ourselves to the fundamental concepts of these two substances.

EPA is a large and complex polyunsaturated fatty acid found in fish and fish oils which falls under the Omega 3 family. Through research, it has been found that the compound of EPA is very much akin to the hormone-like substance of prostaglandins and thromboxane A3 found in human body - both of which assist in counteracting inflammatory disorders. This simply means that EPA in fish oil can inject some balance into an excessive meat diet. Many researches had thus concluded that there exists a relationship between EPA and heart disease.

DHA is also part of the Omega 3 family, and is believed to reduce blood triglycerides in humans and consequently reduce the risk of heart diseases. Low levels of DHA have been associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's and even depression. The growing volume of medical literature on DHA supplementation indicates that it helps in lowering the incidence of modern-day disease.

To sum up, EPA has anti-inflammatory properties while DHA triggers the barriers against neurological disorders.

Even though we are still at the threshold of more exciting discovery, the growing evidence of researches all point to many potential benefits of consuming fish oil. Some of the various conditions in which fish oil has shown promises are:

• Dermatology: Psoriasis
• Gastroenterology: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Immunology: Asthma, nephropathy
• Neurology: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
• Obstetrics-gynecology or pediatrics:  Maternal and child health, cognitive (IQ) and postpartum depression
• Oncology: Breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, leukemia, melanoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, renal cancer
• Ophthalmology: Macular degeneration
• Psychiatry: Depression, bipolar disorder,schizophrenia
• Rheumatology:  Osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis

Fish oils capsules vary widely in amounts of ratios of EPA and DHA. A supplement with an EPA:DHA ratio between 1.5:1 and 1:1 is best, and capsules may have to be taken daily to provide about 1g of EPA:DHA.

Fish oil is really food and can be taken anytime of the day, with or without meals. In fact, taking the capsules at bedtime or freezing them can minimize or even eliminate the experience of a "fishy burp." If the capsule is too large for a child, you can cut open the capsule and drip the oil in your child's favorite food or beverage.