I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Disease Zone. It has scientists studying the causes and processes of illness . Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Hi Jadine, I’m not sure which product you are asking about, but I will take a stab that you mean fish oil, which is the one I mention in my profile. Feel free to write a comment below if I’m talking about the wrong thing, or if you would like to know more!
I am interested in a particular part of fish oil, which we call ‘EPA’. Its long name is ‘Eicosapentaenoic acid’ (quite the mouthful!), and it is part of a group of molecules known as omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for our bodies to work properly. EPA can have many effects on the body, and is really widely used because of this.
Scientists discovered how important EPA can be for health when they looked at groups of people who have low levels of some diseases. In places where people eat lots of fish, like Japan, or the Eskimos in the Arctic, there are not as many people with heart problems, cancer, and lots of other diseases. After many studies, they found that fish oil, or certain parts of fish oil, like EPA, are what has this effect.
EPA and another omega-3 called DHA are really important for a healthy brain, especially for babies, whose brains are still growing. There is evidence to suggest that EPA can help with mood disorders, behavioural problems, and mental health issues, like depression, schizophrenia and ADHD. EPA can also help older people have a good memory, and keep their brain going strong.
Taking EPA can help improve cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and helps stop people getting heart disease. It can also stops blood from clotting, which could be good if your blood normally clots too much, but bad if you tend to bleed really easily. Lots of people who have bad joints from arthritis take EPA because if reduces inflammation in their joints, and makes them less swollen painful.
Really importantly, EPA can help prevent and treat cancer! Because it helps stop inflammation, and helps the body stay healthy, eating lots of fish rich in EPA is thought to help stop people from getting cancer. There are lots of new studies where scientists have shown that taking EPA can make chemotherapy work better, helping the chemicals get in to kill the tumour, while protecting the rest of the body from being hurt by the treatment. This is very important, as many people have bad side effects from chemotherapy, which can stop them getting the amount they need to get better. If EPA can help the treatment work, it might help more people get better!
These aren’t the only things that EPA can do in the body, there are so many it would take me hours and hours to list the ones we know of! We do know that it is very important to have lots of EPA in your diet to stay healthy, and the best way to do this is to eat lots of fish, like salmon and tuna, so next time you get pizza, ask for anchovies!
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