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Nutraceutical News
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Omega 3 from Cranberries 3By Nicole HarmsOmega 3 from cranberries is an essential fatty acid found in the seed of the berry. This nutrient is called essential because it is necessary for proper human growth, development and health. However, even though essential fatty acids, such as omega 3, are essential, the human body is unable to produce them. That is why health and science researchers are constantly looking for natural sources for these fatty acids. This research has found that it is possible to obtain omega 3 from cranberries by extracting the oil from cranberry seeds. While the health benefits of omega 3 from cranberries are still being studied, recent research indicates that the ingredient helps many other things. Unfortunately approximately 60% of all Americans do not consume enough of these essential fatty acids. For this reason, research into different natural sources of this ingredient is essential. Obtaining omega 3 from cranberries is a good choice for this essential fatty acid for many reasons. First, there are no chemicals used in the process of extracting the omega 3 from cranberries. This means that using cranberries as a source of omega 3 is environmentally friendly. To extract omega 3 from cranberries, cranberry seeds are placed into a cold press. The process only requires cranberry seeds, which are a natural byproduct of the production of cranberry juice and other products that contain cranberry juices and pastes. The oil that is extracted in this process contains both omega 6 and omega 3 from cranberries. Once the oil has been extracted and collected, the omega 3 from cranberries can be used in a variety of ways. Those who wish to take the nutrient as a supplement can purchase it in capsule or soft gel form. The oil can also be infused into dried cranberries to enrich the taste and add omega 3 from cranberries to the snack food. These enriched dried cranberries can be used in many different foods to help add omega 3 to the daily diet. The oil can also be mixed into fruit juices to enrich them with omega 3. One benefit of using omega 3 from cranberries rather than from fish based sources is that the product contains no animal based ingredients. This means that vegetarians can consume the product. Also, some consumers do not like the taste or smell of the fish based omega 3 products, and eating omega 3 from cranberries is far more pleasant to them. The current lines of research into the benefits of making omega 3 from cranberries actually started with more general research into essential fatty acids. In the 1930s the research focused on the vitamin F. While researching the vitamin, two American scientists discovered that there was a difference between omega 3 and omega 6. This led to further research into the function of these two essential fatty acids, eventually leading to the discovery that getting omega 3 from cranberries was a possibility. As research continued, the correlation between omega 3 and good health was noted in the 1970s. The Nobel Prize was awarded in 1982 to two researchers who explained the link between certain physical symptoms and a deficiency in omega 3 in the body and diet of the patients. These two Swedish researchers also studied how fatty acids, such as omega 3 from cranberries, interacted to promote the overall health of an individual. The link between omega 3 from cranberries, fish, nuts, or other natural sources and cardiovascular health was the focus of the research in the 1990s. Today, research into omega 3 from cranberries focuses on the best production methods and discovering all of the potential health benefits of this ingredient.
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