One of the most important nutrients our body needs for good health is the family of Omega-3 fatty acids.

These are known as essential fatty acids because they are essential to human health, but cannot be manufactured by the body.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been credited to everything from preventing heart disease, high blood pressure and blood clots to inflammation and joint tenderness from arthritis.

They help nerve cells communicate with each other, and, therefore, may play a role in cognitive ability and prevention of several mental health conditions including depression.

One of the best dietary sources of Omega-3 is fish oil. The American Heart Association recommends at least two servings each week of tuna, salmon, halibut, lake trout, swordfish, mackerel or herring, all of which are high in these nutrients.

Women who are pregnant may have different dietary guidelines of their physician.

Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in the oil of many nuts, especially walnuts, and in flax and flaxseed oil and soybeans.

For people who can’t get enough Omega-3 fatty acids through their diet, supplements derived from fish oil are believed by many nutritionists to be more effective that those derived from plant sources.