So . . . should I keep taking this stuff, or am I poisoning myself? Any thoughts? Thanks.
I dont know if I bought the cheapest brand out there, but i have the “Kirkland Signature Fish Oil Concentrate.” (costco!)
1000 mg “concentrated” fish oil with 300 mg omega 3 fatty acids. it doesnt say anything about molecular distillation on here.
per 1000mg,
epa - 180 mg
DHA - 120 mg
Im also taking about a table spoon of flaxseed in the morning. And currently 1-2 of these softgels. Am i poisonnig my body with all the negative carcinogens and metals found in fish? Should I discontinue using this brand?
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what’s “soft gels and caps”?
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UK distilled source?
Damici, minimizing toxic load is one of my personal priorities, which is why I wouldn’t use a product that wasn’t molecularly distilled. For the same reason I won’t microwave in plastic containers or with plastic wrap. For the same reason I avoid breathing hairspray and gas fumes and drink filtered water.
It’s all a matter of degree. No, I don’t think you’re poisoning yourself. But if you do care about quality, getting a product that is molecularly distilled to remove the PCBs, DDT, mercury, etc., seems like a good idea.
BTW, a molecularly distilled product isn’t necessarily more expensive. The product I buy (Health from the Sun, Ultra Omega 3) from iHerb costs me something like .50 a day for my 6g of EPA & DHA. Health from the Sun also makes capsules, but they’re more expensive.
jago, I’ve run across some UK sources in my Internet searches. And the company I purchase from above does ship internationally.
Fish oil in a gel is like getting your fish oil in a capsule. That’s the best I can describe it.
new notion:
EPA seems to be affecting body composition as well as performance in a negative way when taken in higher than recommended dietary doses. So while omega-3 fatty acids are an essential part of our diet, and a must have, supplementation with it is not advised unless your diet is deficient. Most people on a standard western diet might do well to supplement a little once in a while, but continual high dose use for purposes of fat loss or maintenance seem to be contradictory.
References
Berge RK, Madsen L, Vaagenes H, Tronstad KJ, Gottlicher M, Rustan AC.
In contrast with docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and hypolipidaemic derivatives decrease hepatic synthesis and secretion of triacylglycerol by decreased diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity and stimulation of fatty acid oxidation.
Biochem J. 1999 Oct 1;343 Pt 1:191-7.
Chambrier C, Bastard JP, Rieusset J, Chevillotte E, Bonnefont-Rousselot D, Therond P, Hainque B, Riou JP, Laville M, Vidal H. Eicosapentaenoic acid induces mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. Obes Res. 2002 Jun;10(6):518-25.
those enzymes TT mentioned need zinc, B vitamins, and are inhibbited by aturated fat and alcohol.
GluteSpanker, can you interpret those studies for me; i.e., put them into laymen’s language? It looks like the first one is saying that it increases fatty acid oxidation. For those of us who care about body comp, I think that would be a good thing.
EPA & DHA are known to have positive body comp partitioning effects, along with a whole host of other health benefits, including enhancing cognition, reducing inflammation and increasing endurance. I have yet to hear anything negative about its use. In fact, it’s even being used therapeutically in a number of chronic disease, including ADHD, manic depression, a number of autoimmune disease, Syndrome X – the list is staggering.
I would agree, however, that you can take in too many polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats (which is what fish oil and EPA/DHA are) should only comprise about 33% of the fat you take in. You still need saturated and monounsaturated fat, too.
ZEB, I hadn’t tried Life Extension’s product. The Life Extension brand “Mega EPA/DHA” appears to be an equivalent product, with a ratio of 60% EPA+DHA. If they are the same product, LEF’s price is much better. Thanks for pointing me to this possibility. I don’t like to take fish oil in capsules, but I do buy them for traveling.
ScottL, about my personal tests. I do experimental research (with human subjects) for a living. I know that it’s hard to draw any conclusions in an n=1 “study.” The best technique I know is to apply the treatment, withdraw it, apply it again, etc. The more times you see the same pattern of effects, the more confident you become that the effect comes from the treatment. (I have done this with Biotest supps also.) So I use a fish oil supplement for about 3 months or as long as I can stand taking it, whichever comes first, noting the effects. I alternate periods of taking fish oil with taking none, and switching brands. I’ve tested Sears over 4 different separated periods, I think. I have always noticed benefits with any fish oil. For example, my joint soreness/arthritis pain decreases. My allergies improve. And I’ve tracked many other markers. With Sears, these benefits are MUCH more dramatic, and I also had no GI distress whatsoever. I started with Sears and compared cheaper brands to see if I could get as good results. I really wanted to find a cheaper alternative that would give me the same benefits. I was hoping that Sears hype about “pharmaceutical grade” wouldn’t appear to matter in real-life use. But none of the other brands came close to the benefits, and every brand but Sears and Carlson’s gives me varying degrees of GI distress.
To everyone worried/not worried about mercury, PCBs, etc. There doesn’t seem to be agreement about how much of these contaminants is too much. And it likely varies widely across individuals. Although the report is somewhat reassuring, just because levels were below some threshold measured by the consumer agency, I still can’t know for sure that those levels are OK for me. My results ultimately matter more to me than those test results. Even if 2 supps are the same on paper, if one gives me great results, that’s the one I’m taking even if don’t know exactly why. However, no need to panic about poisoning yourself, even if you’ve been taking stuff for a year or two. A healthy body handles unavoidable toxins every day (and handles them a lot better if you don’t drink alcohol). But you might want to think about the long term, as Tampa-Terry suggested, when taking a lot of a supplement for a long time. And according to the research, the benefits require a much higher dose than most bottles suggest.
Glut: while you may be right, I would be careful. It is easy to find one or two studies showing that anything is bad for you (there are negative studies on vitamin C, chromium, quercetin, etc). While I’m not sure that fat loss is the reason to take EFAs, there are lots of data on omega 3s and preventing heart disease, cancer, and inflammation (which may be a common mediator behind heart disease, cancer, alzheimers, etc). Don’t forget the issue of ratio of omega 3 to omega 6s in your diet.
JBs 6 grams/day is too much for my body. I seem to do best with with either a large serving (~1/2 lbs) of wild salmon or 2-3 grams EPA/DHA/day.
Andersons: I saw you were a PhD type and was hoping for some lab test as an endpoint. I use brands only sold to docs (tyler, thorne, etc) but am always at a loss for recommendations. Did you mean that Carlson’s had the same benficial effects as Sears? Or only lack of adverse GI effects?
Mercury toxicity: this can be a real issue from eating lots of fish (not sure about fish oil–perhaps not if consumer reports is correct). But if you are concerned, get a blood test for mercury. Here is a link related to eating fish and getting mercury toxicity (this is a real issue check it out):
glute-spanker, I personally don’t see anything in these studies to influence my supplement strategy for now. These studies describe acute, low-level effects. There are many illustrations that acute, low-level effects can’t be over-generalized to predict long-term, system-level effects. Long-term, system-level effects can be completely opposite. Caffeine consumption is a classic example. Coffee impairs insulin sensitivity for 6 hours, but long-term coffee drinkers have a reduced risk of diabetes.
ScottL said: [quote] JBs 6 grams/day is too much for my body. I seem to do best with with either a large serving (~1/2 lbs) of wild salmon or 2-3 grams EPA/DHA/day. [/quote]
This brings up a good point. The “optimal” amounts seem to vary widely across individuals. You have to experiment to find what seems best for you. For me, it seems the more the better. Maybe my fat digestion is inefficient. Sears recommends 2.5 g/day as a starting point, and increasing and monitoring until the benefits seem to level off. This is basically what I did, and things seemed to get better the more I take. But that’s just me.
Good question. I find the same benefits from Carlson’s, as WELL as the lack of adverse GI effects. The quality and freshness seem similar. Carlson’s has a little more saturated fat, which is minimal in the Sears brand. The glass bottle also seems to make a difference. The lower-quality brands are spoiled enough that my palate can taste it and my stomach rebels. Spoiled fats don’t offer health benefits, either.
Lab tests would be great, but that’s not my field. I’m not sure what you would test for freshness. I have only systematically tried several brands and recorded perceived effects. I can’t even do a blind test, because I can easily discriminate the brands by taste.
It appears there may be other equally good brands I haven’t tried, and hopefully more to come with the increased attention fish oil is getting. But my point is this is an important supplement. It spoils EASILY and quality is a big issue. So don’t just buy the cheapest version you find and take some random amount.