The T-Dawg diet says there are three supplements that must be used with the diet. These are “folic acid to help control homocysteine levels” and “flaxseed oil and fish oil capsules to counter any cholesterol problems”
Out of the three, i only have the fish oil capsules. Do i also need flaxxed oil, or will the capsules alone get the job done? I also have absolutely no idea what homocysteine levels are, or where to get folic acid, so a little info on that would be great.
Hi, Max. All three can be gotten at a health food store or ordered online. My source of fish oil (liquid, not capsule) is Ultra Omega 3 by Health from the Sun at iHerb.com. $6.50 or $6 a bottle. The fish oil is more expensive than flaxseed oil, but should be a mainstay of your supplementation program whether you’re on T-Dawg or not. Check out the chapter on athletes in Barry Sears’ book, “The Omega Zone” and come to your own conclusions.
Flaxseed oil is cheaper than fish oil, but it’s an extremely efficient way to add in (good) fat and calories, since you’re dropping carbs and the calories that go with it. I often use a see-saw analogy. To keep from creating too severe a caloric deficit, when you drop carbs, raise fat calories. When fat intake goes up, drop carbs.
Max, do me a favor and read up on Omega 3s, flaxseed oil, EFAs, etc. They’re CRITICAL to health, T-Dawg or not. My recommendation is that you search the forum first and the article archives second.
Finally, folic acid should be taken when protein levels are increased. I think EVERYONE should take folic acid. It’s cheap, cheap, cheap. And high homocysteine levels are deadly, a better marker/predictor of stroke and heart attack than high cholesterol levels. It, too, is worth reading up on. There are whole books on the subject.
Shugs is shooting straight with you, Max. The advice on supplementation should not be taken lightly.
Take care, and if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!!!
By the way, make sure you’re using the new T-Dawg diet 2.0 which was posted in T-mag a week or two ago and not the old one that’s 2-3 years old.
Thanks Terry, i’ll definitely read up on the subject as soon as i can. However, today’s my first day on the T-Dawg and i need to know how much folic acid to take. I know there is some already in Surge and Low-Carb Grow (serving of each daily), but all it says is ‘25%’.
How does that fish oil from Health from the Sun taste? It says Lemon/lime, and I don’t really know what to think. I’ve always taken fish oil pills, but this looks pretty good. Thanks for your reply, and all the help on the forum recently.
Like many things, the fish oil isn’t the greatest but you’ll get used to it. I never thought I would be able to stomach flax oil or Udo’s but now I don’t even think about it…I just guzzle down a tbsp. and get it done.
How does it taste? Depends on who you ask. (grin). I add it to a tin of tuna fish. Since tuna is fishy to begin with, I find the taste to be perfectly acceptable. In fact, tuna tends to be a bit dry, so the fish oil actually enhances the flavor. The lemon-lime flavor is something I noticed in the beginning, but not any more. It’s subtle at best. The price is unbeatable. My cost per day is 50 cents for 6g of EPA/DHA.
Max, take 800 mcg per day. It can be taken at much higher levels (5000 mcg) if homocysteine levels are elevated. 800 mcg is a good maintenance/preventative dosage.