Omega 3 Fish Oil Regimen??

[FinanceDude]

I take 3 "horse pill" fish oil tablets each day. I buy them from a local health food store. Just wondering if fish oil helps or is a waste of money

 

[cube_rat]

All fish oils are not created equal It took me several attempts in locating a par excellence brand with no mercury or pcb's. I've been taking two Nordic Naturals Omega 3-6-9 daily for 7 months and my mood (I'm an over 40 woman experiencing that time of life ) has helped 10 fold. I was very prone to panic attacks, bouts of roiling anxiety and depression. I now have little to no mood issues. As far as HDL, LDL and triclycerides, that remains to be seen. I have famial hypercholertia (help me Rich), so nothing short of statins are going to lower my numbers. Although my total cholesterol last year was 300, my ratios were awesome. My tryclcerides were 40.

 

[TromboneAl]

What's the per day cost of those pills?

 

[cube_rat]

What's the per day cost of those pills?

.3833 x 2 = .7666 per day

 

[JohnEyles]

All fish oils are not created equal It took me several attempts in locating a par excellence brand with no mercury or pcb's. I've been taking two Nordic Naturals Omega 3-6-9 daily ...

How did you determine they had no mercury or PCBs ? I've been taking whatever
Vitamin World sells and I worry a little. But I have heard that fish oil tends to have
less mercury that whole fish.

 

[cube_rat]

How did you determine they had no mercury or PCBs ? I've been taking whatever
Vitamin World sells and I worry a little. But I have heard that fish oil tends to have
less mercury that whole fish.

Good question.

You might want to check out their manufacturing standards. I can't recap because I'm at work.

http://www.nordicnaturals.com/

 

[marty]

Check the label for the words "molecularly distilled".

Remember, you want to find the capsules that have the highest DHA/EPA content.

 

[HFWR]

Spring Valley, available at Wally World... 8)

 

[FinanceDude]

I buy Carlsons............from the fjords of Norway...........

 

[SolidA]

I use Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Oil from Vital Choice - 3 a day!

 

[windsurf]

Carlson's is a reputable choice. I have been taking fish oil capsules for several years. My Hdl always comes in above 60 and as high as 79. Before the regimen, it would be in the 40's. Triglycerides are now always below 100 as well whereas they used to be substantially above 100. Total cholesterol alone is misleading. Low triglyceries and a a total cholesterol to Hdl ration of less than 4 is what you are after. Fish oil provides a correction to the overabundance of omega 6's in our diet from the emphasis on grain products and grain fed livestock in the Standard American Diet. Many folks on statins would probably be better off with dietary changes, weight loss, and fish oil. Of course, the typical cardiologist would probably not even suggest it. The concern over imbalance of omega 6's that is. Puzzling.

 

[Shredder]

I lowered my total chol from 290 to 197, trigs from 648 to 220, sugar 118, to 98, with diet (no beer, more whole grains & fruit) exercise, and flax oil capsules, and red yeast rice capsules. In 6 weeks. Of course the original test came 2 days after a fishing/hunting trip where we ate food like ribs, steaks, chicken wings, deep fried stuff, eggs and sausage, and drank entirely too much. It was a real eye opener to see how bad my health had become. Still have work to do but believe I'm on the right path.......Shredder

 

[windsurf]

The frustrating aspect of most public discussions of dietary fats is lack of knowledge of the significance of omega 3's relative to omega 6's. The latter are prevalent in grains and, consequently, most of the animals and eggs we consume have this imbalance, lack of favorable profile with insufficient omega 3's, b/c they are feedlot or factory fed a grain based diet. Wild game has a very favorable fat profile as does grass fed beef and free range chickens and their eggs. The concentration of grains which are fed to our food supply animals are simply not available in the wild. It is not "fat" or "animal fat" or "eggs" that is the issue. We add insult to injury by consuming tons of grains. While whole grains are better than refined flour laced with sugar and trans fats, that substitution does not correct the imbalance toward a more heart healthy (anti inflammatory) diet. In order to regain market-share, many egg producers are now feeding the factory caged chickens flax and other seeds which result in a better egg. The best eggs, in my opinion, are those you can get from somebody who lets the chickens out to pasture where they eat green plants and bugs. Good lipid profile in those eggs. Heart disease isnt just (or maybe hardly at all) about cutting dietary fat. If that were the case, why does almost every severe dieabetic end up with cardiac issues irrespective of their individual "cholestoerol?" It's about eating the right kinds of fats and cutting gratuitous refined carbs and trans fats and getting most of your calories from whole foods. Fish oil is one way to get at the imablance I identifed at the beginning of this comment.

 

[haha]

Although I am definitely no poster boy for good blood chemistries, I do have an interesting story about my blood fats, which are good. I take fish oil copiously, and eat probably a third of my animal protein as fish. I also eat about 18-20 eggs/week.

My last fats were TC 160, LDL 81, HDL 68, triglycerides 20. This on a day when I was under mucho stress, and had eaten 2 dozen eggs the prior week, including 5 on the day before the test.

So I think eggs at least can likely be stricken form the list of things to worry about.

Ha

 

[Hydroman]

Has anyone compare the cost of just eating enough "wild" Alaskan Salmon to the cost fish oil capsules with a the equivalent amount of omega 3? I would rather eat the fish then take a bunch of fish oil capsules even if it costs a bit more.

 

[Cb]

Do any of you know whether Costco's fish oil caps are among the better ones out there?

Cb

 

[FinanceDude]

Do any of you know whether Costco's fish oil caps are among the better ones out there?

Cb

I have found the fish oil tablets from Sam's Club to be not as pure of well manufactured.........I don't know about COSTCO..........

 

[JohnEyles]

Any idea about the ones from Vitamin World, specifically the
"Omega-3 Fish Oil 1000mg" product ? Thanks.

 

[Cb]

Consumer Reports seemed impressed by the Costco "Kirkland" brand in a July 2003 review:

http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/3-06-19fishoil.htm

"Two CR Best Buys are Kirkland Signature Natural Fish Oil, available only at Costco or on the Internet, and Member’s Mark Omega 3 Fish Oil, available at Sam’s Club."

Cb

 

[TromboneAl]

had eaten 2 dozen eggs the prior week, including 5 on the day before the test.

What, are you Cool Hand Luke or something? Were you experimenting?

 

[haha]

Just eat a lot of eggs. The 5 on the day prior was an outlier, however.

Ha

 

[JohnEyles]

Consumer Reports seemed impressed by the Costco "Kirkland" brand in a July 2003 review:

http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/3-06-19fishoil.htm

"Two CR Best Buys are Kirkland Signature Natural Fish Oil, available only at Costco or on the Internet, and Member’s Mark Omega 3 Fish Oil, available at Sam’s Club."

Cb

I found this reassuring:

"It is not always easy to know whether dietary supplements are safe and if their content is reliable. CR’s test results were reassuring: All fish-oil pills tested contained roughly as much EPA and DHA, the active ingredients in fish oil, as their labels promised. None showed evidence of spoilage, and none contained a significant amount of mercury, PCBs, or dioxin. CR found no significant differences in the quality or purity of these supplements. Therefore, consumers can choose them based on price."

It agrees with what I've heard, that something about the refining of the oil actually
removes much of the mercury. Could this be a rare case where the supplement is
more healthful than the whole food ?

 

[Cb]

It agrees with what I've heard, that something about the refining of the oil actually
removes much of the mercury. Could this be a rare case where the supplement is
more healthful than the whole food ?

One of the pages I read while looking for fish oil reviews indicated that this was the case - taking the caps is the better approach.

Cb

 

[dmpi]

Has anyone compare the cost of just eating enough "wild" Alaskan Salmon to the cost fish oil capsules with a the equivalent amount of omega 3? I would rather eat the fish then take a bunch of fish oil capsules even if it costs a bit more.

Agree. I would rather eat fish than pills. Salmon and Tuna are my favorite.

 

[windsurf]

I look at the capsules, as a nearly daily regimine, as a correction of my (our) out of whack diet. The predominance of grain products and grain fed animals floods us with omega 6's. Farm raised salmon and other "feed-lot" fish are fed a grain heavy diet as well and do not have the same fat profile as wild fish.