Posted by Optimist on October 3, 2004, at 12:34:35
In reply to Re: Fish oil » karaS, posted by JLx on October 2, 2004, at 18:20:49
> I don't mean to suggest that it should necessarily work for you because maybe it just doesn't for some, but have you tried experimenting with the DHA or EPA ratios?
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> I'm not sure fish oil is doing much for me either really because I haven't isolated it from other stuff. But I thought I did notice a (negative) difference when I took a DHA dominant formula a few times. Could have been something else, I'm not sure. But the studies I've seen referenced were that sometimes EPA was effective, sometimes not, sometimes the DHA was effective, sometimes not. I wonder if each is maybe indicated especially for certain types of depression, the other for other types. If you've always taken the EPA, might be worth a trial with DHA. (And when you say "1 gram" do you mean 1 gram over all, or 1 gm of EPA or DHA?) I think I may have not taken enough when I first started taking it, but then later I also may have taken too much since that one study someone referenced recently said that 4 grams was too much. But that was 4 grams of EPA I believe, which I haven't come close to with my puny 180 EPA/120 DHA capsules.
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> I wonder too if the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 is important. Should we take more fish oil if we eat a lot of Omega-6 type fats?
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> This fish oil stuff is so promising, especially when you read about the essential fatty acids and how the brain is 20% EFAs, but then it's also so confusing.
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> I'm taking 6 capsules a day of a cheap store brand, which is 1080 mg of EPA and 720 of DHA. I have NO idea if this is a good amount or not!
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> JL
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>
>The Omega 3 to 6 ratio is important. Ideally I've heard it should be in a 1:3 ratio, depending on your sources. It's a close approximate. My understanding is that they compete for the areas in the body so if you're getting too much 6, it can inhibit your 3 content.
I've read that it may be more therapeutic for mood enhancement to supplement between 1.5 grams and 4 grams per day of combined EPA/DHA. That's from the book "The Omega-3 Connection" by Dr. Andrew L. Stoll. Higher dosages may be needed if this amount doesn't work.
It's also important to add Vitamin C (500-1000mg) and Vitamin E (400-800IU) to improve the effectiveness of the fish oil as well as for it's anti-oxidant properties.
poster:Optimist
thread:398076
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040928/msgs/398528.html