Posted by Ktemene on June 13, 2005, at 18:01:33
In reply to Re: New update on my progress with fish oil etc..., posted by LOOPS on June 10, 2005, at 15:02:41
Hi Loops,
Thanks for the dosage information. A few days ago I started taking wheat germ oil at about the same dosage as you use- a couple of teaspoons a day. I agree with you that it does seem to increase energy. I heard a doctor say this a long time ago, but I had forgotten about it, and I hadn't read anything about it. But my experience the last few days has been that wheat germ oil increases energy without increasing anxiety, which is terrific.
I wonder about Vitamin E as well. I have heard that taking fish oil increases one's need for Vitamin E. After the results of that meta-study came out last November in the Annals of Internal Medicine I have stopped taking high Vitamin E supplements. I was taking as much as 800mg per day. But according to the meta-study taking more than 400mg a day increases one's all cause mortality by 10%. On the other hand, the meta-study showed decreases mortality for people taking less than 150mg per day. Since then I have kept my Vitamin E supplementation under 150mg. Of course, there were a lot of problems with the meta-study, which the article itself pointed out. But it makes sense to me that it is possible to overdo something like Vitamin E, and 150mg is still a lot over the recommended daily allowance.I have been using tryptophan in the last couple of weeks or so mainly to deal with stress and irritation on the job. I have found that it works pretty well for that, but it may just be the old placebo effect.
I used to take melatonin for sleep, but it made me more depressed the next day, so I stopped taking melatonin. But I didn't throw away the bottle. Someone told me that there were studies that showed that topical melatonin improved the pelts of animals, so I started opening the melatonin capsules and mixing the contents with water and rubbing a bit of it into my scalp at night. I figured that I would be absorbing a little melatonin that way, which might help me sleep, but that would not be enough to make me depressed the next day. I don't know whether the topical melatonin is helping me sleep, but my hair does seem to be lots healthier looking!
When I first started taking fish oil about a year ago, I did not feel the strong antidepressant effect I was hoping for. But it did get rid of the ectopic heartbeats that I have always had, so I kept taking the fish oil just for that. Now, a year later, my sense is that the fish oil is having an antidepressant effect, but it is kind of subtle. I guess I feel more stable and that I have more resilience or something like that. I am also taking magnesium supplements and I think that helps reduce the ectopic heartbeats and anxiety levels. I think that fish oil and magnesium work well together.
I know from reading your posts that fish oil has helped you a lot, and I am really happy for you that you found something that is working so well for you. And thanks so much for the tip about wheat germ oil!
Ktemene
> Hi ktemene -
>
> I read somewhere a tablespoon of wheatgerm oil contains about 50IUs of vitamin E - not that much. However I am not sure exactly how much one would actually need relative to the amount of fish oil. I've heard so many different things - from 200 - 800IUs per day - which does seem a lot. But then taking so much fish oil doesn't seem that natural anyway, unless of course you are an eskimo!
>
> I like the wheatgerm oil because it does indeed seem to help with energy levels and endurance in sport. I probably wind up taking a couple of teaspoons per day.
>
> Regarding the tryptophan I dropped it after it seemed to stop working for insomnia and was giving me some weird shaky sweaty feelings - which I'd never had off 5htp. I went back onto 5htp, which at that point had become useful again - kept on with that for a few months, then recently came off it altogether, feeling that my sleep wasn't benefitting that much anymore. The 5htp in the end would make me sleepy but then I'd be waking up at 3/4am and not able to go back to sleep.
>
> I still occasionally take melatonin for sleep when I'm feeling very awake last thing at night.
>
> I guess I just don't feel the need for the tryptophan/5htp as much as I used to, which is good news.
>
> How does the fish oil make you feel after a year?
>
> Loops
poster:Ktemene
thread:508519
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050612/msgs/512199.html