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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by yeltom on January 24, 2003, at 23:27:33
My fish oil brand is Now. There's 1000 mg of oil in each softgel, but one serving (2 softgels) contains only 600 mg of Omega-3s (360 mg EPA and 240 mg DHA). In other words, 1 softgel contains 300 mg of Omega-3s. It seems that 5 grams per day is the consensus, but is that 5 grams of fish oil (5 softgels), or 5 grams of Omega-3s (around 17 softgels)? Big difference. And is 5 grams per day indeed an ideal amount to take, and doesn't it depend on what drugs you're taking? (I'm taking 40 mg. of Celexa, 50 mg trazodone as needed, and 30 mg of Buspar. I'm also experimenting with small a small dose of risperdal, but I don't know whether I'll continue with it). Thanks for your help.
Posted by Darwin on January 25, 2003, at 5:19:41
In reply to Confusion about fish oil-dosage., posted by yeltom on January 24, 2003, at 23:27:33
EPA is the omega-3 component of fish oil which is thought to be active in the treatment of depression, bipolar disorder and possibly schizophrenia. DHA is thought to have little or no theraputic effect for these conditions so you can pretty much ignore the amount of DHA in your fish oil capsules.
The recommended dosage of EPA is about 1,000 mg per day. Each of your "Now" brand capsules of fish oil contain 180 mg of EPA. So, in order to get about 1,000 mg of EPA, you will need to take 5 (= 900 mg EPA) or 6 (= 1080 mg EPA) capsules per day.
Of course, these are general guidelines. Some people require 3 times this amount to achieve a beneficial effect while others can suffice with less.
Darwin
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