I have been reading several very informative posts (and articles) on EFA on the forum/site today. I've read a few posts advising 6-20 (6-10 for lean individuals) grams of fish oil daily (along with Olive oil), and I can see my intake of omega 3 FA is probably very poor. However, I find I'm left with some dosage questions. Elzi Volk?s article suggest 3.2 grams of EPA and 2.2 or DHA daily, which would translate into a fairly massage dose of most of the common fish oil supplements out on the market. The exception would seem to be Pure Omega 3 (which would only require approx. 8 grams a day to met Volk?s suggested dosage. But that that rate of consumption we?re taking about a $50 a month habit?the same as a good run with 1AD). Now?s Omega 3 is approx. half the cost?but at half the dosage strength.

Am I missing something here? Or is it really this expensive to supplement at the dosages Volk suggests (I?m overweight and am attempting to alter my body comp via and EFA supplementation?so I want to approach this as a long term supplementation regimen)

Ronn

Where does Elzi's article recommend that?

At one point, I was doing as I normally do, and arguing for lower dose fish oil supplementation than others recommend - in the realm of 2-4 g EPA/DHA daily - and she backed me up. I'll see if I can find the thread.

But it's not as expensive as you say. If you get this product:

http://www.bulknutrition.com/?products_id=544

And take 8 capsules daily (4.8 g EPA/DHA), it will be about $25 a month.

Re: Elzi's article--

Imprecise reading on my behalf; I had been taking notes on recommend dosages from several articles and threads. Upon checking my source, I see she is merely quoting the recommended dosage from a study. Though I think the recommended dosage is well founded.

When you recommend 2-4 grams of EPA/DHA do you mean 2-4 grams for each compound (which is what the study sited suggests) or 2-4 grams total (i.e.1.5 grams of EPA and 1.5 grams of DHA)? And if it is the later, I'd appreciate hearing your reasoning (or pointing me to articles or threads--I'll do another search myself).

And Thanks for the connection to the Super EPA--I thought I'd looked at everything Mike had to offer...but this one slipped by.

Ronn

This is better, unless I'm missing something.

http://www.bulknutrition.com/?products_id=622

2-4 total. Unless a product is specifically aimed towards one or the other, they usually contain them in the same ratio.

Here is a section from my fish oil article, the full text is linked at the bottom.


Fish oil consumption is generally safe and well tolerated, with less adverse effects than other dietary oils [12]. Doses equivalent to three times the FDA maximum safe dosage (which is 3 g EPA/DHA per day) appear to be safe in rats [39]. The primary reported side effect is "fish burps" or a "fishy taste in the mouth," although this can depend on the product, and it is also commonly reported to only be a problem for the first few weeks of fish oil consumption. However there are a few more serious side effects that may be seen with high dose fish oil consumption which may warrant caution.

The first of these is that high doses of fish oil may decrease immune function (in opposition to lower intakes, which may enhance it) [40-42]. While this is beneficial in some autoimmune diseases it is not always desirable. For example, high amounts of fish oil may impair bacterial resistance [43]. Modest doses, in the range of 1-2 g of EPA/DHA daily, do not appear to have a negative impact on immune function over 6 months [40]. This effect may also be avoided with supplemental vitamin E [42]. A second potential problem is increased lipid peroxidation, resulting in an increase in oxidative stress [44-47]. However, this effect can also be remedied with vitamin E [9, 48].

Another possible side effect is an increase in LDL cholesterol and a decrease in HDL cholesterol [49-50]. The first of these effects can be seen with doses as low as 3.6 g/day in humans [49]. However, LDL increase is generally less than 5% [16], and fish oil on balance has a very positive impact on the cardiovascular system. Since fish oil thins the blood, it may also increase the likelihood of bleeding, but it does not appear to do this at lower doses. 2-5 grams a day, even when combined with other blood thinners such as aspirin, do not appear to increase bleeding time, but intake over 20 grams a day will increase bleeding times [16]. Other possible side effects of high or very high dose fish oil consumption reported in animals are increased liver and spleen weight, adverse effects on iron metabolism, and red blood cell deformities [45, 46, 50], but it is doubtful that these are relevant in moderate doses.

What all of this amounts to is, fish oil consumption in a healthy individual should probably be kept within a reasonable range, and additional supplementation with vitamin E is also a good choice. The amount of fish oil one takes should be dependent on both goals and the amount of EPA/DHA present in the fish oil. The optimal range for both safety and effectiveness in most healthy individuals is 1-4 g of EPA/DHA daily, and this amount shouldn't be exceeded without medical supervision. Most fish oils are standardized to 30% EPA/DHA, so this would be about 3-12 one gram caps daily. If the fish oil is standardized to a different amount the dosage should be changed accordingly, for example 2-8 caps of a 50% EPA/DHA product. Most of the benefits (other than possibly the change in body composition, for which there is presently little functional data) can be seen with 1-2 grams of EPA/DHA daily. Most fish oil capsules also contain vitamin E, but if they don't, a vitamin E supplement should be taken also.

Yeah, the product I pointed to is about 1.5 times as expensive for the EPA/DHA content. However it is 60% EPA/DHA as opposed to 25%. So you have to swallow a lot less capsules. If you don't mind swallowing a lot of capsules then I would go with the cheaper product though.

Wonderful--that was just the sort of information I was looking for. I think I might visit my local heath food store and see what kind of liquid fish oil, if any, they have. I use olive oil, mixed right in with my protein drink, and one tbsp is 14 grams--I'm thinking a tablespoon added AM and PM may be much easier to swallow than 10 to 30 pills.

Since visiting this site I've begun to realize my diet is not as well thought through as I had once assumed. Excellent information like this is what helps old farts like me get keep getting older (as opposed to the alternative).

Thanks again!

Ronn

I know I had I long day at work, but I still thinkmy math skills are holding up.
Would someone double check me?

Fish Oil: 100g@30%=30g Omega3 --> $0.11/g
Omega3: 180g@30%=54g Omega3 --> $0.11/g
SuperEFA: 144g@50%=72g Omega3 --> $0.19/g

Am I missing/mis-reading something here?

Liquid fish oil is often cod liver oil which is way too high in vitamins A & D, so be careful with that.

This is the general trend, increased purity comes with increased price, so it depends on if you want to pay extra to not have to swallow as many pills.

So the Omega 3 would be the preferred of the two lower priced options?

And I'm sure I've already read this, but do you need to split your dose; is there a best time of the day?

I just switched EFA products, from The Total Efa to EFA lean because another company messed my order up. The Efa Lean doesn't have fish oil in it like The Total Efa, so I am getting some of that SUPER EPA by now from this site. How much do I take?. I mean how many capsules. I just want the "Essentials" that I need to raise hormone levels and I want it to last at least a month. The only reason I am doing this is because these people sent me EFA LEAN by mistake . It does have CLA in it, so that may be a plus. I really don't know if its worth it though. I would rather spend my money on basic supplements though than ph/ps products.

I'll keep your warning about Cod in mind--thanks for the tip.

I tend to split it up between 2-3 doses, but I don't think there is a particular time of day that is best. You would probably get the same benefit from 1x daily.

Just a side note here guys but you can usually find fish oils on the net at a lower price. Sometimes MUCH lower!
I tend to stay away from the "Health" food stores as they may have decent products but they have to charge you more as they typically deal in lower volumes.

Anyone out there know of any brands that contain strictly wild salmon fish oils?

how do u get 1.5gm of epa and 1.5gm dha when epa doubles dha in one pill?

THe new food scare : does fish oil contains lead//sinker/fuse or heavy metal?

is fish oil a better source of omegas than herbal sources ?