Posted on 03/01/2010 4:36:49 PM PST by decimon
Hardly a week goes by without a new health claim being made of eating oily fish. But is it really as magical as we are told?
If there were a top 40 of good foods, a chart rundown of the right things to eat, then anything containing omega-3 fatty acids would have been number one for years. They even have their own international awareness day, which takes place this Wednesday.
Omega-3 is the name given to a family of unsaturated fatty acids found mainly in oily fish, such as salmon, herring, sardines and anchovies, and also in eggs, meat, milk and cheese.
The naturally occurring acids of the omega-3 family can apparently boost our brain power, keep our hearts healthy, strengthen our bones, and much more. You can ingest the fatty acids by eating a lot of the right kind of fish or by taking fish oil supplements - little golden capsules rich in omega-3.
Hardly a week goes by without yet another media report on "The wonders of omega-3 fatty acids" (as a headline in Canada put it recently).
Last month it was reported omega-3 can protect against psychotic disorders such a schizophrenia. An international team of researchers gave a daily dose to 81 people deemed to be at risk from psychosis and found it seemed to cut the rate of psychotic illness - including schizophrenia - by 25%.
But how much of this is hype, and how much reality? Is there a danger that a largely fish-derived fatty acid is being turned into a modern-day magic potion?
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Fin de treacle ping.
All I know is that the doc told me to take Omega3 fish oil due to my triglicerides being at 295. After six months they were down to 160.
But then you catch another study that shows things such as Omega-3s can make you physically half your age and increase your life span by 10%:
Click on the link for “Old mice run faster with supplements.”
I’m sorry, but there are too many studies showing benefits for them all to be made up lies.
The media may hype things, but that doesn’t mean the legitimate benefits of these oils aren’t there.
But did you change anything else in your diet and life style while you were taking the fish Omega-3? For instance, did you stop eating foods high in fat?
I’m always skeptical when something is touted to cure everything. On the other hand, Omega 3 is an essential nutrient.
If one thinks the reaction is going to be like Popeye eating a can of spinach, yes, that is going to far. But, there is a lot of evidence of the benefits of Omega-3s.
Oddly enough, spinach does contain omega 3.
My daughter has a traumatic brain injury and has been taking fish oil since the accident and I believe it’s been one of the reasons she’s had such a remarkable recovery. She claims that when she slacks off on taking it, she really notices a difference in her mental capabilities. She’s 21 now and had the accident when she was 17. She’ll always take it.
Does giving up sex count?
I take fish oil. Some is 1,000mg of fish oil and 1,000IU of vitamin D in the same capsule.
The story is that the typical US diet is extremely high in Omega-6 fatty acids which promote inflammation in the body and Omega-3 helps counter balance it.
I guess they are next going to tell us that Vitamins are bad...
Obvious Big Pharm is losing a lot of money to people that use fish oil. This is the same push that McCrack is trying to push trough congress. Omega 3 is a natural source from fish. Don't listen to the quacks at the BBC that want you to pay a lot of money for a drug that does the same thing as fish oil for less money.
I take it daily or eat more fish daily. You will have less anxiety . Theirs so much to say but its like this remmeber years ago when someones father or uncle would eat sardines and they lived past 100 years. Its like that . So eat more fish or omega 3 ingredients in Smart balance spread and such.
Nope.
My grandmum lived to over a 100 and she took a tablespoon of cod liver oil every morning in her later years - when she was getting up there over 80.
That was cod—now hard to find. I guess fish oil is just as good...?
Some sixty percent of the human brain is fat, much of that, perhaps half, is DHA.
Human breast milk is loaded with the stuff. Just like fish.
I know one thing.
There were a hell of a lot fewer autistic kids when people (many people, at least) ate fish on Fridays.
We need to stop eating everything we are eating and start eating everything we are not eating
Thanks, I'll pass your professional opinion on to my girl friend...........(I'll send you the check later)
From what I've read, with cod liver oil you might get too much of vitamin A to get enough of omega-3 and vitamin D.
I started taking fish oil and without any other changes in lifestyle or nutrition, my heart palpitations disappeared, and my resting heart rate dropped significantly. The changes were immediate.
I have read that taking fish oil can cause a vitamin E deficiency, so that is something to watch out for.
I can catch salmon in the rivers and the Sound here. All the Omega3 I want fresh.
That there is the best advice ever. Americans eat junk food loaded with HFCS, saturated fats and partially-hydrogenated soybean oil. We need to start eating real food again. I'm a hypocrite though; today I had a cheeseburger for lunch and half a box of Thin Mints. Thin mints are from the Devil's workshop!
Do you mix it with anything? Or just straight from the bottle? I know several people who put a tablespoon of flax seed oil in their drinks every morning.
Cod liver oil has a lot more Vitamin A in it (as well as D) than straight fish oil does. I take both, Cod liver oil in the winter for the extra vitamins and fish oil in the summer.
Carlsons has great liquid cod liver and fish oils that have NO bad taste and no fish burps. You could use them as salad dressing they’re so mild. They’re nitrogen packed in glass bottles, not cheap (about 28$ a bottle at vitacost.com, best price I’ve found) but really good stuff.
LQ
Nope, I’ve never mixed it although you can easily.You could probably mix it into anything. I would prefer salad dressing. There is no fish taste what so ever. If I’m feeling really healthy crazy I’ll do a table spoon of both flax seed and fish oil at breakfast time. OD’ing on DHA/EPA.
That has been my experience as well.
Try hot tabasco, then try 10,000,000 doses of Omega-3 fish oil (only for medicinal lubrication of course.)
I go in for lab work next month to see if it reduced my cholesterol and triglycerides.
He also recommended Red Yeast Rice.
Both are good, I’ve heard Cod Liver oil is better. It’s readily available in the natural foods section of your grocery store.
Until that time, I'll believe my own doctor, whose specialty is "alternative medical research," who tells me that women are at risk for osteoporosis and other ailments due to the lack of sun (vitamin D3) and need for Omega 3 oils for all, especially the elderly and babies exposed to lack of sunlight from either no exposure or constant use of sunscreens, which she says are "bad for everyone" as the ingredients constantly ingested through the skin, isn't healthy.
We take pretty high doses of fish oil ourselves, and about 3000 IU Vit D3. Keep taking both.
“There were a hell of a lot fewer autistic kids when people (many people, at least) ate fish on Fridays.”
True.
But not just any fish. That was wild-caught fish.
Omega-3 is developed in animals when they eat grasses. This is true for fish when they eat kelp and sea grass and for land animals when they graze on grass, such as grass-fed beef.
The problem is that alot of the fish in the store is farm-raised and on those farms they fed the fish a grain-based diet. Grass-fed beef or chicken has more omega-3 than farm-raised fish.
“I go in for lab work next month to see if it reduced my cholesterol and triglycerides.”
Check out the Framingham Heart study (just google it) for a different perspective on cholesterol. It’s a multi-decades long study that found that people who had higher cholesterol lived longer.
Not much salmon to be caught in Kansas :>)
If you EVER get it fresh, I mean pull it out of the water and plop it on the grill fresh, there’s nothing better.
I find the fish oil gives me indigestion, so I’ve been trying flax seed oil. I have a checkup in May - so I have no testimonies until then, at least.
Wild tuna and wild salmon are carnivores.
I take 3000 mg, about three times a week.
I take that brand too. I believe they came out with an orange flavor also.
Kinda like fresh catfish and crapie we catch here.
Same idea, but the taste... oo-la-la.
I make a tray out of aluminum foil, oil it with olive oil, put the salmon fillet on it skin side down, then rub oil and garlic powder on it, place some lemon or orange slices on it, cover with aluminum foil, and place it on the grill. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!
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