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So I am now offically on fish oil. I took salmon oil a couple of years ago, but then switched to flaxseed oil because a friend recommended it. I can tell you that it didn't improve my acne and after finding this post, I switched back to a high potency omega 3 fish oil. I also stopped taking evening primrose oil (I think it was causing breakouts on my chin) and have eliminated dairy, wheat, and junk food from my diet. It's only been about 4 days of taking fish oil, and I don't know if my imagination or not, but it seems like my skin is healing a lot faster and it's not as red and blotchy. :think:
It's probably not your imagination, fish oil is the fastest thing my body has ever reacted to. I mean, wow, it was FAST in terms of my oil production becoming less thick, and now less in quantity.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:
For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
XX...thanks for the info! I just got some yesterday and started taking 4 a day but I might up that to 5-6 depending on how I feel after this week. Had a quick question on whether people are taking EPO as well with the fish oil?
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
I would go easy on the overdose warning. Everyone should calculate their own personal intakes of o6 in their diets and take a quantity big enough of o3 to balance that out. How big of a dose of o3 is an overdose(if such a thing exists) its probably dependant on what the doses of o6 are. In other words, there probably isnt any harm as long as you dont end up with the scale tilted the other way and have a 1:6+ ratio of o6:o3.
I've experienced amazing results with doses 3-4 times higher than anyone here is taking.
As far as overdosing goes, I think people need to realize how much n-6 is in foods, even healthy ones. A single egg has about 1,000 mg of omega-6, so if you eat three eggs, that's about 3,000 mgs of Omega-6 right there. A single avocado has between 3,000-4,000 mgs of omega-6. Right there, people would need about 12 or so fish oil pills just to balance out ONE avocado, let a lone an entire day's worth of food.
It seems like people are villianizing omega-6's even though they are present in VERY healthy foods. Nuts, seeds, avacados, eggs, oats, etc. etc. This is one of hte reasons I advocate taking flax seed to assist with the balancing act, or else people will have to stay away from some great foods. A spoonful of flax seed yeilds about 1,500 mgs of omega-3 so it's much more practical in the balancing act.
One last point. People need to realize how very little o3 is in a fish oil pill even though it may say 1,000mg. Like previous posters have said, a 1,000 mg pill will probably only yield about 300 mg of o3. For comparison, a 3 oz. piece of salmon contains about 1,700 mgs of o3. So even if the recommended dose on your bottle says 3 pills daily, that is still FAR less than a single piece of salmon. Also, a TEASPOON of liquid fish oil will have around 1,500 mgs of o3.
In summary, don't freak out about overdosing. In this case, more is better.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
I would go easy on the overdose warning. Everyone should calculate their own personal intakes of o6 in their diets and take a quantity big enough of o3 to balance that out. How big of a dose of o3 is an overdose(if such a thing exists) its probably dependant on what the doses of o6 are. In other words, there probably isnt any harm as long as you dont end up with the scale tilted the other way and have a 1:6+ ratio of o6:o3.
I've experienced amazing results with doses 3-4 times higher than anyone here is taking.
i agree with bber. i've read sites recommending 4-5 g of epa/dha per day. as far as the ldl increase....there are some sources that say fish oil reduces ldl, some say it increases ldl, and some say ldl won't change. so who knows? as long as you have a pretty healthy diet, i dont think it will be a big concern. if your diet is high in bad fats though, maybe its something to watch out for. theres a post somewhere on this site about a guy that has been taking 10 grams of epa/dha per day and hasnt seen any side effects. besides, the side affects of taking too much fish oil seem far safer than overdosing on B5 or using accutane or whatever else people do. i've also heard fish oil leads to nose bleeds and stuff like that. growing up, i seemed to get nose bleeds every once in a while for no apparent reason, so i probably prone to get them more than others. i've been taking about 4 grams of epa/dha per day and haven't seen any no bleeds or negative effects.
however, if you are taking a few grams of epa/dha, be sure to get it from fish oil and not cod liver oil. cod liver oil contains vitamin D and vitamin A, which can be bad if overdosed on.
As far as overdosing goes, I think people need to realize how much n-6 is in foods, even healthy ones. A single egg has about 1,000 mg of omega-6, so if you eat three eggs, that's about 3,000 mgs of Omega-6 right there. A single avocado has between 3,000-4,000 mgs of omega-6. Right there, people would need about 12 or so fish oil pills just to balance out ONE avocado, let a lone an entire day's worth of food.It seems like people are villianizing omega-6's even though they are present in VERY healthy foods. Nuts, seeds, avacados, eggs, oats, etc. etc. This is one of hte reasons I advocate taking flax seed to assist with the balancing act, or else people will have to stay away from some great foods. A spoonful of flax seed yeilds about 1,500 mgs of omega-3 so it's much more practical in the balancing act.
One last point. People need to realize how very little o3 is in a fish oil pill even though it may say 1,000mg. Like previous posters have said, a 1,000 mg pill will probably only yield about 300 mg of o3. For comparison, a 3 oz. piece of salmon contains about 1,700 mgs of o3. So even if the recommended dose on your bottle says 3 pills daily, that is still FAR less than a single piece of salmon. Also, a TEASPOON of liquid fish oil will have around 1,500 mgs of o3.
In summary, don't freak out about overdosing. In this case, more is better.
flax is good for keeping a good omega 3 to omega 6 ratio as one tablespoon of flax oil contains 7 grams of ALA (omega 3). however ALA isn't converted well by the body into EPA and DHA, which control inflammation. thats why i think its beneficial to take both if your diet is high in omega 6.
and you say one tsp of liquid fish will have around 1500 mg of omega 3. it depends on the brand. carlson's does but that stuff will probably be over $20 per bottle. the kind i take has about 1600 mg in one tablespoon.
I found one other thinghttp://www.thepaleodiet.com/nutritional_tools/omega3.shtml
Try to include at least 0.5-1.8 grams of EPA + DHA per day in your diet, either by eating fish or fish oil supplements. If you have documented coronary heart disease, you should include at least 1.0 grams of EPA + DHA in your diet. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia (elevated or high blood triglycerides) can lower their values by as much as 40 percent by taking 2-4 grams of EPA + DHA per day. If you are taking more than 3 grams of EPA + DHA per day, consult with your physician because high intakes tend to prevent blood from clotting and may cause excessive nose
So basically... my current pills have .3 grams (epa + dha total) per pill. I need at least 1.8 optimal. So if I take 2 pills, 3x a day, I should reap full benefits. Because right now with 3 pills I feel good, I think 6 will do the job well?
But I'm also scared
well the point is to match your omega6 with omega 3 for a 1:1 ratio. that would most likely require you to take at least 6-8 depending on how good you diet is already, but ideally now you would want to eliminate any food with excess omega 6s which include all nuts even walnuts http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20oc.html but walnuts are the best of all the nuts.
good point, i bought the cordains dietary acne cure book and when i tried the paleo diet for the first time i was taking a fish oil supplement but i didnt pay enough attention to his advice to take 0.5-1.8 grams of EPA + DHA and now that im takin about twelve fish oil pills that would give me about 2.5 grams epa and 1.7 grams dha, so cordain actually had some damn good advice in that book, but he seemed to put more blame on grains while i think fish was probably something more potent in the acne fight. Im going to have to reread his suggestions now. As there may be more i have missed or forgotton by now.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
XX...thanks for the info! I just got some yesterday and started taking 4 a day but I might up that to 5-6 depending on how I feel after this week. Had a quick question on whether people are taking EPO as well with the fish oil?
think the main point here is to balance your ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 to 1:1 and as such you will end up consuming dr cordains requirement for epa and dha.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
I would go easy on the overdose warning. Everyone should calculate their own personal intakes of o6 in their diets and take a quantity big enough of o3 to balance that out. How big of a dose of o3 is an overdose(if such a thing exists) its probably dependant on what the doses of o6 are. In other words, there probably isnt any harm as long as you dont end up with the scale tilted the other way and have a 1:6+ ratio of o6:o3.
I've experienced amazing results with doses 3-4 times higher than anyone here is taking.
i agree with bber. i've read sites recommending 4-5 g of epa/dha per day. as far as the ldl increase....there are some sources that say fish oil reduces ldl, some say it increases ldl, and some say ldl won't change. so who knows? as long as you have a pretty healthy diet, i dont think it will be a big concern. if your diet is high in bad fats though, maybe its something to watch out for. theres a post somewhere on this site about a guy that has been taking 10 grams of epa/dha per day and hasnt seen any side effects. besides, the side affects of taking too much fish oil seem far safer than overdosing on B5 or using accutane or whatever else people do. i've also heard fish oil leads to nose bleeds and stuff like that. growing up, i seemed to get nose bleeds every once in a while for no apparent reason, so i probably prone to get them more than others. i've been taking about 4 grams of epa/dha per day and haven't seen any no bleeds or negative effects.
however, if you are taking a few grams of epa/dha, be sure to get it from fish oil and not cod liver oil. cod liver oil contains vitamin D and vitamin A, which can be bad if overdosed on.
Im that guy who is taking around 10g of epa/dha without bad side effects =P. I will probably be getting bloodwork done soon, and I have previous blood work to compare to. I'll let you guys know.
LAdy @ work just told me that Dr Oz was on Oprah last week and suggests omega3 as a supplement to alleviate post-partum depression. Interesting!yea, fish oil (omega 3) in high doses is effective for depression and can also help bipolar disorder.
which is interestingly the exact opposite of accutane.
fish oil also helps your joints,not destroy them, mine feel great and when i exercise they feel solid strong and very lubricated.
also with fish oil the skin results are faster and as of right now about 8 days ive had no initial breakout, actually ive had two new ones in an entire week and they are already on their way out they showed up yesterday, popped em last night now they are healing and on their way out.
it really beats breaking out on accutane for 4-6 months and hoping your one of the lucky ones it works for,
the theory for accutane is really a load of crap to me. I mean the stuff works but there has just got to be another way.
And we all have to remember to give the 1:1 ratio a full 12 weeks just as any other "prescribed" treatment to then judge if it is going to work "for us" or not.
so judging from that time frame, im one week in and my acne is already under good control so id say its a winner in my book so far, but i will try not to overhype it cause i dont want one of those threads with no rhyme or reason to its effectiveness and avoid a "it just works" mentality, this has science to back it up so im much more confident in it.
As far as overdosing goes, I think people need to realize how much n-6 is in foods, even healthy ones. A single egg has about 1,000 mg of omega-6, so if you eat three eggs, that's about 3,000 mgs of Omega-6 right there. A single avocado has between 3,000-4,000 mgs of omega-6. Right there, people would need about 12 or so fish oil pills just to balance out ONE avocado, let a lone an entire day's worth of food.It seems like people are villianizing omega-6's even though they are present in VERY healthy foods. Nuts, seeds, avacados, eggs, oats, etc. etc. This is one of hte reasons I advocate taking flax seed to assist with the balancing act, or else people will have to stay away from some great foods. A spoonful of flax seed yeilds about 1,500 mgs of omega-3 so it's much more practical in the balancing act.
One last point. People need to realize how very little o3 is in a fish oil pill even though it may say 1,000mg. Like previous posters have said, a 1,000 mg pill will probably only yield about 300 mg of o3. For comparison, a 3 oz. piece of salmon contains about 1,700 mgs of o3. So even if the recommended dose on your bottle says 3 pills daily, that is still FAR less than a single piece of salmon. Also, a TEASPOON of liquid fish oil will have around 1,500 mgs of o3.
In summary, don't freak out about overdosing. In this case, more is better.
the term omega 3 is a generic term and describes a family of fatty acids. just as omega 6s are also a family.
ala, epa, dha are all in this class of fatty acids and are all omega 3s
alpha linoleic acid is the main omega 3 fatty acid from which all the others originate.
to take 1200 mg of omega 3 would be taking a mixture of ala, epa , and dha that all total out to 1200 mgs
so to balance out an avocado you would only need to take three fish oil pills which would equal 3600 omega 3s so actually not that hard to do.
and flax oil contains omega 6s and we easliy get enough of those in our diets, its more effective to take a fish oil that contains no omega 6s.
There is a overwhelming connection of omega 6 excess and all diseases of western civilization, go to pub med and look it up but its gonna take some dedication and some learning and a hell of a lot of thinking to put it all together. its comes down to arachinonic acid and gene modulation and and switch from a homeostatic state to and unregulated cell with errors in its genetic code. cancer and arachindonic acid go hand in hand. acne is ALOT like cancer which invovles cells that hyperproliferate and multiply their own fucked up genetic code, well cancer is way worse, but that is why isotretinoin is used for cancer and acne to induce apoptosis and modulate the genetic code so as to return the cells to a regulated state. or something like that.
Also, just putting this out there for people who are also starting. I also updated this in the first post based on personal experience:For fish oil to be effective, you must take it in proper doses. Whenever you buy a bottle, look on the back and you will see an EPA and DHA amount. It's usually in xxx mg. Add the EPA and DHA together, it should give you an amount. For me, it was 180 and 120. Added together it's 300 mg. You NEED 1 gram to 1.8 grams to effect oil production (reducing it and making it less thick)! So that means for me, 300 mg = .3 grams. So I need 6 pills a day (since they are 300 mg each) to reach 1.8 grams.
It is said that it increased LDL levels in blood cholestorol. In short we have good and bad chol. bad chol may rise, but still be at a normal level. After a certain time (1 month or 2) if you are still on it, be sure to get a blood test to be sure your levels are normal. (LDL and HDL:LDL ratio). It should be, but please do it just in case. Don't overddose on it, by taking more than 3 grams of epa + dha!
This is from experience, and what I found from research. I too will get a blood test within a month and also post the results here.
I would go easy on the overdose warning. Everyone should calculate their own personal intakes of o6 in their diets and take a quantity big enough of o3 to balance that out. How big of a dose of o3 is an overdose(if such a thing exists) its probably dependant on what the doses of o6 are. In other words, there probably isnt any harm as long as you dont end up with the scale tilted the other way and have a 1:6+ ratio of o6:o3.
I've experienced amazing results with doses 3-4 times higher than anyone here is taking.
i agree with bber. i've read sites recommending 4-5 g of epa/dha per day. as far as the ldl increase....there are some sources that say fish oil reduces ldl, some say it increases ldl, and some say ldl won't change. so who knows? as long as you have a pretty healthy diet, i dont think it will be a big concern. if your diet is high in bad fats though, maybe its something to watch out for. theres a post somewhere on this site about a guy that has been taking 10 grams of epa/dha per day and hasnt seen any side effects. besides, the side affects of taking too much fish oil seem far safer than overdosing on B5 or using accutane or whatever else people do. i've also heard fish oil leads to nose bleeds and stuff like that. growing up, i seemed to get nose bleeds every once in a while for no apparent reason, so i probably prone to get them more than others. i've been taking about 4 grams of epa/dha per day and haven't seen any no bleeds or negative effects.
however, if you are taking a few grams of epa/dha, be sure to get it from fish oil and not cod liver oil. cod liver oil contains vitamin D and vitamin A, which can be bad if overdosed on.
its called spin, its everywhere. they like to spin you so you dont know which way is up or down, eskimos gorged on fat from fish there is and never was anything wrong with it.
I suppose there are some overdose risks , i mean you can overdose on water but you really have to try to do that and i think the same thing applies to omega 3s.
I'm new to all of this so I'm sorry if this is a silly question.....Isn't GLA found in omega 6 supposed to be an anti-inflammitory? So why do some people (myself included) break out with evening primrose oil and some people have amazing results with it or from borage oil? Can anyone explain? Thanks. 
I'm new to all of this so I'm sorry if this is a silly question.....Isn't GLA found in omega 6 supposed to be an anti-inflammitory? So why do some people (myself included) break out with evening primrose oil and some people have amazing results with it or from borage oil? Can anyone explain? Thanks. :angel:
yes GLA is anti-inflammatory, but evening primrose oil is only about 10% GLA. Much of the rest of is LA. The body can convert LA to GLA but whats more likely happening is that the LA is being converted to Arachidonic acid (AA) which is pro-inflammatory. To prevent this, try limiting LA from food, avoid bad fats and vegetable oil. Also, make sure you have a proper omega 6:omega 3 ratio.
I also have Cordain's Dietary Cure For Acne ebook, and was wondering if anyone else is a little confused about his actual recommendation on EPA and DHA? On pg. 92 he says to try to include at least .5 - 1.8 grams of EPA + DHA per day in your DIET. Then on p. 103, he says if you don't get the recommeded intake of EPA and DHA from eating fish, to initially start of taking between 2-4 grams of BOTH EPA and DHA daily. Yes, it says BOTH. Well, since most omega 3 pills have twice as much EPA as DHA so you could take 4g of EPA and 2g of DHA = 6g total. I take a pill w/ .4 g EPA and .2g DHA so that's 10 pills a day. However, I do eat fish almost every day.
So Cordain is recommending taking 6g total of EPA+DHA. And this probably isn't even close to the upper limit. If it was, he probably wouldn't put it in his book as a general recommendation without fear of taking a backlash if someone had serious side effects.
EDIT:
I'm begining to think that his claims to cure acne through the paleo diet are a little misleading if its really the EPA + DHA you're taking. Plus, he recommends taking 50 mg zinc also. Regardless, I'm not going to argue that the paleo diet isn't healthy though.
I also have Cordain's Dietary Cure For Acne ebook, and was wondering if anyone else is a little confused about his actual recommendation on EPA and DHA? On pg. 92 he says to try to include at least .5 - 1.8 grams of EPA + DHA per day in your DIET. Then on p. 103, he says if you don't get the recommeded intake of EPA and DHA from eating fish, to initially start of taking between 2-4 grams of BOTH EPA and DHA daily. Yes, it says BOTH. Well, since most omega 3 pills have twice as much EPA as DHA so you could take 4g of EPA and 2g of DHA = 6g total. I take a pill w/ .4 g EPA and .2g DHA so that's 10 pills a day. However, I do eat fish almost every day.So Cordain is recommending taking 6g total of EPA+DHA. And this probably isn't even close to the upper limit. If it was, he probably wouldn't put it in his book as a general recommendation without fear of taking a backlash if someone had serious side effects.
EDIT:
I'm begining to think that his claims to cure acne through the paleo diet are a little misleading if its really the EPA + DHA you're taking. Plus, he recommends taking 50 mg zinc also. Regardless, I'm not going to argue that the paleo diet isn't healthy though.
I know you probably know about this but just in case. Make sure the fish you eat is wild and not farmed. Farmed fish have a different ratio of omegas than wild fish.
As far as overdosing goes, I think people need to realize how much n-6 is in foods, even healthy ones. A single egg has about 1,000 mg of omega-6, so if you eat three eggs, that's about 3,000 mgs of Omega-6 right there. A single avocado has between 3,000-4,000 mgs of omega-6. Right there, people would need about 12 or so fish oil pills just to balance out ONE avocado, let a lone an entire day's worth of food.It seems like people are villianizing omega-6's even though they are present in VERY healthy foods. Nuts, seeds, avacados, eggs, oats, etc. etc. This is one of hte reasons I advocate taking flax seed to assist with the balancing act, or else people will have to stay away from some great foods. A spoonful of flax seed yeilds about 1,500 mgs of omega-3 so it's much more practical in the balancing act.
One last point. People need to realize how very little o3 is in a fish oil pill even though it may say 1,000mg. Like previous posters have said, a 1,000 mg pill will probably only yield about 300 mg of o3. For comparison, a 3 oz. piece of salmon contains about 1,700 mgs of o3. So even if the recommended dose on your bottle says 3 pills daily, that is still FAR less than a single piece of salmon. Also, a TEASPOON of liquid fish oil will have around 1,500 mgs of o3.
In summary, don't freak out about overdosing. In this case, more is better.
the term omega 3 is a generic term and describes a family of fatty acids. just as omega 6s are also a family.
ala, epa, dha are all in this class of fatty acids and are all omega 3s
alpha linoleic acid is the main omega 3 fatty acid from which all the others originate.
to take 1200 mg of omega 3 would be taking a mixture of ala, epa , and dha that all total out to 1200 mgs
so to balance out an avocado you would only need to take three fish oil pills which would equal 3600 omega 3s so actually not that hard to do.
and flax oil contains omega 6s and we easliy get enough of those in our diets, its more effective to take a fish oil that contains no omega 6s.
There is a overwhelming connection of omega 6 excess and all diseases of western civilization, go to pub med and look it up but its gonna take some dedication and some learning and a hell of a lot of thinking to put it all together. its comes down to arachinonic acid and gene modulation and and switch from a homeostatic state to and unregulated cell with errors in its genetic code. cancer and arachindonic acid go hand in hand. acne is ALOT like cancer which invovles cells that hyperproliferate and multiply their own fucked up genetic code, well cancer is way worse, but that is why isotretinoin is used for cancer and acne to induce apoptosis and modulate the genetic code so as to return the cells to a regulated state. or something like that.
Okay, but a fish oil pill only contains about 300-400 mgs of omega-3 (50/50 epa to dha, more or less). A 1,000 mg fish oil pill will only contain about 300 mgs of omega-3 (again, more or less).
A 1,200 mg of omega-3 fish oil pill would be nice, but sadly they don't exist. That would be one massive pill! On average, three fish oil pills would net you only 900-1,200 mgs of n-3, give or take.
As for the balance in flax, for every 1,500 mgs of n-3, you only get about 400 mgs or so of n-6 which is great considering that amount is only in one spoonful and flax seed is only a small fraction of the price of fish or fish oil (quite pricey).
As for taking 1,200 mgs of n-3 and it being a mix of ala, epa and dha, that's only true if you take a blend of flax and fish (or some other mixture) FIsh is only epa and dha, flax is only ala (in regards to n-3 content).
Don't cut out healthy sources like flax just because it has some n-6. Target the shit like all the overused vegetable oils and processed foods that are loaded with omega-6's./
As far as getting epa and dha, fish oil is unqutionably the better source, but for pure quantity of omega-3, factoring in price, flax can't be beat. That's why it's best to take both. It would be almost impossible to effectively balance your omega-3 ratio by just using fish oil, unless you basically cut out almost every n-6 food there is, which would suck.
xxndnromeoxx - I'm taking 2.4 g total o3 daily - nothing bad so far!Are you taking omega 3 pills, or fish oil pills? And also is the grams you listed the total amount of epa + dha together?
I'm taking Carlson Super Omega 3 Fish Oil Concentrate - 1000 mg per pill/300 mg EPA/200 mg DHA/100 mg other - not the ideal 2:1 ratio, but the only thing the health food store had that was 2:1 also had evening primrose.
I updatd the first page again, sorry about that
I'm only stating this because I don't want to be reliable if something bad happens. You may take more than 3 grams if you wish, but this would be totally up to you and under your own will smile.gif. The main goal is to get your ratio of omega 3: omega 6 to 1:1. Most places I've seen that a realistic goal is for every 1 gram of omega 3, you need 4 of omega 6... making it 1:4.
I would simply try to get plenty of omega 3, and try reducing omega 6 from foods without having to rely on too many fish oil pills.
Just be safe! Read through this thread, everyone has many different ways, and there's plenty of information. Since there is no RDA standard for maximum daily allowance, and since our bodies and diets are all completely different, try it slowly and see what fits you best. Make observations and you'll more than likely start seeing results. Just be safe and get a blood test after a certain period of time to be sure that you are not doing any harm. If you aren't, try adding more etc.
Good luck!