Posted by Larry Hoover on November 20, 2002, at 23:00:46
In reply to Larry H..brand of fish oil in Canada??..other ??, posted by jay on November 20, 2002, at 22:05:54
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> Larry..I recall you are located in Canada. Do you have any particular brands that you would suggest? What have you had best luck with?Well, maybe I'm not the best person to ask....I tend to go with the burp factor. I hate fishy burps. Walmart's Spring Valley and Country Life are two recent purchases which I'm happy with. I tend towards the belief that there's not a whole lot of difference, brand to brand, save those few which claim high purity like Omega-Brite (for which you pay dearly).
>
> I also wanted to make another point. I have found some research that suggests people who take more than 2 grams of fish oil a day didn't fare as well in studies. (I don't have the reference on hand, but it was based on more than one study.)I think what's more important is how well you do. Play with dosage a bit. Inuit people consume 14-20 grams a day of EPA and DHA.
> Also, from my own experience, the plant based omega 3's, like flax and evening primrose, tended to cause an aggitated mania, but also a bit of a lift in my depression.
OK. First, evening primrose is a source of an omega-6 fatty acid, gamma-linolenic acid. It interacts with omega-3 fats in the following way. GLA is first elongated to DGLA (dihomogamma-linolenic acid). If there are no omega-3 fatty acids present, it is then desaturated to form arichidonic acid. However, if there are omega-3 fats present, particularly EPA, the DGLA is preferentially diverted to form type one prostaglandins, which are associated with elevated mood and, potentially, mania.
Type one prostaglandins are anti-inflammatory, as are the type three postaglandins which are formed from EPA. Arichidonic acid converts to type two prostaglandins, which are pro-inflammatory. So, fish oil is anti-inflammatory in its own right, but that effect is enhanced if there is a source of GLA present. Borage oil has higher concentrations of GLA than evening primrose oil.
I'm not really certain how flax oil works into these interactions.
>I have had mostly neutral responses to fish oil.(Mind you, I have been Dx'd with BPII, Rapid Cycling.)
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> In his book "Beyond Prozac", Dr. Michael Norden suggests taking a balance of the fish and plant oils based on your symptoms. Eg. A smaller dose of plant oil and larger fish if you experience anxiety, constipation, sleeplessness, etc.That seems to be good advice.
> Any comments on that? The evidence seems to be building that these oils do work, but the question of dose, ratio of oils, etc, seem to still need to be answered.
>
> Thanks!
> Jay..I think the dose/ratio thing is not something that can be predicted. It has to be arrived at by experimentation.
You're welcome.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:128555
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021116/msgs/128563.html