Posted by Larry Hoover on November 23, 2002, at 11:08:23
In reply to Hey! I sense a EFA guru here! QUESTION....., posted by bubblegumchewer on November 23, 2002, at 10:02:22
If you mean *me*, I'm only too happy to serve as a resource. :-)
> I haven't been around in a while but I've never been able to find anyone who know s**t about fish oil, EPA, etc. so I'm excited to see that there are some fish brains around here.
I'll take that in the manner in which it was intended.
>Please help me with this. I'm not asking for medical advice; I'll take that up with my doctor and I'll be responsible for myself. But I have two concerns about the supplements I've been taking and they have to do with two areas: anticoagulation and immunosuppression.
Okey-dokey.
> First, I'm about to deliver my fourth baby in 7 weeks. I'd like to give my unborn baby and myself the benefits of the fish oil I've been taking (Nordic Naturals, 1000 mg. each capsule, 600 mg. omega-3 fatty acids, 450 mg. EPA, 100 mg. DHA, 4.5 I.U. mixed tocopherols)You already have. Placental circulation is preferentially enriched in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, by some unrecognized mechanism. During the first two years of a child's life, it has been estimated that they need one kilogram of dietary DHA for full brain development. For some totally incomprehensible reason, baby formula in North America does not require *any* of this nutrient. Take fish oil, and breast feed, or make sure that you use a formula that contains substantial amounts of DHA.
> I have never been clear about the anticoagulant properties so I've been taking only two capsules per week. I know, pretty puny. I am paranoid about risking a big hemorrhage at the time of delivery. Truthfully I don't even bother asking doctors if it's ok to take these things because they look at me as if they have no idea what I'm talking about. So I'm just wondering if you have opinion/knowledge about how much I have to worry about anticoagulation.You have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Eskimos eat 14-20 grams a day, on average, of EPA and DHA combined. And, during pregnancy, it is a cultural practice for women to eat even more. No shit. I've looked at this closely.
The anticoagulant activity is a relative phenomenon. Most people, otherwise considered to be "normal", have hypercoaguability. For some, with diagnosed consequences of such activity, like deep vein thrombosis, doctors prescribe so-called blood-thinners like coumadin. For such people, taking an exogenous anti-coagulant, changing the diet to include fish oils can cause an additive effect that can become life-threatening. Basically, the body wants blood that's less likely to coagulate than most people's already is. Fish oil lets your body have what it wants.
> My other question is: Last winter before being pregnant at all I was taking two of these capsules a day plus my kids were taking omegabrite capsules, only one per day. We all suddenly came down with the WORST ear/sinus/throat infection in the history of my family. I mean that we are healthy and have only occasionally needed antibiotics but all THREE of my young sons were instantly put on antibiotics, plus me, mom who hardly gets seriously sick, needed antibiotics also, and I mean two rounds for each of us. It suddenly felt as if someone had kicked me hard in the jaw with a boot and I went to the doctor, and sure enough, my ear was infected. I haven't had an ear infection since I was a kid (according to my mom, I can't remember it.) Could this have had anything to do with immunusuppression and could it have had to do with the fish oil??No.
This is a case of coincidental correlation. In debate, you would call it the logical fallacy of 'post hoc ergo propter hoc', or 'after this, therefore, because of this'.
You were breathing at the time. Is that suspect? (Just putting another coincidental correlation up for consideration.)
Children are extraordinary disease vectors. Need any more be said?
> Thanks, and sorry if I appear to be an ignoramus. I can't ask doctors these questions because they know so little about fatty acids that it's as if I'm asking them questions in Klingon or something.Now that's funny. <smirk>
You're not an ignoramus. Your doctors are.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:128719
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021122/msgs/128917.html