Posted by bluedog on December 17, 2002, at 22:58:47
In reply to Re: maybe it's the dosage? » BeardedLady, posted by ShelliR on December 17, 2002, at 20:53:02
Hi again Shelli... I'm hoping that Larry Hoover will be able to provide some further input into my following post but until then here is my response:-
==================================================================================================> > In the studies that showed effective relief from depression and insomnia when combined with anti-depressants, the dose was a gram a day.
The studies actually showed relief from depression on one gram of EPA per day. With my supplements that means I actually need to take 5 grams of fish oil supplements per day to get my one gram of EPA
==================================================================================================> > Maybe folks are trying to use the fish-oil supplement as a drug instead of a nutritional additive, and that's where it gets them into trouble?
Food and drugs are VERY closely related to eachother especially when you are talking about natural "drugs". In fact food does not behave any differently in our system as drugs. After all food contains molecules and drugs also contain molecules and the human body does not really know the difference and simply deals with molecules as and when they enter the system.
Now my opinion is that maybe people are using fish oils as a drug but I have very grave doubts about this view. I believe that taking 5 grams of fish oil supplements per day is actually a PURE food use of this substance. The reason I say this is because of the terribly unhealthy ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFA's that almost every person in western society has developed. This unhealthy ratio has only developed since the advent of the food processing industry and the discovery of hydrogenisation to extend the shelf life of otherwise healthy fats and oils (increasing profits for the food companies). The amounts of omega-3 that was naturally found in many foods in the past (like beef and eggs) is practically non-existent nowadays and our consumption of omega-6 EFA's is at a level that is unprecedented in the entire history of human civilisation. Plus the food proceesing industry has brainwashed an entire generation of consumers into believing that the enemies of a healthy diet were saturated fats and cholestorol and have actively suppressed all research and studies that have shown that it is the products that they were selling us that were the real culprit in the general decline in health and increased rates of obesity and depression in recent generations. I would highly recommend that you read studies by Mary Enig (unsure if I've spelt the name correctly) to learn the truth about fats and oils including th omega-3 and omega-6 EFA's
By reducing consumption of omega-6, vegetable oils, trans-fatty acids and partially hydrogenated fats and oils and by SUBSTANTIALLY increasing Omega-3 consumption either throuh eating fish or by supplementation we are merely altering our diet and balancing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 EFA's closer to the state that nature intended for us (and was eaten by our ancestors).
By the way 5 grams of fish oil supplements is nothing compared to the Eskimos who consumed 14-18 grams of fish oil per day in their traditional diets and the incidence of heart disease, arthhritis and other joint diseases and depression is extremely low in traditional eskimo populations.
==================================================================================================> Well, you're probably right in that the more you take, the more side effects you have the potential to experience. And I am taking it, hoping for anti-depressant effects. But I'm just taking the recommended dose that the manufacturer has on the label; they even add that "some people may achieve additional benefits with a higher level of supplementation".
I honestly believe that you will not create problems with your current useage of the fish oil supplements. However if after you've given the supplements a decent trial ONLY then should you conclude whether they are right for you or not. I can't emphasize enough to build up your dose very slowly. There is a scientific reason for this and it take a long time for your body to re-balance itself. Larry Hoover expalined the dynamics behind this in one of his previous posts but I can't seem to find it at the moment
==================================================================================================Anyway that's me done again
warms regards
bluedog
poster:bluedog
thread:131954
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021217/msgs/132253.html