Posted by Larry Hoover on December 25, 2004, at 9:46:14 [reposted on December 25, 2004, at 12:03:01 | original URL]
In reply to Omega 3...Larry, posted by Phil on December 25, 2004, at 7:56:45
> Lar, I was reading your posts on Grohol's site yesterday where you generously offered your brain power concerning Omega 3.
It's hard to not just keep going on and on, truth be told.
> I've heard good things about OmegaBrite but can't afford it. Do you think it actually offers any advantage over the Walmart brand or is it just marketing hype? It's incredibly expensive.
Omegabrite is artificially manipulated to contain proportionally more EPA (relative to DHA) than is found in any natural food. Instead of a ratio of about 1.5:1, Omegabrite is 7:1. There are arguments that EPA is the primary antidepressant/mood-stabilizing fatty acid, but I am not convinced. It may be responsible for some of the more rapid effects, but DHA is a structural component of neural membranes, and also acts to regulate receptor expression by acting at DNA-transcriptional levels. I'm rather hesitant to recommend EPA over DHA, but I suppose it's nice to know that the option is there.
With respect to Walmart fish oil....as far as the common commodity fish oil goes, I have never found a more cost-effective solution. The quality (rancidity) has also never been a problem for me, and I can't say the same thing for other brands. So, Spring Valley gets a Best Buy rating from me.
Still, there are other options. Carlson's (from Norway) is a very high purity product. There are some fat-soluble pollutants that might be present in other brands (it's awfully hard to know, without analysing them), but Carlson's is tested to ensure that there are undetectable levels of e.g. PCBs and dioxins. It's available at a fairly reasonable price from iherb. http://www.iherb.com/liquidfish.html (If you put in a good sized order at iherb, you get up to 20% off the whole order, and they still have a great deal on shipping.)
You'll also see a product called Ultra-Omega, from Health from the Sun, on that iherb page. When I read the product description, it says the oils are derived from sardines and anchovies, both fish at the low end of the food chain. That suggests the oils are naturally less contaminated than e.g. those from predator fish like salmon.
The liquid oils are convenient, but a little weird in one respect. Having an oily liquid in your mouth is an uncommon sensory experience. They taste quite pleasant, though, so it's not a yucky thing in any way. The cod liver oil would be a really good source of vitamins D and A, which I'd wager you're deficient in, in any case. I take a tablespoon of both (fish oil and cod liver oil) at the same time. The cod liver oil also supplies EPA and DHA at high levels.
> Thanks my friend,
>
> PhilYou are most welcome.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:434021
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20041212/msgs/434022.html