Fish Oil?

Is it true that the Omega-3's can help with mood? Or just another hype?

I do eat salmon occasionally, but probably not often enough.

Anyone had a good experience taking fish oil?

been taking it daily for about a month......the pills tatse like fish and are hard to swallow

my psychiatrist takes them too.....he was part of a drug study and found Omega 3 fatty acids do help the brain with both mood stabilization and memory function

just be prepared for the "fishy burps" if you take the pills

if you dont mind the smell, go for it.

You can also get omega-3s from flax oil and it is less stinky. You can buy the oil and mix a little bit into your morning orange juice (shake well). If you like the Odwalla drinks there is one called "Berry GoMega" that has tons of omega-3s. But kind of pricey. I do omega-3s for lowering blood pressure and raising my "good" cholesterol. I hadn't heard they help with mood.

fish oil aint a drug. there are lots of natural sources of omega3 fatty acids.
if you are looking for natural substances that promote mental health then there are many like folic acid, sam-e and vitamin D.
check your p doc before you start this stuff 'cause it might affect the way your meds are working now.
example: i am not allowed to take grapefruit juice anymore because it makes my cholesterol lowering drug too powerful and increases side effects.
in my supermarket there are eggs from genetically engineered chickens that lay eggs containing omega3s. i have no idea if they help mentally. i try to eat a varied diet that includes fish. if you eat too much fish these days you get a mercury problem which is most dangerous for preggers.
so its hard to know whats right for you without personal advice. g'luck
pi

razzleberry, i was introduce to omega-3 in my last stay in the mental hosp. they told me that it helps the medication to penetrate the fat cells and this will help in the body to absorb your medication more effectively. i was told the cheaper the better, but i buy my drug store brand and it has a lemon flavor to keep it from smelling fishy. whether this helps or not, i still get depressed but my lipids and cholesteral is way down, so i will keep taking it for that reason only. ..........pj56.........xxoo

Razzy,
I've taken 2, 1000 mg of fish oil daily for about 2 yrs. I hate fish ! ! My cholesterol is great like pj56 said, but my depression is still in the pits.

It might work for you though. Try the enteric coated. It helps with the fishy odor and taste.

"Fishy Burps"...I don't think I could handle that...its right up there with cucumber burps

Flax Seed Oil does the same thing for your health and brain as the Fish Oil does...... and they taste better - so no more after burp and yuck face.

yeah but im gettin to like the fishy burps....when I feel one coming on I run and kiss my wife so she can enjoy the aroma too!

I take 6 tabs per day....1000 mg each. I'm not sure if it helps with depression....but my skin and hair is nicer.

Fish oil is an excellent supplement.....everybody should take it.

I also take 3 evening primrose oil tabs per day .....they are omega 9 which is hard to get from food.

There is a fair bit of misinformation in this thread, and that's not really too surprising. Fatty acid biochemistry is rather complex, and poorly understood, even by doctors. I'll try to cover all the points of concern I noted in this one post.

Fish oil contains a number of fatty acids, but two in particular that are rare to nonexistent in other food stuffs. Those are DHA and EPA, both in the omega-3 family. A number of vegetable sources have a different omega-3 fatty acid, called alpha-linolenic acid (ALNA, or sometimes ALA). They are not interchangeable. We do have enzymes which have some very limited capacity to elongate and desaturate ALNA to form EPA, and theoretically then onwards to DHA, but recent experiments have shown that dietary ALNA is converted to EPA at no better than 5%, and virtually none goes on to form DHA. To obtain EPA and DHA, you need to consume fish oil, or other marine oils (seal, krill, whale, etc.), or their original source, algae. There are a couple of algal-based DHA supps, but they are very expensive.

EPA is essential for signalling purposes, regulating inflammation and signal transduction. DHA is essential to the proper functioning of neuronal membranes, and receptor function. Fish oil benefits not only the brain, but especially the cardiovascular system. Not everyone notices the cognitive and psych effects of fish oil, but the improvement in cardiac and circulatory parameters will definitely be noticeable by bloodwork. So, even if you don't notice a difference, take it for your heart. In my own case, I find I have more resiliency. More balance. Life is easier, with fish oil. And my cholesterol and triglycerides are superb.

The typical Western diet is grossly deficient in DHA and EPA, and massively over-supplied with omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils. The imbalance leads to excess inflammatory activity, and increased blood clotting risk. Think heart attack and ischemic stroke. I don't recommend obtaining omega-3s from e.g. flax oil for two reasons: a) you're not going to get the DHA and EPA your body craves; and, b) the high proportion of omega-6 fatty acids opposes the benefit you might otherwise obtain, due to competition at enzyme active sites, and their pro-inflammatory nature.

There is a risk of fishy burps, as has been noted here. You can reduce the likelihood by only taking fish oil immediately following your largest meal of the day, preferably one with some other fat sources. The food in your stomach protects the fish oil from direct exposure to stomach acid which decomposes it, and the other fat (or protein) in the meal inhances gall bladder secretions which enhance uptake. Don't ever take fish oil on an empty stomach. Also, because fish oil is a perishable commodity, you have to have fresh supplies. I recently bought a couple of large bottles of capsules that had a three year expiry, but they were already rancid. If they weren't handled properly before you got them, it happens.

Because of the perishable nature of these fats, you have to consider your antioxidant intake. They are just as perishable in your body as they are outside it. You should take 100-200 IU mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E) and 100 mg vitamin C for every 1000 mg of fish oil, averaged over a week. (I.e. you don't need to take them at the same time, and your diet may provide enough antioxidants.....).

Fish may indeed contain mercury, but fish oil has none. Mercury binds to protein, and there is no protein in food-grade fish oil. Nonetheless, I still think whole fish is superior to fish oil, as it has other nutrients that improve brain function. Modest mercury exposure can be protected against with selenium intake. Mercury preferentially binds to selenium, forming a totally insoluble non-reactive complex. In any case, smaller fish (herring, menhadden, anchovies) have much less mercury than do e.g. their predators (tuna, salmon). So, proper fish selection goes a long way in the avoidance of bioaccumulating toxins.

Evening primrose oil (EPO) is not selected for its omega-9 content. The only omega-9 fat commonly found in from plants in the genus Olea (olive), and it's called oleic acid, a mono-unsaturate. Instead, EPO is an excellent source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Even though GLA is an omega-6, it is anti-inflammatory. Its effect is enhanced in the presence of fish oil, also. Borage oil has more GLA than does EPO, but it's likely that the latter has other beneficial compounds not found in the former. Black currant oil also has a good deal of GLA.

There are a few newer food products that have enhanced DHA content. I've seen yoghurt, for example, and milk and bread. Omega-enhanced eggs are not from genetically modified birds, however. It's just that their diet includes flax seeds, and we benefit from the elongation and desaturation enzymes of the hen by modest enhancement of the EPA and DHA content of the yolk. There's also a boost in vitamin E.

Historical dietary analysis indicates that we evolved with roughly equal intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. Current intake is between 30 and 60:1 excess of omega-6. I think everyone should supplement with fish oil. It takes 18-24 months of daily supplementation to fully stock your body with the optimal proportion of long-chain omega-3 fats. Every cell wants some. So, it's best thought of as a lifestyle adaptation, rather than a short-term treatment.

Questions welcome.

Lar

Woa now thats a read larry!

Your grandmother was right about cod liver oil!

The research on Omega 3 fatty acids and depression is impressive. The studies show the best results with 4 thousand mg a day. Some people responded to lower doses. The standard "more research is needed" is the summary. (Please note that now there is a prescription Omega 3 on the market, what does that tell you?)

I believe it is certainly worth a try. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner I have had many patients do well on it. Try different brands if it bothers your stomach, take in divided doses with food. Also keep the caps in the fridge. It may help them be more tolerable.

Omega 3 fatty acids also help your skin and heart and joints. So what do you have to loose. If you absolutely can' <font color="red"> </font> <font color="red"> </font> <font color="#880000"> </font> t tolerate the fish oil you can try flax seed oil There is some question about if this is as effective as fish oil as it needs to be metabolized further ..

Alway discuss with your health care provider. They need to be aware of all supplements you are taking!

But dont they say too much of anything is NOT a good thing? 4,000 mg a day seems like a lot to me.

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BalishBun said:
But dont they say too much of anything is NOT a good thing? 4,000 mg a day seems like a lot to me.

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4000 mg is approximately one teaspoonful.

Of that amount, only about 30% is the highly beneficial long-chain omega-3s.

You'd get roughly the same amount in a 100 gram (3 1/2 oz) serving of salmon.

If burned for energy, this amount of fat is about 35 calories, but we know that the fat is put to better use.

Lar

Fish oil pills are awesome for heart health. Dad's carto doc recommended keeping them in the freezer to reduce bad flavor etc.

Odorless, enteric coated fish oil works really well...no fish burps.

I take codliver oil once a day and in addition to the meds I take, I really feel it compliments the antidepressant in them.
I feel much more able to concentratem much more remembering things better, etc

I use cod liver oil which works great as far as keeping me feel healthy and limber and energized. I believe they add to the jobs of the Paxil and Xanax to do their job of keeping me on an even keel.

thanks ((((Lar))))

how true, how true!

peace and health,
nightbird

Cod liver oil? My mother had to use that for a laxative for a long time. Does that come in gel cap form yet or do you have to drink it?

I just started taking fish oil for the brain benefits more than anything else. I was taking B12 supplements for a while and felt nothing so I stopped.

BE CAREFUL! Some brands of fish oil can interact with medications. I asked my psychiatrist for a recommendation.

I take Fish Oil but I also eat Salmon at least once a week...should eat it twice a week though... I never notice anything from the Fish Oil itself but take it every day. However, when I eat salmon I do notice a difference in brain function....immediately! I have seizures and I always feel a strange bit of activity in my frontal lobe when eating it! I know it sounds wierd but that is the truth... The problem is I forget to eat the fish more often...

TJ