Omega-3

[Sheila]

This study claims fish oil doesn’t contribute anything to heart health if you are already on statins. I see three flaws in the study.

1) Typical of many studies of alternative treatments, they used too low a dose to make a difference. They have done this with echinacea, several vitamins, and, in a sense, they even did it with prayer, by overcontrolling how the prayers prayed in one study.

2) The people were taking anti-cholesterol meds. Cholesterol “is an essential structural component of animal cell membranes that is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity” (Wiki). Anti-cholesterol meds, statins, work by blocking “the action of a chemical in the liver that is necessary for making cholesterol. Although cholesterol is necessary for normal cell and body function” (medicalnewstoday.com).

3) These were unhealthy people and it is unknown whether they were following any kind of healthy diet or not. They may have had very bad Omega-6 / Omega-3 ratios in their ongoing diets, in which case, again, 1 g Omega-3 would be like breaking a fish oil capsule open over a bag of pork rinds fried in corn oil….

One of the primary ways fish oil works is that it improves cell membrane flexibility. So, it seems possible that the meds the people in the study were on either blocked or tampered with the way that fish oil works.


Associated Press
by Marilynn Marchione
8 May 13

Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.

The work makes clearer who does and does not benefit from taking supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, the good oils found in fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines.

Previous studies have suggested that fish oil capsules could lower heart risks in people with heart failure or who have already suffered a heart attack. The American Heart Association recommends them only for people who have high levels of fats called triglycerides in their blood, says the group's president, Dr. Donna Arnett of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Fish oil capsules failed to prevent flare-ups of atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm problem, in a large study in 2010.

The new study was led by the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. It tested 1 gram a day of fish oil versus dummy capsules in 12,513 people throughout Italy. They had not suffered a heart attack but were at high risk of having one because of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity or other conditions. Most already were taking cholesterol-lowering statins, aspirin and other medicines to lower their chances of heart problems.

Researchers at first planned to compare the rate of death, heart attacks and strokes in the two groups, but these were less frequent than anticipated. So they started measuring how long it was before people in either group suffered one of these fates or was hospitalized for heart-related reasons. After five years, the rate was the same — about 12 percent of each group had one of these problems.

"They're very high-risk people and so the level of other treatments was very high," Arnett said. "When you're being aggressively treated for all of your other risk factors, adding fish oil yielded no additional benefits."

Results are published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Makers of fish oil supplements helped pay for the study.

Eating fish is known to help protect against heart disease, and the Heart Association recommends it at least twice a week.

"People who choose to eat more fish are more likely to eat heart healthier diets and engage in more physical activity," and studies testing the benefit of supplements may not be able to completely adjust for differences like these, said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovascular nutrition lab at Tufts University in Boston.

The results do show that people can't rely on a pill to make up for a bad diet, she said.

"It is sort of like breaking a fish oil capsule over a hot fudge sundae and expecting the effect of the calories and saturated fat to go away," she said.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/study...-heart-attacks

[Sheila]

Michael Lewis, MD, Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army Medical Corps
President and Founder
Brain Health Education and Research Institute
www.brainhealtheducation.org

Michael Lewis is an MD in Virginia who is in the vanguard of working with neurological injuries with mega-dose Omega-3. That means 9,000 – 18,000 mg per day EPA + DHA. His cutting-edge work has been reported on CNN. If you want to consult with him, he has a private practice, and also runs this research and consulting institute.

I have corresponded with him, and am posting, with his permission, highlights of what he had to say --


-- I have had a couple people in the past ask me about antidepressant withdrawal syndrome (for lack of a better way to put it), but I can't recall any particular details though I seem to remember one person who had a tremendously positive response with high doses of fish oil.

-- I believe the biggest reason why many "NIH" studies don't show an effect for [Omega-3 on] whatever they are studying (depression, Alzheimers, dementia, TBI, etc) is because of the dosage. The difference between omegas for health and omegas for treatment is a log scale. I tell people to add a zero behind whatever they are taking. The brain has to be saturated with omega-3s to make the biggest difference and to overcome the negative effects of the background, omega-6 laden Western diet. We forget, "you are what you eat" and our body tissues and brain composition reflect that.

-- 1) Do you know of anyone else researching (formally or informally) a high dose Omega-3 protocol for a chronic neurological problem caused by toxic exposure or adverse sequelae from medication, chemotherapy or anesthesia?

I don't know offhand, but I'm sure there must be someone out there. There was something a couple months ago out of Columbia University about Chemo-Brain, but I don't think they were looking at it from an omega-3 view, but they might - they should!

-- 2) Do you know of people needing to ramp up slowly to a high Omega-3 dose in order to avoid temporary intensification of symptoms, especially anxiety or akathisia?

I have one patient out of about 200 so far who seems to have an opposite reaction when he tries to increase his omegas, but he is very sensitive to things and has an unusual underlying infectious process that is probably exacerbated by the omegas by increasing blood flow to the brain. As he gets appropriate treatment for the underlying problem, it will be interesting to see how he does on omegas later.

-- 3) Do you know of anyone taking *more* than 9,000 mg ongoingly who is *not* in coma? How much is Bobby Ghassemi [young man who was in coma from MVA] taking now three years post-accident?

Bobby is taking 9000mg EPA/DHA (15 one gram [of fish oil] capsules a day). He didn't for months about a year after the accident and really plateaued and struggled with depression which responded very quickly when he got back on omegas. I know one former NFL player that takes 30 capsules a day [18,000 mg EPA + DHA] and another who takes 15 a day [9000 mg EPA + DHA] and has for about a year now.

-- 4) Do you have any suggestions or relevant anecdotes for us?

I would put people on a high quality, pharmaceutical grade, concentrated triglyceride form (I think there is something inherently wrong with ethyl esters) at five capsules 3-4 times a day (9000-12000mg EPA/DHA). Needs to be done in your syndrome for at least a month before considering tapering down to minimum 3000mg EPA/DHA a day.

-- Almost everyone else has a beneficial response to large doses within 1-3 days, particularly mood enhancement and calmness. The most common side effects are burping (fish burps are actually a sign that the product is not good and should be thrown out). You know you are taking too much fish oil if you get diarrhea or people notice you smell like a fish factory. Other side effects are often beneficial such as bowel regularity, smoother skin, and less dry hair.


Remember, he has no experience with AD / benzo w/d and we have to take his experience and modify it for our own syndrome. But, as you can see, he has a wealth of relevant information. I also have some more anecdotal information about mega-dose Omega-3 from a couple of chiropractors. I’ll ask for permission to post and then post it.

[PAROX2010]

Very interesting, thanks Sheila

[Moui]

I quit all my supplements last summer because I wanted to limit the factors involved but once I'm off the drug depending on how things go I might try some again, this time more carefully and one at a time.
Fish oil, magnesium and calcium on the top of the list.. do you guys think the heavy metals in fish (and fish oil) is an issue when taking so much? Could there be another source for omega3? I already eat healthy. Olive oil and avocados are my main fat source at the moment.

[Luc]

What dosage are you on now, Sheila? Keeping our fingers crossed for your further improvement.

[Sheila]

I’m at 12,000 mg EPA + DHA for one week now! Thanks for the good wishes, Luc. I will write an update on my journal when I’m sure what I want to say, but I am definitely fascinated by Omega-3…..



Moui – why calcium? You know you have to take magnesium without calcium to get the anti-anxiety effect? And I would look into Vitamin C – we have a sticky here, and I have more stuff to post on it when I can. Great supplement.

I don’t think you need to worry about the heavy metals in fish oil pills – they have been decontaminated. Tragically, you *do* have to worry about heavy metals if you eat too much actual fish.

And it’s not the fish you need anyway, it’s the algae they eat. And you can buy algae oil pills. The marketplace hasn’t developed this angle as much yet, but it’s coming down the pike! (ha! pun!) And I will probably switch to algae eventually.

[Moui]

Well, that's a lot of info I didn't have before.. thanks! It seems I may have to do some research before trying them. Earlier I pretty much just took them all in hopes something would work. Not very wise, I know.. But I was desperate. The thing is.. something did actually work, I just don't know for sure what it was. I think the combo I finally settled for was fish oil, phosphatidylserine, b-vitamin complex, magnesium, l-theanine. Sometimes more theanine at bedtime with passionflower. I tried many many before that. I don't know if it was time off (about 6 months at that point), the lifestyle changes I made or these supplements in particular but that's when I finally started sleeping every night. I didn't know I was in wd.. I thought it was just my mental health had deteriorated very rapidly so eventually I reinstated.
So you don't think calcium is beneficial then? I remember reading something along the lines that it's good for the myelin. On PP I've read many have reported their anxiety ramping up due to fish oil. Whether that's the nocebo effect or not I don't know.

[Sheila]

Moui – I also thought my real mental health was deteriorating the first time I went off Paxil and got on Zoloft. It wasn’t until the third time I got off SSRIs that I realized I was having w/d!

Personally, I think calcium is overrated and that there are reasons *not* to take it in supplement form. I’m sorry I can’t remember how I came to this conclusion. You would have to research the matter, but I decided we don’t really need calcium supplements.

I don’t know anything about calcium and myelin. If you find something good please post it here.

I have been very uncertain about why so many people on pp report that fish oil increases their anxiety. I have wondered whether it’s a group-driven nocebo. Part of what makes me think that is that people there also either claim to have benefit immediately at a low dose – which I also find hard to believe -- or give up quickly when they don’t get a benefit immediately. Mostly, I think Omega-3 works by repairing and building structure, not by blood level, so I think it takes time to feel the benefits. And the longer you take it, the more benefit.

OTOH, I do think it’s likely that *any* change will increase the anxiety of people in w/d because of how autonomically hypersensitive we are. But, this is a reason to make changes slowly and make them small, not to give up on what may be the single most helpful supplement for us.

[Sheila]

Handy database of over 300 articles on Omega-3 and the hundreds of health problems for which it is helpful –

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/substanc...-3-fatty-acids

[Sheila]

Omega-3 Docosapentaenoic Acid (DPA): What is known?

Did EPA and DHA overshadow the health benefits of DPA?

by Gunveen Kaur, PhD, and Andrew Sinclair, PhD
23 Jan 12

What is omega-3 DPA?

Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) is a dietary omega-3 fatty acid mainly found in fish, fish oil, seal oil and red meat. Its biological properties have not been thoroughly studied. Unlike, the other popular omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), DPA has not been extensively subjected to research due to the limited availability of the pure compound. However, the available scientific literature suggests that DPA also have beneficial health effects.

There is another form (isomer) of DPA known as omega-6 DPA. Omega-6 DPA content is low in most mammalian tissues, except testes tissue. The omega-3 isomer of DPA is substantially higher in fish & fish oils, than the omega-6 isomer.

Metabolism of omega-3 DPA

The laboratory studies conducted using liver cells have shown that omega-3 DPA and EPA are inter-convertible in the liver cells; however, there was little evidence of conversion of EPA and omega-3 DPA into DHA. This means omega-3 DPA can act as a source of EPA. Similarly, in animals, omega-3 DPA can also form EPA. However it does not appear to be readily metabolised to DHA, except in liver tissue. In addition to EPA production (retro-conversion to EPA), omega-3 DPA is found in a number of different tissues. Its specifically higher accumulation in heart and skeletal muscle and in kidneys compared with EPA suggests that omega-3 DPA might have beneficial effects in these tissues.

Beneficial effects of omega-3 DPA

Inhibition of thrombosis/aggregation in platelets: Platelet aggregation is an early event in the development of thrombosis and is initiated by thromboxin A2 (TXA2). The results from a study conducted in rabbit platelets showed that omega-3 DPA was the most potent inhibitor of COX-1 activity (the enzyme involved in synthesis of TXA2), thus inhibiting platelet aggregation most effectively. In a human whole blood study, omega-3 DPA was equally effective as EPA and DHA in inhibiting platelet aggregation in female subjects, however, in male subjects only EPA inhibited platelet aggregation.

Greater wound-healing/ability: Endothelial cell migration and proliferation are important processes in the control of wound-healing response of blood vessels. Direct pretreatment of endothelial cells with omega-3 DPA resulted in a dose-dependent increase in migration. Moreover, maximum stimulation of endothelial cell migration by omega-3 DPA pretreatment was achieved at a concentration one-tenth of that required for maximal stimulation by EPA pretreatment. Also, omega-3 DPA may have a positive role in preventing angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) as omega-3 DPA pretreatment suppresses the bovine aortic endothelial cell tube-forming activity induced by vascular endothelial growth factor.

Alters expression of various genes: Very few studies have looked at the effects of pure DPA on expression of genes. However, in liver cells, omega-3 DPA has been shown to induce PPARα, which is involved in fat oxidation, but EPA and DHA had a stronger and more consistent effects. Omega-3 DPA reduces the expression of lipogenic genes in mice and liver cells. These genes are involved in synthesis of fat in the body. The mice fed with omega-3 DPA have also shown a reduction in liver triglyceride levels.

Omega-3 DPA is involved in the reduction of the expression of inflammatory genes such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in cell culture models. Inflammation in walls of blood vessels is thought to play a role in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and thus lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The action of omega-3 DPA in reducing the expression of inflammatory genes suggests its beneficial role in CVD and many other inflammation associated complications conditions including nervous system disease.

What amount of DPA is considered to be beneficial?

Recommended dietary intakes (RDI) are most commonly expressed for total long chain omega-3 fatty acids of which omega-3 DPA is a member. There is no recommendation for DPA alone. We need more scientific investigations to decide the exact amounts of omega-3 DPA that we need to eat through our or to take as supplements.

[References available at link.]

http://www.nutritionremarks.com/2012...at-is-known-3/