Fish Oil, really this good? How much is too much?

[Frank Needham]

Originally Posted by Billy Brummel

Is my math way off, or is that a really expensive fish oil habit?

My question back would be what is the cost-to-benefit of any so-called name brand supps? To me, when they starting quoting prices that are calculated in dollars per oz I say phooey on that shit....I prefer real food and moderately priced basic add ins whose value is a no-brainer. On the other hand maybe I'll start manufacturing Frank's brand products in my garage.....PHARMACY GRADE, SCIENTIFICALLY FORMULATED, KOSHER MADE WITH ACTUAL RABBIS ON SITE TO BLESS THE PROCESS....DR. WHOZIT USES THIS IN HIS PRACTICE EVERY DAY.....

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Billy Brummel

OK, I did some research...

One teaspoon of Carlson's has 1600 n-3's. So in order to get 10g of n3 that would mean taking 6.25 tbsp/day. That's like 92 ml of fish oil. The smaller bottle of Carlson's is 200 ml. So, that's like downing a bottle of Carlson's every other day. Each bottle costs $21.99.

Is my math way off, or is that a really expensive fish oil habit?

Math someone say?? Let's examine....

1 serving (on the label) is usually 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Each 200ml bottle has 40 servings
1 teaspoon usually is about 1200g of EPA/DHA (all depends on if you get reg fish oil, or concentrated...maybe more cost effective for the concentrated)
So if we are looking at 10g, then that is roughly 8 servings/day
8 servings = 8 teaspoons = 2 1/2 or 3 tablespoons (too round up)
Which means one bottle will last you 5 days....which means 6 bottles a month at $15-$19 a bottle...so now you are spending $120 a month just on fish oil. (assuming you are going for the 10g a day)

So if you buy Dr Sears ultra refined oil:
His is 2.7g EPA/DHA per teaspoon
at 10grams a day is 3.7 teaspoons (or just over on tablespoon)
45 servings a bottle (1 teaspoon=1 serving) is 12 days worth.
So their bottle is around $75.

Take the averages:
$75 for 12 days = $6.25 cost per day
$20 for 5 days = $4.00 cost per day

so still cheaper to get the reg fish oil vs the concentrated.

Whoooo, I am spent....but every other day was a little off.....

[Billy_Brummel]

....and I'm retarded.

Proof that I've got a serious n3 deficiency.

[John Seiler]

Robb,

I'm confused. There seems to be switching between talking about grams of the fish oil itself and grams of the EPA/DHA. You're taking in ~10 grams of which?

[Ronnie Ashlock]

I'm currently using FlameOut from Biotest. I wanted to see if the added CLA did anything for me. So far, I like it, but it's not like I can suddenly see stars in a distant galaxy or anything. Don't know if it's worth the price. I had been using Carlson's for about year and a half before switching over, but had a five-day power loss at my house and had to throw the rancid Carlson oil away. So I thought I'd give the Biotest stuff a try. I was taking four caps a day, and like I said, no superpowers suddenly kicked in. So yesterday, I upped it to five caps in the morning and five in the evening for a total of 10. I noticed a pungent, fishy smell today when I defecated (sorry... I'm trying to be as clinical as possible), but nothing crazy weird with my stool (again, trying to be clinical). Perhaps that's too many caps. The smell definitely got my attention. I may break it down to three in the morning and three in the evening and see how that works.

Honestly, I think my overall health profile is better taking fish oil, since I almost never get sick anymore, and I tend not to get as sore after a workout, but it seems like a lot of the benefits one sees from it are all "under the hood," and I wonder if you need before and after blood work to see the difference. When I read Sear's "OmegaZone," book, I got the impression if I take a pharm grade (Sear's brand) fish oil I would suddenly start solving quantum mechanics equations with ease, develop shredded abs overnight, cure cancer and win the lottery. I don't think he overstates the benefits, it's just he tends to get a little too gleeful about how awesome Fish Oil is. I felt the same way about the other Zone books I've read.

[Mike ODonnell]

CLA although a good EFA, I don't think is essential in the whole overall inflammation process (If that is why you are taking Fish Oil). In that respects EPA is the main guy. DHA is an added bonuc cause your brains runs better on that.

Fish Oil is never a dramatic change as it can take 4+ weeks to really see noticeable differences. Unless you were in screaming pain, you will just notice that maybe you recover better and hurt less. It's the silent inflammation that we don't feel that leads to health decline, so yes Fish Oil is key to health in todays over abumndant Omega 6 based food supply. "Inflammation Zone" is a better read into the benefits of fish oil than the "Omega Zone".

Pain in the ass thing about Fish Oil is knowing how much to really take. You may need only 3g a day...or some may need 6g....or others may need 10g....all depends on your EPA/AA balance as Sears like's to put it.

[Damien Thompson]

Do almonds take care of the CLA or am i off track?

[Scott Kustes]

Damien, CLA is Conjugated Linoleic Acid, available from grass-fed meats mainly. I don't think almonds provide any measurable CLA.

[Allen Yeh]

Anyone have any more input into the different brands of Fish Oil, cod liver oil...etc? And how much?

Since December I've been taking 20 caps of fish oil which adds up to 6 grams of EPA/DHA a day. I'll be running out of this brand soon and wanted to look into trying another brand. I'm currently using the GNC stuff because of after all the discounts I can get 720 caps for $22. Which lasts 36 days.

So far I have Ron says nay about the Flameout and Ronnie likes it so far. Anyone else with Flameout experience?

I'm also looking at:
Nordic Naturals
Carlsons

Liquid or caps? I've always taken it in caps and I was thinking about making the switch over to liquid anyone with input here?

When I went up to 6 grams EPA/DHA I didn't really notice much of a difference between taking 3 grams and might ramp it back a little. What dosages are you taking right now and why?

[Rick Deckart]

A little offtopic but still,

can too much fishoil do harm? Of course, although not all fishoil! Vitamin A is toxic at the right dosage. If you happen to swallow a good amount (<100g) of halibut liver oil---well you better be prepared to leave this world.

No I am not kidding, people died because they ate to much vitamin A (for example a swiss guy named Xavier Merz(?) who ate Husky liver during a antarctic(?) expedition, sorry but I have to check the name, location etc as I recall that from memory), and vitamin A was used to kill people AFAIK.

But relax, fish oil capsules should be save no matter what amount you swallow...