Food In Pill Form: Why Fish Oil?

Without any required conscious effort, every cell in the human body is constantly performing an elegant balancing act to manage inflammation. The food that we eat can encourage this balance in favor of either ant-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory states.
The Standard American Diet or the SAD diet is far too high in Omega-6 fatty acids. These are found in poultry, eggs, nuts, cereals, whole grains, and vegetable oils. O6 FA’s encourage a pro-inflammatory process in our cells. This is required for life but detrimental when not at a healthy balance with Omega-3 fatty acids. O3 FA’s are anti-inflammatory and are often insufficient in the SAD diet. These are found mainly in fish and seeds. The key is to have a healthy balance of both O6 and O3 FA’s. The ideal ratio is 1:1. Unfortunately, the typical American is inflamed, with something more like a 6:1 ratio. This causes any biochemical disruption, big or small, to become blown out of proportion or to become more of a problem than it should be. Let’s balance this equation nutritionally, so that we can become better suited to handle life’s biochemical disruptions.
The easiest and most affordable way to do this is by supplementing with fish oil, which is full of 03 FA’s. A daily supplement can have a profound impact on balancing this equation while providing numerous benefits including: improved cardiovascular system and healthy blood pressure, clearer skin, decreased stress, anxiety and depression, anti-cancer effects as well as calming symptoms of many chronic pathologies such as: Parkinson’s, Lupus, and Psoriasis etc. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a must if pregnant as the benefits to a growing fetus are endless. It is also safe and extremely beneficial for kids. There are three powerful scientific studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that correlate increased Omega-3 Fatty Acid intake with reduced risk of death from ALL CAUSES!

How Much Fish Oil?

For the average adult, depending upon body weight, it is safe to consume up to 8 grams of fish oil each day. The FDA recommends limiting intake to less than 10 grams a day. The most commonly noted side effect is a burp that tastes fishy (not such a terrible problem when considering just one of the side effects on many medications is death). This can be easily overcome by freezing your fish oil pearls before consuming.
Patients are commonly shocked when they hear me ask them to take so many fish oil pills every day. This might be because they are used to taking small quantities of powerful prescription drugs. But with fish oil capsules, there is no highly concentrated chemical that was created in a laboratory as is the case with medication. It is just fish oil; a food. There is no reason to worry about such an increased intake. If you think of it this way, like a food, then maybe it will be easier for you to consider consuming a larger amount.

Is That Safe?

The only major concern that I have about consuming too much fish oil daily would be for people with specific conditions or current medication regiments that involve thinning of blood. It has been reported that high intake is associated with thinning blood. For this reason, those who are hemophiliacs or have other blood conditions, at high risk of stroke, taking blood thinning medications, or planning to have a major surgery etc. should err on the side of caution by sticking with a lower intake. The FDA says it is safe to take up to 3000 mg of omega-3 per day. (This is not the same as 3000 mg of fish oil. A 1000 mg pill typically has only 300 mg of omega-3; 10 such pills would equal 3000 mg of omega-3.) Healthy Greenland Eskimos have been known to safely consume an average intake of 5700 mg of omega-3 EPA per day!