Omega 3 capsules (merged)

Ted_Hutchinson

aliasojo wrote:

Just to confuse the issue even more.......it seems that it's not just the levels of EPA and DHA that are important, the ratio of these also plays a part.

The Durham trial used eyeq oils which is a different ratio to the Zipvit ones. Zipvit is a ratio of 3:2 whereas the eyeq is a ratio of 4:1.

http://www.equazen.com/default.aspx?pid=25

I appreciate this but as DHA may be converted into EPA I suspect this may not be such a critical factor as the total overall OMEGA3 content. While if money were no object it would be worth spending on the EyeQ product for many Zipvit will be the most cost effective.

Ted_Hutchinson

gravitytolls wrote:

I am getting confused... We tall take omega 3, but shouldn't we also be taking 6 & 9 as well?

A lot depends on what you are trying to achieve. But generally speaking we are consuming TOO much fat in total and TOO high a percentage of Omega 6. So for the most part advising everyone to reduce total fat consumption while increasing the amount of Omega 3 is the best option. See Healtheating club where this is discussed in greater detail.

And i also take vitamon B complex, which I think is improving my digestion, but is it really necessary? And it doesn't seem to be improving my mood.

There is a useful set of vitamin/supplement factsheets here

What about cod liver oils etc? Are they necassary if we're taking omega oils?

There is no point in taking Codliver oil as well as omega fish oil. I personally can't see why anyone takes codliver oil when fish oil provides a higher concentration of Omega3's for less money and fewer calories.

loveabargin

My family and I started taking omega-3 after hearing about it's benefits 6 weeks ago. We take MorEPA smart fats the EPA is 580mg and DHA88mg you get 60 softgels in a box. Although they are not cheap (I paid £94.94 for 6x60 boxes) from https://www.healthyandessential.com, I felt that this was the best option as they are suppose to be the best ones and you only need to take one a day. If anyone knows where I can get these cheaper it would put a smile on my face. I also went through rpoints to order these and got 10% of my bill back.

Ted_Hutchinson

While I did say in a previous post that should Cost not be a concern using Equazen Eye Q would be the best option and as MorEPA provides a similar amount of EPA this also is excellent, I'm not sure that it is necessary for the whole family.

EPA is primarily for the functioning of the brain while DHA is more involved in the structure. So for younger children (>6yrs) with developing brains it may be arguable that the ZIPVIT omega juice with a higher ratio of DHA may be preferable.

It should also be pointed out the the Durham trial was for older children with particular difficulties. I obviously do not know what diagnosis each of the members or your, or anyone's, family have so while there may be a specific need for high EPA in your case it may not be the case if your children are not showing the particular behaviour patterns/functional problems associated with autism,adhd,dislexia/dispraxia/discalculia or whatever. The Durham trial also envisaged a lower dose following a period of high dose usage so maybe after your children have used the current supply a trial of the zipvit option could be adequate for the maintainance level.

For general adult use again I wonder if the High EPA is necessary or desirable? I'm perfectly satisfied with the Zipvit Omega Juice as an easy way of taking my omega though for those who regularly eat oily fish I don't know that is would be necessary.

In other words although the Durham trial may be right for older children with specific disabilities/problems it may not be the case that high EPA is necessarily best for younger children, for those with no signs of brain malfunctioning or for adults, in these cases supplementing with more general, but high strength fish oil product may be perfectly adequate.

loveabargin

Thanks Ted for your info and I will try Zipvit when we finnish the MorEPA. I did speak to a researcher about the dosage as I have a teenager that does not eat fish and his concentration span is not good so I thought this might help. She advised me that he should take 1000 mg a day for 3 months then lower his dosage to 500 mg and suggested 500mg for the rest of us. Am I right in beliving that you can not over dose on pure omega 3?

Ted_Hutchinson

loveabargin wrote:

Am I right in beliving that you can not over dose on pure omega 3?

I think you would know by body odour if your in danger of overdosing. [font=arial, helvetica, geneva]The recommended daily intake of EPA plus DHA is about 650 mg rising to 1000 mg/day during pregnancy and lactation. Clinical trials have used anywhere from 1 g/day to 10 g/day, but little additional benefit has been observed at levels above 5 g/day of EPA and DHA combined. The benefits of therapeutic supplementation may become evident in a few weeks when blood parameters (triglycerides, fibrinogen) are involved, but may take 3 months or longer to materialize in degenerative diseases like atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. more detail here if you are particularly interested in one aspect of your health.

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bargainaddict

I am completely confused (easily done these days!!) after reading all these posts. I got Omega 3 pure fish oil capsules from Superdrug on 3for2, think 3.99 for 30. 1000mg providing EPA 310mg, DHA 190mg, total omega 3 600mg. Is this a good enough level for 14yr old? Incidentally, my daughters teacher noticed a difference within her first week of taking them. She is really fussy and don't think the zipvit juice will be successful. They also do a bigger 90 day pack which is better value.

chaliepud

Out of interest, does anyone know how much EPA there is in the actual oily fish, my kids will both eat fresh salmon and my daughter will also eat tuna, I am currently giving mine the Boots omega liquid (162mg) as it is the only one we have tried that they will both take, figure it is better than nothing, they also have multivits and a fair diet.

H

Ted_Hutchinson

chaliepud wrote:

Out of interest, does anyone know how much EPA there is in the actual oily fish, my kids will both eat fresh salmon and my daughter will also eat tuna, I am currently giving mine the Boots omega liquid (162mg) as it is the only one we have tried that they will both take, figure it is better than nothing, they also have multivits and a fair diet.H

worlds' Healthiest foods SalmonWHF's Tuna
More ideas about getting more Omega3's in your diet here
WHF's Omega info

However WHF site tends to support my view that what matters mainly is the amount of OMEGA3 in total rather than focussing on the EPA/DHA figures. These are available for fish are here
More interesting information wikipedia

Ted_Hutchinson

bargainaddict wrote:

I am completely confused (easily done these days!!) after reading all these posts. I got Omega 3 pure fish oil capsules from Superdrug on 3for2, think 3.99 for 30. 1000mg providing EPA 310mg, DHA 190mg, total omega 3 600mg. Is this a good enough level for 14yr old? Incidentally, my daughters teacher noticed a difference within her first week of taking them. She is really fussy and don't think the zipvit juice will be successful. They also do a bigger 90 day pack which is better value.

310+190=500? These amounts are quite high for a single 1000mg capsule, are you sure they aren't quoting you the amount for two capsules a day?
However if you bought from capsules from ZIPVIT 360 are £9.75 so even if you had to take 2 instead of one Superdrug they would still be cheaper as Superdrug would be £15.98 for 180 (on offer)

experts recommended that people consume at least 2% of their total daily calories as omega-3 fats. To meet this recommendation, a person consuming 2000 calories per day should eat sufficient omega-3-rich foods to provide at least 4 grams of omega-3 fatty acids.It's difficult to say without knowing what other omega rich foods your daughter may be eating through the week.
Adding linseed to cereal is an easy way of increasing the amount as would be changing to organic milk but making sure you have salmon, or tuna twice a week is also a good idea. If you check the links on my post 56 in this thread you will get more good ideas.

Edit: Popped into Superdrug today and the Fish Oil plus capsules are the strength quoted above and the arithmetic is Superdrug's own and not the poster's. Will try and find out where the extra 100mg Omega3 comes from tomorrow.
Edit: Spoke to Superdrug today and they've admitted it probably is a mistake and they will get it sorted.