Fish Oil!!??!

[The Gamer]

I just got some fish oil under the recommendation of many people. I'm curious how many MG's of it I should take per day and if it should be spread out throughout the day? Thanks!

Also any other useful info pertaining to fish oil would be useful as well.

 

[Quiksilver]

Take 10-30 1g caps a day.

Try to divide them out evenly(eg. 10 in morning, 10 at lunch, 10 in evening), take them with meals. try to have a few with each meal, obviously don't be anal about it though, just make sure you cram down the right number each day, and not all in one sitting.

cheers

 

[The Gamer]

WOW, thats WAY more then I thought. Is it true if you supplement with fish oil consitently your t-levels will go up?

 

[Quiksilver]

People who consume very little dietary fats are usually the most impotent ones, so if you want a good sex drive and high T levels, consuming a good amount of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated(fish oils) is the way to go.

In other words, yes

If you buy those tubs of 1g fish oil caps, a good rule of thumb is to AT LEAST double the intake on the label. Those pills were made with 60+year old sedentary grandma's in mind, not athletes with high nutritional requirements.

 

[WC2]

Take 10-30 1g caps a day.

Try to divide them out evenly(eg. 10 in morning, 10 at lunch, 10 in evening), take them with meals. try to have a few with each meal, obviously don't be anal about it though, just make sure you cram down the right number each day, and not all in one sitting.

cheers

Haha... Hoooooold on.

So you're telling me you take 10 - 30 grams of fish oil a day?

Not only is this dangerous (in some cases blood thinning), but it's a waste of $$.

The recommended amount is around 2-3g/s a day.

I know guys who superdose fish oil at 5-6g/s a day for skin/joint support, however even they tell me that once you get over 8-10gs, there's really no point.

I'm insisting you don't follow this advice, as I've heard stories about dudes who take only 10g/s a day and have bleeding problems!

I'm wondering, how much do you spend on fish oil a day???!

 

[mrRuckus]

Before our food supply turned to crap:

For most of the time humans have been on earth we have eaten foods containing omega-6's and omega-3's in a ratio of about 2:1. However, over the last 50 years in North America, the ratio has changed to from 2:1 to 10-20:1. Our diet now includes huge amounts of oils that are extracted from plants and used for cooking or in prepared foods. These oils (such as corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil) are primarily omega-6s. We have decreased our intake of omega-3's, found primarily in whole grains, beans and other seeds, and seafood.

How many grams of other fats are you eating a day if 3g is enough to be at a proper ratio?

 

[Quiksilver]

I know guys who superdose fish oil at 5-6g/s a day

lol

That's a super underdose in my books.

 

[Southbound]

I too have heard that 3g/day of omega-3 fats is the recommended dose. I took that to mean that it's the point at which you experience diminishing returns, so I try to get at least that much.

A lot of the fish oil I see in stores has only 300mg of omega-3 in a 1g capsule. If your fish oil is like that you have to take 10 caps to reach 3 grams. With the brand I use a 4 capsule dose contains 3 grams, so shop around if you hate taking pills.

 

[thedeparted]

Fish oil has Vitamin A. You can OD on Vitamin A. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_liver_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinol#Retinoid_overdose_.28toxicity.29

For this reason flax seed oil can be a safer form of Omega 3 fat. It also has about twice as much omega-3 as fish oil:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/flaxseed-oil-000304.htm

 

[Quiksilver]

Good lord, this is all backwards.

I don't really feel like explaining it, and the answers are all over the net.

And don't take flax seed oil instead of fish oil. Take them both, with a tendency toward fish oil, again for reasons I don't want to explain here. As a matter of fact, there's a Flax vs. Fish Oil thread in the vault.

An average 1g fish oil capsule contains 200mg of omega 3 triglycerides. To get 3g of that, I'd need to take 15 capsules. There's also no telling whether the oils you take will be used as fuel(ie. wasted) or not, therefore, to err on the side of caution, take more. Do you guys understand now?

Personally I've been taking 10 high quality caps per day for around two years, and I've yet to bleed from my pores, OD, etc.

 

[simon]

Fish oil has Vitamin A. You can OD on Vitamin A. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_liver_oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinol#Retinoid_overdose_.28toxicity.29

Cod liver oil contains Vitamin A, not fish oil. It's also pretty difficult to overdose on Vitamin A unless you're a baby, renally compromised or you go around eating polar bear liver. I've been taking in ~15,000 IU a day from cod liver oil for quite a while and I'm fine.

For this reason flax seed oil can be a safer form of Omega 3 fat. It also has about twice as much omega-3 as fish oil:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/flaxseed-oil-000304.htm

Flax seed oil is not safer, it is frequently oxidised and most of the omega-3 fatty acids come in the form of ALA which needs to be converted (inefficiently) to EPA then to DHA before it's of any real use.

 

[thedeparted]

Cod liver oil contains Vitamin A, not fish oil. It's also pretty difficult to overdose on Vitamin A unless you're a baby, renally compromised or you go around eating polar bear liver. I've been taking in ~15,000 IU a day from cod liver oil for quite a while and I'm fine.

How do you know you are fine? Unless you've done diagnostics you don't actually know what is going on inside. Cod liver oil also has high Vitamin D. And Omega 3's can cause heart failure for those with congestive heart problems. There are other scanerios as well. Basically, nobody should start taking huge doses of either one.

Flax seed oil is not safer, it is frequently oxidised and most of the omega-3 fatty acids come in the form of ALA which needs to be converted (inefficiently) to EPA then to DHA before it's of any real use.

Fish oil can also contain contaminants, or be corrupted by the processing (detergents, etc.).

Also, ALA is an essential oil which the body needs and cannot generate itself. EPA/DHA can be converted from ALA. Take a lot of ALA and the body makes just the EPA/DHA it needs. I agree with taking some of each, that's what I do, but not with taking 3 grams of fish oil a day.

 

[Quiksilver]

And Omega 3's can cause heart failure for those with congestive heart problems.

Ahhh :crazy:

Wanna back that up with some evidence?

Fish oil can also contain contaminants, or be corrupted by the processing (detergents, etc.).

I agree, that's why I go the extra mile and buy high quality ones that have no contaminants and no hexanes.

If you knew about the general processing that Flax oil(and its associates) undergo, I'm sure you'd reconsider your assumption that it's better. In the vast majority of flax supplements, the fats are rancid and of no use to you.

For a good flax supplement, buy a bag of fresh flax seed and mix it with a bowl of water.. cover the bowl and let it sit for 12+ hours. Strain the water out and eat them.

--

It's really up to you dude, take whatever amount you want. I'm just trying to tell you that there are plenty of people, including generally the healthiest people in the world, who consume high doses of omega 3s.

Consider coastal fishing villages whose diet is predominantly fatty fish.. They take in even more fish oil than you'd get from 30+ capsules a day, and its generally recognized that people who live on a seafood diet with plenty of fatty fish are the healthiest people in the world(ignoring the heavy metals).

They aren't bleeding from the eyes or falling over with congestive heart failure are they? As a matter of fact, people who eat large quantities of omega 3s generally have the lowest incidences of heart disease and the longest life span.

--

I could source all that stuff if you want, but its a Google search away for anyone with an open mind to discover.

cheers

 

[Throttle]

thedeparted, you blew your cred right off the bat by confusing fish oil and cod liver oil. then, the U MD site you linked to has plenty of other articles on fish oil, none presenting the negatives you cite, and if you scroll down to your article it also suggests several reasons why men should use fish oil as their main omega 3 supplement rather than flaxseed.

3 grams of fish oil isn't even remotely enough to balance out the omega fat imbalances in the average western diet.

 

[Road Demon]

Suggestion:

Search 'Fish Oil Road Demon'

Read the two threads I replied in.

Look at My Replies, I beleive my comprehensive answers clarify.

Cheers,
Road Demon