Fish Oil
Hi Fiona, hope you are doing well. I came across an article on the web regarding fish oil. I will try to post the link so that you can take a look at it and ask Dr. Ron to comment. It is indeed very interesting. Appreciate your response. Many Thanks!
http://www.brianpeskin.com/BP.com/reports/CAMB-Fish-Oil-Fallacies-R...
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Support Staff 1 Posted by Fiona on 26 Feb, 2012 03:24 AM
This is a very interesting read, and Dr. Ron was very familiar with this study and the other referenced studies. The first point, many of these studies were done on fish oil capsules or otherwise less than fresh, i.e. oxidized fish oil. One must understand that a large percentage of fish oil products are sold in capsules, and stored in a plastic bottles. People need to know that that fish oil product will be rancid, as the plastic bottles allow for oxygen to permeate, and thus oxidize the fish oil. Taking rancid fish oil is not healthy. There are a few manufacturers that have the fish oil capsules packaged correctly to maintain the freshness.
The omega-3 oils that are from flaxseed or other seeds are in the form of of alpha linolenic acid. This must be modified in the body into EPA and DHA to be useful, and it is very difficult for the body to do so, especially in those who are metabolically challenged, such as diabetics, the obese, those with cardiovascular disease, in other words, those that need it the most. Therefore these are poor substitutes.
Excerpt from the paper, "Previously this year, it was reported that fish oil failed to reverse heart disease in diabetic women; and if failure was not bad enough, another 2010 study showed that fish oil actually promoted aggressive colon cancer in mice. This latest, very well-designed study published in JAMA, one of America’s top medical journals, dispels the naive notion that DHA and therefore fish oil is beneficial in cognitive disorder"
One would have to wonder if the author of the article even read the actual paper about colon cancer and fish oil, and not just the distorted lay press version, as it was actually published in the journal, Cancer Research.
In the diabetic study referenced, the ADA recommended diet fed by itself is very detrimental, and it would not matter how good the fish oil, or supplements if the diet is so harmful. As per the study about fish oil causing colon cancer; this study was specific to extremely high dosages of DHA oil, not fish oil, the equivalent to a person drinking a pint of fish oil a day, such that there was no way that it could be absorbed, and thus it was passed on to the colon such that the extremely oxidizable DHA would turn rancid and inflame the gut lining. Also the mice tested were mice that were induced to acquire inflammatory bowel disease by being given bacteria known to be toxic to the colon. Feeding extraordinarily high dosages of DHA that would turn rancid in the gut made it worse.
If taken correctly, i.e. not excessively and fresh, the non oxidized fish oil will be properly absorbed before it even gets to the colon and would be allowed to perform its known and many systemic benefits.
Dr. Ron will talk about this In more detail in the future.
Best of health.