Rethinking rethinking Omega-3 oils - even the good ones like flax? What about neuropathy?
Just when you think you know something...
When did I originally post this? (End of Jan 2024) Anyway, here is an update -
Another reason to make sure your horse is getting enough Vitamin E! It is unlikely your black horse will be showing age spots like the ones I have on my hands, but he could actually be getting too much omega-3 oils. I was not aware of this problem, and I have not finished writing this post! Eventually perhaps I will have time to do it justice!
OK, I will never have enough time to do this topic justice. But I did have enough time to rethink this for my personal situation, which includes neuropathy (not diabetic) which is marching up my legs… as I wrote to my sister:
Today's word salad has a fish oil salad dressing on it 🤪The random podcast I was listening to to get back to sleep talked about omega-3 supplements and eye health ,(no, voice to text, not iHealth 😝) I ended up chatting with my new second best friend, chatGPT, and came up with this bit of info, which is going to send me straight to the laptop to order stuff from Mercola. He's been pushing krill oil for a very long time! 'Yes, lysophospholipids from krill oil have the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Their unique structure can facilitate transport across cell membranes, including the BBB, which may enhance the delivery of omega-3 fatty acids like DHA to the brain. This property suggests that krill oil may have advantages in supporting brain health compared to other omega-3 sources.'And you get more from Krill oil than from fatty fish ... so I'm a little pissed off with myself for having pretty much stopped taking Omega-3 supplements for some number of months or maybe a year, and of course Omega-3s are critical for nerves and brains. NERVESBecause I kind of fell for some propaganda, and maybe some article by Kaya of Fundamental Nourishment questioning the usefulness of Omega-3 supplements, an article that I even cross-posted on my substack . ☹️ 🫤🙄😬 So now when I get on the laptop to order this stuff I'm going to have to go back and amend that article ... So, at least there's one likely suspect in my degenerating nerve saga that can be hunted down and dispatched with the simple act of ordering something from Mercola.Thank the good Lord I found this. Sardines are disgusting. maybe not as bad as natto, but still ...Well, Kaya might be right about making recommendations for the general population, and each person needs to sort out all of this information for their own case (see first comment from sadie). And if I hadn’t followed up on Kaya’s information, I might never have gotten to the good details about krill oil vs fish oil…
Comments are where the gold shows up on substack, there is an excellent one here. I still hold that individual reports contribute as much as, or more, to knowledge as ‘evidence-based medicine’, when the only admissible evidence is academic research. Even in the (rare?) case when the academic research is not corrupted...
Back to my original post.
While the research on Omega-3s does show them to alleviate many symptoms of disease (especially when the disease is inflammatory in origin), these publications rarely elaborate on the possible long-term negative side effects that a significant intake of Omega-3s can have.
In my opinion, for a molecule to be so readily recommended for everyone, it should be both relatively effective & relatively safe. When it comes to Omega-3s, yes, they may be effective in reducing inflammation, but they can also significantly increase oxidative stress, meaning that they do not necessarily rank high on the “relatively safe” criteria.
My goal is to present to you a comprehensive overview of the dark side of Omega-3s, something very rarely mentioned in the nutrition space, as Omega-3s have seemingly earned themselves the title of an untouchable sacred cow.
Basically, the benefits of Omega-3s shown in various studies on improving symptoms of various diseases come from their ability to oppose the Omega-6-derived eicosanoids.
The Omega-3-to-6 ratio
After reading the above, you might be thinking about the famous “Omega-3-to-6” ratio that’s so often talked about in the nutrition world…
...
now we know that Omega-6-derived prostaglandins directly contribute to all inflammatory, chronic diseases.
As such, the line of thinking became: “Can we offset these negative effects of high Omega-6 consumption and tissue accumulation by getting people to consume more Omega-3s?”
Delaying a problem does not equal solving a problem
Since the Omega-3 fats can counteract the production of the highly inflammatory eicosanoids derived from Omega-6 fats, a very allopathically-minded idea emerged in the West: Increase Omega-3 consumption to “balance out” the Omega-6s.
This to me is the same logic as that behind prescribing a drug with a long list of side effects to counteract the side effects of a previously prescribed drug.
Both Omega-6 fats and Omega-3 fats break down into MDA and acrolein, so even though Omega-3s lower the levels of the more harmful Omega-6-derived eicosanoids, they add to the body’s overall lipid peroxide load. And actually, they break down into these lipid peroxides more readily than Omega-6s do (something already mentioned earlier in this article).
Do we need Omega-3 fats at all?
Based on the literature that I’ve reviewed - yes, yes we do.
But the requirement is very small, and more is not better.
With certain compounds, there is a very small margin dividing the effective dose from the “toxic” dose.
Something like this:
There is often a very paradoxical phenomenon seen in the function of many of the organic compounds that we call vitamins or minerals, where an underdose creates the same negative effects as an overdose.
For example, a deficiency of retinol (vitamin A) can cause slow metabolism, weight gain, and dry, peeling skin. An adequate intake of retinol can ameliorate all of these issues. Yet an overdose of retinol will also cause…a slow metabolism, weight gain, and dry, peeling skin.
When it comes to Omega-3s, the same phenomenon is seen.
During fetal development, small amounts of EPA and DHA are needed for the proper development of the brain, nervous system and retina. Infants fed formula lacking entirely in EPA and DHA have worse visual acuity, and supplementing the formula with DHA as 0.32% of total fatty acids improves visual acuity. However, that same study showed that higher amounts of DHA supplementation were not associated with additional improvement in visual acuity66.
At the same time, in higher amounts, EPA and DHA (and especially their breakdown product, acrolein) can actually lead to oxidative damage in the brain67, inhibition of glucose uptake by neurons68, light-induced retinal damage69 and neural calcification70.
I was briefly prescribed cod liver oil when a toddler due to anemia and some hip issues. My mother said I loved it.... until one day I didn't. My issues were resolved. I do think the body knows - if only we listen. I've had this happen several times while trying to recover from health issues. Enough is enough. The human way of thinking seems to be - "if an oz is good a ton is better". Crazy thinking.
The thing that stops me from jumping on the omega 3 band wagon is the simple fact that many many people have no access to fish at all and are healthier than us in the west. This has been true for eons. Sounds too much like a money maker fad to me -- like bottled water. :(
Patricia Kane PhD and Ed Kane at bodybio.com have interesting research on the ratio for the omegas. It's the opposite of what we're hearing. They have spent yrs reviewing blood results pre/post supplementing.
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