New update on fish oil by Robb Wolf

[Blairbob]

http://robbwolf.com/2011/10/05/fish-oil/

[Robert Stejskal]

Isn't fish oil's main benefit supposed to be lowering triglycerides? Probably better off getting your levels checked before fixing a problem you don't actually have.

The funny thing about supplements is that I would bet that most of the people that take them have no real idea why they take them (what are they supposed to do?), if they really need them (do I have high triglyceride levels? Most people probably don't know), and have no real way to judge if they are effective (or even harmful).

No thanks. I'll just keep an eye on my key health indicatiors, eat moderate (no need to go healthy overboard...the all or nothing approach) and treat when NECESSARY.

Sorry, but I'm tired of hearing about fish oil, multivitamins, creatine, esoteric food stuffs, and all the other useless garbage. My advice....keep your bodyfat within acceptable ranges (not above 20% for men), try to eat more fruits and vegetables, and exercise (both "cardio" and resistance training).

Leave the "magic supplements" for others.

[Blairbob]

Fish oil is well documented. As is creatine, as is a lot of other stuff. Whey was documented being used by the Ancient Greeks.

[Robert Stejskal]

I think you are 100% correct. I probably just need to spend more time understanding the many benefits of these supplements and how they could improve my health, fitness, recovery, and performance.

[Blairbob]

Quite honestly the only thing I care about fish oil for myself is improved recovery. There are zillion of other effects but that is my prime interest in it. I'd like to see more gymnasts get on the bandwagon especially when they are suffering from soreness and popping aspirin/etc.

[Larry Roseman]

Rob's recommendation of 2-4 grams of Omega 3 per day is in line with what the AHA

recommends, at least for people with high triglycerides. They recommend about half that for normal folk,

preferably in the form of actual fish 2x week.

Regarding beef, it's hard to find hard and consistent numbers but it seems that there is about 4-5x more Omega 3

(actual and precursor) in grass-fed than grain fed. N6 is about the same in both, making the ratio better

though absolute amounts of both relatively small. About 1% of the total fat is Omega 3 in grass fed, which

means someone would need to eat 200 grams of grass-fed beef fat to get the recommended

amount of Omega 3, assuming 100% of ALA is converted (and 10% is at most). So it's hard to consider beef

a major source of Omega 3, unless someone was eating like a kilo a day.

Concerning inflammation, I suppose we want markers to be like our insulin level - up when

it need to be and then quickly down to low levels. They serve a purpose obviously, but consistently

high levels reflect and cause problems. So while free-radical damage potential exists to PUFAs there

are limiting and protective factors inherent in our bodies - and without a specific test it is hard to say

whether irreparable damage is occurring.

So I agree that fish oil supplementation should be moderate; there is no firm evidence yet that it can reduce

CHD in healthy people, only in patients. It's associated with mood improvements in depressed individuals.

There's no evidence for improved muscle recovery in humans that I've found. I take about a teaspoon a day

on non-fish days, along with a grain of salt

[Joshua Naterman]

Rob's recommendation of 2-4 grams of Omega 3 per day is in line with what the AHA

recommends, at least for people with high triglycerides. They recommend about half that for normal folk,

preferably in the form of actual fish 2x week.

Regarding beef, it's hard to find hard and consistent numbers but it seems that there is about 4-5x more Omega 3

(actual and precursor) in grass-fed than grain fed. N6 is about the same in both, making the ratio better

though absolute amounts of both relatively small. About 1% of the total fat is Omega 3 in grass fed, which

means someone would need to eat 200 grams of grass-fed beef fat to get the recommended

amount of Omega 3, assuming 100% of ALA is converted (and 10% is at most). So it's hard to consider beef

a major source of Omega 3, unless someone was eating like a kilo a day.

Concerning inflammation, I suppose we want markers to be like our insulin level - up when

it need to be and then quickly down to low levels. They serve a purpose obviously, but consistently

high levels reflect and cause problems. So while free-radical damage potential exists to PUFAs there

are limiting and protective factors inherent in our bodies - and without a specific test it is hard to say

whether irreparable damage is occurring.

So I agree that fish oil supplementation should be moderate; there is no firm evidence yet that it can reduce

CHD in healthy people, only in patients. It's associated with mood improvements in depressed individuals.

There's no evidence for improved muscle recovery in humans that I've found. I take about a teaspoon a day

on non-fish days, along with a grain of salt

The chronic or "whole body" inflammation is something we want to be low all the time. Acute inflammation related to histamine release in stressed tissues is a different process altogether.

The quality of food in a diet seems to be a pretty big factor in how one's body will respond to everything from sun exposure to PUFAs (probably).

I need more grains of salt in my diet!

[Larry Roseman]

quote]

The chronic or "whole body" inflammation is something we want to be low all the time. Acute inflammation related to histamine release in stressed tissues is a different process altogether.

The quality of food in a diet seems to be a pretty big factor in how one's body will respond to everything from sun exposure to PUFAs (probably).

I need more grains of salt in my diet!

I'd ditto that. Systemic inflammation can be very serious and can result in organ failure. Usually inflammation

is contained locally, however it can break out. Don't want that, not at all.