How Much Fish Oil is Enough?

[IntelligentLabs]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some help with a blog post I've written. I realised quite quickly that I'd taken on quite an ambitious project, but...

I have tried to collate all the scientific studies I could find to try and find out what dosage of omega 3 is really beneficial for different health issues. So far there seems to nothing out there that has covered this topic comprehensively.

It should be quite simple, but one of the problems with the vast majority of the research into omega supplementation so far is that scientists seem to place little value on comparing different dosages. They seem to just choose a random amount of fish oil and if it provides a benefit, then omega 3 is concluded to be beneficial and if it doesn't then omega 3 is concluded to not be helpful.

There is virtually no testing of different dosages. So I've tried to go through the research to build a picture of the types of dosages needed for different health effects.

The post is long (over 70 references) and I appreciate peoples' time is short, but I'm looking for some feedback to help me make the article as good as it can be. Is it understandable, are bit's too complicated, is there research out there that I've missed etc.

https://www.intelligentlabs.org/fish-oil-dosage-much-omega-3-take/

Any help is greatly appreciated.

regards,

Andy

 

[Fireproof]

Well - no more than what is sufficient to saturate plasma levels.

See if you can get a hold of this paper:

Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6 Suppl):1467S-1476S.Links
Distribution, interconversion, and dose response of n-3 fatty acids in humans.
Arterburn LM, Hall EB, Oken H.

Martek Biosciences Corporation, Columbia, MD, USA. [email protected]

n-3 Fatty acids have important visual, mental, and cardiovascular health benefits throughout the life cycle. Biodistribution, interconversion, and dose response data are reviewed herein to provide a basis for more rational n-3 dose selections. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the principal n-3 fatty acid in tissues and is particularly abundant in neural and retinal tissue. Limited storage of the n-3 fatty acids in adipose tissue suggests that a continued dietary supply is needed. A large proportion of dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is oxidized, and because of limited interconversion of n-3 fatty acids in humans, ALA supplementation does not result in appreciable accumulation of long-chain n-3 fatty acids in plasma. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) but not DHA concentrations in plasma increase in response to dietary EPA. Dietary DHA results in a dose-dependent, saturable increase in plasma DHA concentrations and modest increases in EPA concentrations. Plasma DHA concentrations equilibrate in approximately 1 mo and then remain at steady state throughout supplementation. DHA doses of approximately 2 g/d result in a near maximal plasma response. Both dietary DHA and EPA reduce plasma arachidonic acid concentrations. Tissue contents of DHA and EPA also increase in response to supplementation with these fatty acids. Human milk contents of DHA are dependent on diet, and infant DHA concentrations are determined by their dietary intake of this fatty acid. We conclude that the most predictable way to increase a specific long-chain n-3 fatty acid in plasma, tissues, or human milk is to supplement with the fatty acid of interest.

I believe the study indicates that the 2 grams/day was for DHA alone, and the paper goes on to say that DHA will max at 1.2 g/day when it's combined with EPA.

So that 1.2g of DHA can serve as the upper limit, IMO, and can be used to calculate how many caps of a particular fish oil supplement one should take (which will of course vary based on the particular supplement / dose per cap).

 

[MAD King]

I take 1 gram per day in the morning and this for years now. This is the perfect does for me. If I go higher I want to go into water, constantly.

Even my 92 lbs GSD gets one pill, 500 mg, per day too. Her coat is shiny like a polished chrome part. People stop on the road and asking me about. No joke.

 

[chrismez]

I take lovasa, prescription fish oil. My prescribed dose is 4 grams a day. Been taking it for years....

 

[IntelligentLabs]

Hey Fireproof,

Thanks for the reference, it's an excellent article.

So they look at 3g of omega 3 when there is a mixed EPA/DHA supplement, with 1.2g DHA and 1.8g EPA at reaching blood plasma 'saturation'. However, plasma levels will still keep increasing at higher doses, just the increases are incremental at that point (a point of diminishing returns).

It is worth noting that they are using an ethyl ester omega 3 which is less well absorbed, so you would see this 'saturation' level at a lower dosage with a triglyceride fish oil.


Dose-response analysis of the effect of human supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plus eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for 12 wk on EPA (&#9830, DHA (&#9642, and arachidonic acid (&#9652. Adapted from reference74 with permission from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition.

There's also the question of whether different doses affect the different levels of DHA in body tissues, although this much more difficult to measure due to needing tissue biopsy, however studies have noted a decent correlation between plasma DHA and cerebral cortex DHA, as well as plasma DHA and maternal breast milk DHA.

The following graph shows tissue levels of DHA, EPA, ALA and ARA.




Going forward what I hope to see is more ‘personalised' dosages coming into play looking at Blood plasma % levels of omega 3 (the Omega 3 Index) and the EPA/AA ratio, as well as tissue levels of DHA.


In terms of heart protection an omega 3 index of >8% sees a dramatic drop in cardiac events (i.e heart attacks, heart disease etc) and that has been suggested to be achieved with 1.8 to 1.9 grams of omega 3 a day
in this study, although the dose that will reach this is dependant on age, bodyweight, and physical activity.



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886744/



An EPA/AA ratio of >0.75 has also been associated with a significant drop in cardiac events, and these guys found a dose of 4grams of omega 3 a day would on average lead to a 0.9 ratio. Although this again was with an ethyl ester omega 3, so it should be able to be achieved with a significantly lower triglyceride omega 3


http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/77/1/37.long

 

[IntelligentLabs]

I take lovasa, prescription fish oil. My prescribed dose is 4 grams a day. Been taking it for years....

Hi Chrismez,

That dose should see your EPA/AA ratio comfortably over the 0.75% level of significantly reduced cardiac event.

Have you ever had your ratio measured?

 

[Vince]

Doses below 2 grams (2,000 mg) per day may be below a therapeutic threshold. Taking less is probably a waste of money, but such low doses sure are popular in so-called nutrition studies.

 

[IntelligentLabs]

Hi Vince,

Yes that's a big problem in omega 3 studies, they hardly ever consider dosages, and even less studies consider actually measuring levels of omega 3 in the body.

Hopefully this is starting to change.

Andy

 

[MAD King]

So, a recommended dose of 2 gr per day for us over 50 and active should do it? What about these 1.2g DHA and 1.8g EPA?

 

[IntelligentLabs]

Yes, it seems the older you get the better you become at absorbing omega 3's. The 1.2g DHA and 1.8g EPA is what they were taking together, so 3 grams a day overall, when they saw 'saturation' levels of omega 3 in blood plasma.

So that means at 3 grams a day you're getting almost as much omega 3 absorbed into your blood as it's possible to get.

 

[madman]

 

[madman]

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/precious-yet-perilous

Here is an excellent article, very thorough. I would think DHA/AA ratios are more critical than EPA.

 

[tjlab]

I take 4.8 grams per day and have been for over a year. Triglycerides went down 40%. I use this brand and it works great.

http://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Sign...Enteric-Coated-Softgels.product.11248464.html

 

[Gianluca Bonetti]

so DHA expecially for brain health is quiet more important, a good fish oil then should be around 2:1 3:2 EPA/DHA ratio, damn I just bought something like 3:1 ratio

 

[Davet]

I take 8g a day which equates to 3g of DHA & 3G OF EPA. Which was my target daily consumption set by my nutritionist 4G with breakfast and 4g with lunch.
The product is the Minami brand which is of pharmaceutical purity ........the only problem being... its cost me around £90.00 a month.

 

[Re-Ride]

O.P. two or three sardines a day ought to do it. Davet, 8 grams per day? Please don't take this personally, rule out

ocd

 

[Gianluca Bonetti]

wow 8gr I think that is too much, really

 

[Davet]

Target

wow 8gr I think that is too much, really

I take the 8 g a day to hit my target amount of DHA & EPA.
I think it works out around 2.9 g of EPA and just over 3G of DHA of the active product.
This helps with stubborn fat loss, lipids and cognitive health.
If you dig deep enough there is research... for both high doses and against high doses.
Like with most things of this nature its tough call.
But I have regular labs done to give me the feed back to where I am.

Just make sure you look at the make up of your product as some are very low in the active ingredients...and the fillers are of little value.

 

[Vince]

I take the 8 g a day to hit my target amount of DHA & EPA.
I think it works out around 2.9 g of EPA and just over 3G of DHA of the active product.
This helps with stubborn fat loss, lipids and cognitive health.
If you dig deep enough there is research... for both high doses and against high doses.
Like with most things of this nature its tough call.
But I have regular labs done to give me the feed back to where I am.

Just make sure you look at the make up of your product as some are very low in the active ingredients...and the fillers are of little value.

If your labs tell you it working, I agree with that high amount. It's too bad it's so expensive.

 

[Gianluca Bonetti]

I see, I thought 8gr would be the combination of EPA plus DHA, so basically you getting about 6gr of it, that's, I believe what most people consider upper safe dosage, I'm getting deeper into researching FO for mental health and anxiety and Panic disorder so definitely over 2gr is where benefits are obtained, I now take 3.2 of EPA/DHA with 3:1 ratio

I take the 8 g a day to hit my target amount of DHA & EPA.
I think it works out around 2.9 g of EPA and just over 3G of DHA of the active product.
This helps with stubborn fat loss, lipids and cognitive health.
If you dig deep enough there is research... for both high doses and against high doses.
Like with most things of this nature its tough call.
But I have regular labs done to give me the feed back to where I am.

Just make sure you look at the make up of your product as some are very low in the active ingredients...and the fillers are of little value.