In a message dated 4/3/04 10:29:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Yes I do think molecularly distilled
fish oil can have a beneficial effect -- if only to balance all the
omega 6 fats that dominate the American diet as well as a supplement to
target specific health conditions such as arthritis, ADD, bipolar and
depression, CVD, etc.

I don't think it's a good idea to eat a diet rich in omega 6 even if one
"balances" with fish oil supplementation.  Seems simpler and cheaper to just not
eat the large amounts of omega 6.  Coincidentally, yesterday afternoon I was
listening to Ron Hoffman MDs radio show -- he advocates different diets for
different people.  A paleo type diet is one of many he uses in his NYC practice.
Anyway, someone called up about nose bleeds and the first thing he asked her
was whether she used fish oil supplements or high dose vitamin E because they
are blood thinners and can cause bleeding. Bleeding is bleeding -- whether it
be in the brain or in the stomach, etc.  I do not know how one can monitor how
much is "enough" omega-3 in the body without overdoing it.   When I did
supplement with fish oil -- I took 2 grams per day plus the daily sardines and never
had a nose bleed -- so maybe the amount wasn't enough to cause problems or
I'm not susceptible or just was lucky.  I do know that my LDL rose while on it
whatever that means (I tend not to think cholesteral hdl or ldl mean much of
anything in relation to heart disease)  but didn't feel any different when
stopping the supplementation but continuing with the sardines.  I think Barry Sears
used to have a blood test you could order to monitor but I don't know if it's
valid etc.  As I mentioned before, check out Barry Groves' informative
website with plenty of interesting studies.  Here's one such page from his site that
mentions the fellow at Oxford etc.  :  Polyunsaturated oils increase cancer
risk

Just as you have made up your mind that fish oil supplementation can be
useful in some situations, I have made up my mind that I will never take a fish oil
supplement again.  Sardines taste better than capsules anyway  -- at least to
me.