I started taking salmon oil many years ago. What I've found is that I have fewer and less severe headaches. I am now taking the Costco house brand (Kirkland Signature) fish oil, 3 a day.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
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Why did you start? What benefits did you hope to achieve.

Thanks

I take Fish Oil for the Omega-3 Fatty Acids...

...I am no expert but these help maintain cardiovascular health.

-Vlad

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-Vlad
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The best kind of pain is always self-inflicted...

Joint health. Took it with glucosamine. The headache thing was a side benefit, but I've known a lot of other people who take it for that benefit alone.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

I started taking Fish Oil (enteric coated to help avoid the fish flavor coming up throughout the day) a couple months ago in the hopes of lowering my cholesterol (LDL's). I'm not sure if it will help or not, but will check in 6 months or so.

One year ago I started eating more Omega's as an experiment to combat my seasonal affective disorder (winter blues). It seemed to work. You are probably interested in Omegas for different reasons than I was - among other things, apparently the proper fatty acids aid with the metabolism of the carbs and protein you need - but I thought I would write to share what was enjoyable to take:

Fatty fish - salmon (fresh & canned); tuna (fresh & canned); canned sardines on crackers, for hiking trips. Yum! Try to eat a fatty fish at least once per week. However, try not to eat tuna MORE than once a week since it is a large fish and thus concentrates mercury. One way or another, I always land back on salmon. I have not tried fish oil capsules.

Flax oil - available in multiple forms. The oil itself is a little tasteless, but is fine mixed with olive oil on salad. Flax seeds - you can grind them up and put them in cereal, etc. - I rarely do just because I'm lazy to grind the seeds. Flax seed oil pills - I take one every morning. In fact, flax seed oil pills are the only thing I CONSISTENTLY took to treat depression, so if any of the Omegas had an effect it must have been the pills. I use a cheap brand of the pills.

Newest discovery - hemp seeds. These have more Omega 6's than flax seeds do. Mainly, the hemp seeds themselves are delicious and they don't need to be ground up. I put them on salads and in cereal. There is also hemp seed oil, which I might consider after my flax seed oil runs out. Based on my experience with the hemp seeds, I'll bet it has more flavor.

Omega 3's versus Omega 6's. There is contradictory information out there about the proper 'proportion' of 3's versus 6's. If anyone can sort this out, let me know.

Good luck!
Oleander

This always amuses me how fads seem to re-cycle over the years. I guess that's one of the few benefits of getting old. You get to see a lot in a lifetime.
About 30 some years ago cod liver oil was the fad for joints!! Somehow, the thinking was the oil would somehow get to your joints and help lubricate them. Seemed rational at the time, but in reality it gets broken down in the body. I tried it for a while and about the only thing that happened was my bathroom time was pretty fast!!!

The evidence behind Omega-3 is pretty conclusive...hard to argue with the health benefits...

If you're really interested, I recommend doing some research.

-Vlad

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-Vlad
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The best kind of pain is always self-inflicted...

I know, it's the same research I followed at that time. As you get older, you'll live and learn. There's always some truth and a lot of misinformation. It's a matter of filtering out the crap.

It's not the same research you may have seen 30 years ago. Much of it is only a couple of weeks/months old. It's being released consistently, and a lot of it is revolutionizing the way doc's treat various conditions. They're discovering the reasons "why" Omega 3's are valuable. Health effects include inflammation control, fatty acid membrane (cell membrane) components, lots of new info on heart disease and diabetes. Many places in the world didn't "outgrow" cod liver oil and are healthier for it. It's just now that mainstream science has figured out "why". Spine surgeons recommending fat supplementation... who'd have thunk it.:)

I am not looking for information about using FA's, I'm well read on the topic. I was just curious as to the level of use, and information about essential fatty acid supplementation among people who are very likely to be supplement utilizers. Thanks for all the responses. It was informal market research, I guess. It's good information that can help me implement nutrition advice/recommendations in my practice.

Lehmkuhler

About the joint pain...

Omega 3 FA's are usefull to promote series 1 and 3 prostaglandin production which is antiinflammatory. Omega 6, as well as saturated FA's promote series 2 which is pro-inflammatory.

So while the oil isn't getting to the joints, there's definitely a beneficial effect on joint health. The science is new, it is clear, and it is very exciting.

Lehmkuhler

Hey, I'm just "pulling your leg"!! I realize we are becoming more and more knowledgeable about the health benefits of different foods and in the long run, maybe we'll know enough to make some sense out of it all. Hopefully it's in the near future. I guess the only point I'm making is don't get too over exhuberant about the findings. It will be a long process. Example I can remember in the '50's about some miracle cures they found for cancer and they only needed a short period of time to prove it in humans. Well 45 yr's later, we're still working on them!!