Omega 3 supplements

[vit90]

Since going LCHF I have been doing a lot of reading up on edible fat types and respective health potentials. This has convinced me to rebalance my Omegas, so much less Omega 6 and more Omega 3. I have been taking a Cod Liver Oil supplement for some time (Sainsburys own brand Extra Strength) and I now cook mainly with cold-pressed rapeseed oil and frequently include milled linseed (flax seed) for breakfast and a couple of portions on oily fish each weel - all rich in Omega 3. However, when you dig deeper it turns out that vegetable sources of Omega 3, like linseed oil and rapeseed oil, contain mostly alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and the body only converts a small proportion of this into desirable eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Fish oils, on the other hand, already contain relatively high quantities of EPA and DHA.

I have assumed I am doing the right thing by taking a Cod Liver Oil supplement but I am now wondering if it is adequate because its payload of EPA and DHA is surprisingly small at just 187mg (combined) per day. I read that recommended quantity is around 500mg per day. Also, my daughter, doesn't like fish or fish oil capsules so I have been buying Seven Seas Omega 3 orange flavour chews but have just noticed that these only contain flax seed oil and therefore have a low DHA and EPA potential.

So, for me I would like to find a better supplement with higher DHA and EPA levels and for my daughter the same but in a form that she would find palatable fruit flavour and preferably chewable. Does anybody (UK-based) have any recommendations? Sorry for the long post!

 

[modesty007]

No absolute recommendation but have a look here and see if you can find some alternative. http://results.chemistdirect.co.uk/search?w=omega+3
Usually take five capsules high strength to get enough and using butter from grass fed cows as well as eating meat from grass fed animals is also good.

 

[Bluetit1802]

There is a warning in NHS Choices about watching out for Vitamin A in fish liver oil supplements as fish store vitamin A in their livers, and too much of this vitamin is bad for us humans over time.

Taking fish liver oil supplements
If you take fish liver oil supplements, remember these are high in vitamin A. This is because fish store vitamin A in their livers. Having too much vitamin A over many years could be harmful.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition advises that if you take supplements containing vitamin A, you should not have more than a total of 1.5mg a day from your food and supplements combined.

 

[vit90]

To be honest I thought there was a greater deleterious risk from excess Vitamin D when upping fish oil doses. I'm not convinced by the grass fed butter argument; there isn't much guarantee that the milk/meat/butter is grass fed and anyway my daughter doesn't eat a lot of butter.

 

[modesty007]

Grass fed butter, diary and meat is not an argument it's facts (and has been shown) and doing research where they come from can helpful. I usually by my meat at Farmers market and discuss the what the animals been fed. Taking extra vit D would help most people, telling story is that during the summer I take 2500 IU per day (double in winter) and after our sunny summer, which I certainly made the most of, then had blood works in September including vit D, came back right in middle of normal interval.

 

[vit90]

Grass fed butter, diary and meat is not an argument it's facts (and has been shown) and doing research where they come from can helpful. I usually by my meat at Farmers market and discuss the what the animals been fed. Taking extra vit D would help most people, telling story is that during the summer I take 2500 IU per day (double in winter) and after our sunny summer, which I certainly made the most of, then had blood works in September including vit D, came back right in middle of normal interval.

Even from a farmers market cows are not usually grass fed all year around. Kerrygold have stopped claiming that their butter is exclusively from grass fed cows. It's much simpler and more reliable to source one's DHA and EPA in other ways - and much cheaper, in my view; you don't have to agree. Too much Vitamin D can be dangerous although there is some disagreement on what the save level is - but as little as 4000 micrograms has been highllighted so if you are taking a 2500 supplement and don't realise what you are getting naturally there could be consequences.