phoenix
Expert
Omega 3s are essential fatty acids (found in fish oils, flaxseed and nuts), they may play a role in preventing CVD, in particular artherosclerosis.
Lots of us feel it is important to eat tfoods containing EFAs but it is possible to have too much, particularly if we are taking certain medications.
Last night I read a post elsewhere where I think this may well have happened. I don't know the full circumstances, but what I read rang a few bells so I did a bit of checking.
A bit of background, when I read the post, I remembered this 'story'
One of the earliest researchers in the field, a man called Hugh Macdonald Sinclair was a bit eccentric. He went on an Eskimo diet eating seal and fish to demonstrate the effect of a diet high in efas. He got a seal donated by the Danish ambassador and kept it in a small freezer, carving off bits to eat.
He enjoyed his diet, he said and dutifully ate bits of seal at high table in his Oxford College. However there was a drawback, when he pruned his roses his boots filled up with blood, because his clotting factors had been somewhat disturbed by the diet, and each scratch bled.
At the end of 100 days as wikepedia puts it
So whats this got to do with us ?
For most our intake of efas is most likely to be too low,
If you use flaxseed as a substitute for flour in cooking as many on here do you will be raising your intake. If maybe at the same time you increase your intake of oily fish and nuts you may be increasing it a bit more. Unless you overdo it and eat large quantities, for most, still probably not a problem BUT if you are also taking drugs that fluidify the blood the combination may be too much, increasing your bleeding time to potentially dangerous levels.
A quick check found this warning from
medline plus
Flaxseed and flaxseed oil theoretically may increase the risk of bleeding, and caution should be used when flaxseed products are taken with drugs that increase the risk of bleeding.Some examples include aspirin, anticoagulants ("blood thinners") such as warfarin (Coumadin®) or heparin, anti-platelet drugs such as clopidogrel (Plavix®), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®) or naproxen (Naprosyn®, Aleve®).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-flaxseed.html
A similar warning came on the omega 3 page
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-fishoil.html
I also discovered other drugs from St Johns Wort to some cancer drugs that may interact with omega 3s, so if you have increased your intake considerably and are taking any drugs it might be a good idea to check
And to the person whose post prompted this warning( who will quite possibly read this), I'm not getting at any diet, and I maybe completely wrong... just advocating a bit of caution.
Lots of us feel it is important to eat tfoods containing EFAs but it is possible to have too much, particularly if we are taking certain medications.
Last night I read a post elsewhere where I think this may well have happened. I don't know the full circumstances, but what I read rang a few bells so I did a bit of checking.
A bit of background, when I read the post, I remembered this 'story'
One of the earliest researchers in the field, a man called Hugh Macdonald Sinclair was a bit eccentric. He went on an Eskimo diet eating seal and fish to demonstrate the effect of a diet high in efas. He got a seal donated by the Danish ambassador and kept it in a small freezer, carving off bits to eat.
He enjoyed his diet, he said and dutifully ate bits of seal at high table in his Oxford College. However there was a drawback, when he pruned his roses his boots filled up with blood, because his clotting factors had been somewhat disturbed by the diet, and each scratch bled.
At the end of 100 days as wikepedia puts it
SInclair was due to have an operation and asked a medical doctor friend if he should have it. The friend replied that if he had the operation it would be the last thing he did. Fortunately it was a routine op but an emergency one might have been fatal.
So whats this got to do with us ?
For most our intake of efas is most likely to be too low,
If you use flaxseed as a substitute for flour in cooking as many on here do you will be raising your intake. If maybe at the same time you increase your intake of oily fish and nuts you may be increasing it a bit more. Unless you overdo it and eat large quantities, for most, still probably not a problem BUT if you are also taking drugs that fluidify the blood the combination may be too much, increasing your bleeding time to potentially dangerous levels.
A quick check found this warning from
medline plus
Flaxseed and flaxseed oil theoretically may increase the risk of bleeding, and caution should be used when flaxseed products are taken with drugs that increase the risk of bleeding.Some examples include aspirin, anticoagulants ("blood thinners") such as warfarin (Coumadin®) or heparin, anti-platelet drugs such as clopidogrel (Plavix®), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®) or naproxen (Naprosyn®, Aleve®).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-flaxseed.html
A similar warning came on the omega 3 page
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-fishoil.html
I also discovered other drugs from St Johns Wort to some cancer drugs that may interact with omega 3s, so if you have increased your intake considerably and are taking any drugs it might be a good idea to check
And to the person whose post prompted this warning( who will quite possibly read this), I'm not getting at any diet, and I maybe completely wrong... just advocating a bit of caution.
