Omega 3 Supplements:
Natural Pain Relief

If you are taking omega 3 supplements, you will probably be shocked at all of the mistakes you are making that are keeping you from getting the full benefit of "nature's pain reliever."

Here's a heads-up on the most routine mistakes I see. Bottom's up, little fishies!

Patient Takes Too Small of a Dose of Omega 3 Supplements

People commonly take too small of a dose of omega 3 supplements to get an effect.

The recommended dose on a typical store brand of omega 3 pills is usually around 500-600 mg of EPA and DHA combined.

However, a minimum dose of 1200 mg is indicated for pain relief and even that is considered a small dose by many researchers.

2400 mg was used for 2 weeks in this study for pain relief and then was reduced to 1200 mg for the next several weeks. That is probably 12 pills at the dose found in most store brands. Have you been taking that many??

Once the bottle runs out, many people just forget to keep taking them. So many people don't take fish oils long enough to see the potential benefit.

The omega 3 supplements basically re-build your cells from the inside out by giving newly-forming cells the proper oils instead of junky oils prevalent in convenience foods (hydrogenated/trans fats and vegetable oils). But the cells don't rebuild overnight! The patients in the above study were on the fish oils for an average of 75 days. That's 2.5 months. So stick with it to build up the proper effect.

And find out the proper number of pills to get a 1200-2400 mg/day dose.

The pain study cited a minimum dose of 1200 mg. But because there are numerous studies with a minimum dose of 1500 mg combined EPA and DHA for heart protection, I use that as a baseline recommendation. The anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce pain also reduce the chance for heart attacks as shown by lots of different research. If you're going to be taking fish oils to reduce pain, you should bump that minimal dose from 1200 to 1500 to get the heart protection along with pain relief.

Wrong Ratio for
Omega 3 Supplements

However researchers indicate at least a 2:1 ratio of EPA to DHA should be used for adults. A higher ratio of 3:1 is considered even better in omega 3 supplements, but difficult to find. (Please see the E-book for full references).

Unpure Omega 3 Supplements

All fish across the globe are contaminated with PCB's and dioxin which have leached into the water supply. PCB's are a highly carcinogenic chemical that is now outlawed for use in manufacturing. However, products that were made with PCB's still exist and continue to contaminate water supplies.

A proper fish oil must be "moleculary-distilled" of PCB's as well as dioxins. Moleculary-distilled means the oil has been through a special laboratory process to remove the PCB's and dioxin. So guess what? That makes the fish oil cost more! Probably not going to be at the right price point for the warehouse club.

Another consideration for proper quality fish oil is "pharmaceutical grade." This does NOT mean it contains pharmaceutical agents in it. It means it was manufactured under the standards of purity that are required of medicines.

Okay, is this sounding too difficult to accomplish? I understand! Seems like you should just eat more fish doesn't it?

Toxic Farmed Fish

There are ten times the amount of PCB's in farmed salmon than wild salmon. There's also significant increased levels of pesticides that increases risk of mental retardation and brain damage to nursing babies and unborn fetuses (USA Today Oct. 7, 2002 Nick Janis)

Just so you know...there is no such thing as "wild" Atlantic salmon. There are huge fines for capturing wild Atlantic salmon because it is almost extinct. Any fish labeled as "Atlantic" or "farmed" is the farm-raised variety, chiefly from Europe, but possibly North or South America.

You should also realize that most restaurants serve farmed Atlantic salmon. So make sure to add that into your once/month allowance when you eat out. Don't be fooled by claims of "wild Atlantic salmon" at a fancy restaurant, either. It is a falsehood.

During the right season, you can consume wild salmon from California and Alaska. And the mercury content of one 6 oz serving is only 6.46 micrograms. The National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency state that an adult's weekly consumption of mercury shouldn't exceed 38.5 micrograms per week. So you can eat sufficient wild salmon with little regard to mercury, PCB's or dioxin contamination.

But beware of other fishes: one 6 oz. serving of fresh tuna has 68 micrograms! That is double your weekly maximum. (That means you shouldn't eat sashimi everday for lunch.) Even a 6 oz. serving of canned albacore tuna has 35 micrograms.

Mercury is the most toxic, non-radioactive element in existence according to the authors of an Oct 2005 Neuroendrinology Letters article. So exceeding your weekly "allowance" can lead to serious neurological conditions.

But consider that wild salmon is usually over $10/pound and typically closer to $20/pound and is usually only in season between April and October. Be wary of claims of "wild salmon" during the off-season. A New York times article reported that during the off-season 24 of 26 stores in New York City falsely labeled farmed salmon as wild salmon, and charged the wild salmon price of $30/pound!

Unfortunately, most people consume wild salmon just a fraction of the time, if ever, due to the season and price.

When you consider the health detriments of consuming farmed Atlantic salmon, the scarcity of wild salmon, and the high price of wild salmon, you see it becomes necessary to consume omega 3 supplements to get sufficient daily doses of EPA for anti-inflammation relief.

Pros and Cons for Different Brands of Omega 3 Supplements

However, it can only be dispensed to actual patients by a licensed provider. And distributers will only sell to licensed providers. So I can't offer this product over the internet.

But if you are a patient in our office or become one, then you can buy it from us. One bottle is $42 and with 90 capsules lasts 1 month at a 1500 mg/day dose. We can even drop-ship it to you for a minimal shipping charge so you don't have to drive to our office once your treatment plan is complete. But if you see a provider who carries Nutriwest, they can order it for you.

A company called Eniva offers good alternative omega 3 supplements. Eniva manufactures their product, called Efacor, under pharmaceutical standards and moleculary-distill it for impurities. Efacor's ratio is 2:1. The best omega 3 supplements on most store shelves have a 3:2 ratio.

Look at the number of pills you must take to get a minimum dose of 1500 mg for any given brand. With Efacor, you only need 3 pills.

The best store brands usually require 6 pills for the same dose. So the raw price looks cheaper. But how fast will you consume a bottle when taking 6 capsules per day?

One bottle of Efacor contains 60 capsules and costs $36.95. It also has smaller pills than many brands and has a lemony extract. That makes it easier to swallow and less chance of fish burp.

Antioxidants Required with Omega 3 Supplements

And like I mention in my E-book: if you take one ounce of Vibe liquid anti-oxidants, you have minimized your anti-inflammation dose to three swallows. Mix Vibe with some water and then swallow three Efacors. You can handle three swallows can't you?

I know some of you gag on every pill you take! These fish pills are gel capsules. They don't get "stuck" like tablets and they are pretty small for fish pills. I really think you CAN do it.

Have you been swallowing some sort of pain reliever? Then you can handle this. Plus you will have the comfort of knowing THESE won't potentially cause bleeding in your stomach!

This is not intended to take the place of being treated by a licensed provider. There are times that more serious problems could be the cause of pain and merely taking pain relievers, whether they are a drug, or whether they are natural, may only mask the source of your pain.

But if you were merely given pain relievers by your provider, then the fish oil and inflammation connection could be an option to phase out drug use. If you have any questions, though, you should discuss it with your trusted healthcare provider.