posted
Maybe my brain isn't engaged yet, but I find this to be confusing. Are they saying Omega 3 fish oil shouldn't be used, b/c it suppresses the immune system? And what about the DHA, which is also in the fish oil? Below is the excerpt:
So, what should older people do? First, studies have shown that the primary cause of immune deficiency in the elderly is purely dietary. The carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, canthaxanthin, lutein and lycopene significantly enhance the immunity of the elderly. Zinc, magnesium and selenium are also essential. One should also avoid omega-6 oils (the vegetable oils-corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean and peanut oils), since they greatly enhance inflammation and depress immunity. The EPA component of fish oils (omega-3 oils) is also a powerful immune suppressant. DHA is not. A healthy immune system means that you can fight infections efficiently and rapidly.
Posts: 28 | From Kansas | Registered: Aug 2009
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Marnie
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Huge difference between the "fish oils" and OmegaBrite which is very very high in EPA and has only a little DHA.
I think we have to alter our immune response (and tetracycline does this too!!!) WHILE hitting Bb SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Let me give you more examples.
I had a bad ear infection and nothing was working...abx. ear drops alone, anti-fungals, etc.
But when my doc gave me an Rx for a combination of a steroid (to reduce the inflammation) PLUS an antibotic...all in one liquid ear drop...it worked! Overnight.
My husband had a skin infection...same thing...it was only when the dermatologist gave him an ointment that contained an anti-fungal and a steroid did the skin problem clear up.
I believe the cure for lyme (and there are many ways to do so) may well be 2-fold.
Tame down the immune system (inflammatory cytokines) AND hit Bb.
Inflammation IS a part of the healing process, but it is supposed to shut off. It isn't. That is not good.
It is curious too how during middle age we get fatter in the "middle" ;-), but in old age, we often lose that fat = ketones to supply our brain with an alternative energy?
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Bugg
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posted
I really wish that treating inflammation was emphasized much more in the treatment of lyme.
I was speaking with a neurologist the other day who said that NOT ALL INFLAMMATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, WILL SHOW UP IN THE TESTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE...
I speculate that inflammation from lyme keeps many of us feeling like hell for years....We can often think coinfections for example are keeping us sick when it fact it may just be the inflammation from the lyme....
So many of us have "classic inflammation-damage symptoms": ex: eye floaters, muscle twitches (many of us have these in the same place just above the knee caps and around our eyebrows); tingling, muscle soreness....
..I wish more research would go into understanding the inflammatory markers of lyme and the long-term consequences of this inflammation...I really think getting on top of inflammation is critical....
Thanks for posting the above, Marnie....
Posts: 1155 | From Southeast | Registered: Oct 2005
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I'm fascinated by the inflammation discussion. If I could just tame down the brain inflammation, I'm convinced that I would feel a ton better.
Back to the fish oil question. I have some GNC fish oil caplets that contain 300 mg omega-3. On the back it says EPA 180 mg. DHA is 120 mg.
Are you saying this is bad to take b/c of the DHA?
I'm still confused, I guess. Should I take fish oil b/c it may help with my inflammation?
Posts: 28 | From Kansas | Registered: Aug 2009
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Marnie
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posted
I'm saying a *very* high level of EPA and some DHA maybe much more beneficial.
OmegaBrite contains (reading the back of the box)
Taking THREE capsules = a serving, this is what one gets:
Vitamin E 3 units = 10% of RDA
EPA = 1,050mg DHA = 150mg Other omega 3 fatty acids = 150mg Omega 6 fatty acids = 60mg Other fatty acids = 85mg
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Carol in PA
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posted
I found two products with a similar EPA ratio.
OmegaBrite has a specific 7:1 EPA to DHA ratio. Country Life Omega 3 Mood has a 6.7:1 ratio. NSI Omega-3 Mood Formula has a 5:1 ratio.
Country Life, Omega 3 Mood, 90 Softgels EPA 1000 mg (in two softgels) DHA 150 mg (this is a 6.7:1 ratio) 90 Softgels, Retail: $29.99, Our price: $11.25 http://www.vitacost.com/Country-Life-Omega-3-Mood
Carol
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seekhelp
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posted
Has anyone ever tried the Country Life version yet? Anyone here taking OmegaBrite and noticing miracles? Please let me know.
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Marnie
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GNCs brand...after buying it and comparing it side -by side- to OmegaBrite...
OmegaBrite is better.
When comparing...look at 3 OmegaBrites (serving) compared to double serving (2) capsules of GNCs.
It is the high E-EPA, NOT high DHA that is vital.
GNC's has, IMO, too much DHA.
I've read aspirin potentiates EPA.
BTW...EPA is given with the breast cancer drug, Tamoxifen (which is a man-made PKC inhibitor):
posted
So how does one cut down on brain inflammation?
I'm convinced that once my daughter's inflammation goes down, her headache will finally go away, but how does one do that?
And how do we know that it is not die-off toxins rather than inflammation causing the symptoms?
Would something like cod liver oil, since it has a lot of omega-3, be just as good as the products mentioned above, or is the EPA:DHA ratio not as good?
So much to learn............
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northstar
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posted
From eurekalert, Dec. 16.
Omega 3 supplementation is used alot, but this study discusses the EPA vs. DHA function, and ratio. Omegabrite uses a large EPA, but this study emphasizes the greater importance of DHA in nervous system functioning.
Northstar =============
Public release date: 16-Dec-2009 [ Print | E-mail | Share Share ] [ Close Window ]
Contact: Public Affairs Office [email protected] 202-336-5700 American Psychological Association New study links DHA type of omega-3 to better nervous-system function Deficiencies may factor into mental illnesses
WASHINGTON -- The omega-3 essential fatty acids commonly found in fatty fish and algae help animals avoid sensory overload, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
The finding connects low omega-3s to the information-processing problems found in people with schizophrenia; bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders; Huntington's disease; and other afflictions of the nervous system.
The study, reported in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, provides more evidence that fish is brain food.
The key finding was that two omega-3 fatty acids - docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) - appear to be most useful in the nervous system, maybe by maintaining nerve-cell membranes.
"It is an uphill battle now to reverse the message that 'fats are bad,' and to increase omega-3 fats in our diet," said Norman Salem Jr., PhD, who led this study at the Laboratory of Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The body cannot make these essential nutrients from scratch. It gets them by metabolizing their precursor, α-linolenic acid (LNA), or from foods or dietary supplements with DHA and EPA in a readily usable form.
"Humans can convert less than one percent of the precursor into DHA, making DHA an essential nutrient in the human diet," added Irina Fedorova, PhD, one of the paper's co-authors.
EPA is already known for its anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular effects, but DHA makes up more than 90 percent of the omega-3s in the brain (which has no EPA), retina and nervous system in general.
In the study, the researchers fed four different diets with no or varying types and amounts of omega-3s to four groups of pregnant mice and then their offspring.
They measured how the offspring, once grown, responded to a classic test of nervous-system function in which healthy animals are exposed to a sudden loud noise.
Normally, animals flinch. However, when they hear a softer tone in advance, they flinch much less.
It appears that normal nervous systems use that gentle warning to prepare instinctively for future stimuli, an adaptive process called sensorimotor gating.
Only the mice raised on DHA and EPA, but not their precursor of LNA, showed normal, adaptive sensorimotor gating by responding in a significantly calmer way to the loud noises that followed soft tones.
The mice in all other groups, when warned, were startled nearly as much by the loud sound.
When DHA was deficient, the nervous system most obviously did not downshift. That resulted in an abnormal state that could leave animals perpetually startled and easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.
The authors concluded that not enough DHA in the diet may reduce the ability to handle sensory input. "It only takes a small decrement in brain DHA to produce losses in brain function," said Salem.
In humans, weak sensorimotor gating is a hallmark of many nervous-system disorders such as schizophrenia or ADHD.
Given mounting evidence of the role omega-3s play in the nervous system, there is intense interest in their therapeutic potential, perhaps as a supplement to medicines.
For example, people with schizophrenia have lower levels of essential fatty acids, possibly from a genetic variation that results in poor metabolism of these nutrients.
More broadly, the typical American diet is much lower in all types of omega-3 than in omega-6 essential fatty acids, according to Salem.
High intake of omega-6, or linoleic acid, reduces the body's ability to incorporate omega-3s. As a result, "we have the double whammy of low omega-3 intake and high omega-6 intake," he said.
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nefferdun
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My brain is obviously too inflammed to follow this. All I want to know is If I take this, will I really feel a difference. How many of you see improvement?
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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RZR
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I am confused...conflicting theories.
So, do we need more EPA or DHA?
-------------------- Tick bite May 2009 Diagnosed June 2009 Posts: 2329 | From SouthEast | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
I was going to ask that very question. And Marnie, I have another question. I hesitate to take Omega 3 as I am allergic to an oil found in salmon and tuna, but other fish do not affect me. I worry that one of the Omegas is the one I am sensitive to. Does the label on the one you have list the types of fish the oils are from?
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northstar
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I interpreted this as not recommending a specific ratio, but that DHA needs to be part of the formula to reduce/inhibit the startle response.
Applying this to the OmegaBrite: I am not sure of the DHA content, just that it is a 7:1 ratio.
I did read that the body can convert DHA to EPA, but not (or inadequately) EPA to DHA.
First: one of the authors now is part of a company that supplies ingredients for DHA. Well, the Harvard studies on OmegaBrite have a similar monetary association in that the author is involved with the company that makes the omegabrite.
in the freerepublic article:
quote: EPA is already known for its anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular effects, but DHA makes up more than 90 percent of the omega-3s in the brain (which has no EPA), retina and nervous system in general.
I interpret that as saying you need both, i.e. not supplement with just EPA.
Krill oil comes from a creature with a shell, not a fish fish, so maybe that could substitute for salmon/tuna? (if you are not allergic to shellfish).
Vegan sites may provide more info on alternative sources. However, I have read in several places that the (flax oil) alpha linoleic (right name?) acid has minimal conversion to EPA/DHA.
Northstar
Posts: 1331 | From hither and yonder | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Krill oil...thanks, Northstar! I will look for it.
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CD57
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posted
Reducing brain inflammation: why do we not hear more about HBOT? Read this:
Unquestionable truths about hyperbarics: it stimulates stem cell production, it increases immune function, it decreases inflammation, it stimulates hypoxic tissue to regenerate (in the brain too!) and then causes angiogenesis (growing of new blood vessels into damaged tissue). All these things are helpful for lyme patients besides killing the lyme!
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