01-25-2009, 04:35 PM
I've been studying this stuff for years. Here's the bottom line, as best I can tell.
1. Fish oil can go rancid. I only buy fish oil in bottles, and I usually get Carlson's lemon flavored. As long as I keep it in the fridge, it never tastes fishy. The Jarrow Max stuff has a bad ratio of DHA to EPA; you want 2x EPA to DHA, as far as I can tell.
2. Ground up flax seed is reasonably good for you, in small amounts, due to the fiber, but flax seed oil is not. The problem is that it contains way too much Omega 6, and in our industrialized diet with its heavy emphasis on grains, we get way, WAY too much Omega 6. Remember, humans have only been eating grains for about 10K years--we just aren't evolved to handle them.
3. The very latest research indicates that the RDA for Vitamin D is way too low. The recommendations I've been seeing lately are in the 1000 to 2000 IU per day range, in the winter.
4. The very best fish oil I've found, but ridiculously expensive, is this stuff:
http://www.greenpasture.org/products/cod-liver-oil
Here's some text from their website:
'Real' nutrients in fish oils/cod liver oils are not what is commonly discussed
Fri, 2009-01-09 14:52 — dave
I am posting this blog to answer the common question on Omega 3 /EPA/DHA . Industrialization of the fish oil industry has left the industry with little to discuss other than a few fatty acids. Recently, the fatty acid question is increasing in frequency so this blog post is warranted. I think this recent drive in confusion was set off by a prominent bloggers sales pitch for his fish oil. At least this is what I can ascertain from the recent influx of questions and reading the blog referenced.
Real nutrients are not EPA/DHA fatty acids but rather the vitamins, quinones and hormones attached within the fatty acid structures. In nature, each fatty acid carries a different nutrient complex. Scientists can study fish fatty acid complexes and understand the health/breed ability of the school/fish. It is not the fatty acids that create health but rather carry the nutrients for health and breed ability. As in all meat products the 'real' nutrients are accumulated/ stored within the organs. This is why we offer Cod Liver oil rather than fish oil
99.99% of all fish oils/cod liver oils are so heavily industrialized / processed that they have removed all the 'real' nutrients and they have little left to discuss other than omega 3's / EPA/DHA. This is why the industry, in concert, programs the populace to look for omega 3's and or EPA/DHA. And this is the very same reason why we don't discuss EPA/DHA/omega 3's in great length as we have much more to discuss within our products.
EPA/DHA are common or given within cod liver oil. DHA's natural range is 7-10% of the oil and EPA is 12-15% of the oil. Industry can manipulate EPA/DHA through heavy processing methods but naturally occurring the above ratio's are what is found in most species of the cod family.
Side notes for this post...
Their are something like 130-160 identified varieties of vitamin A (best source for this information is within Dr. Royal Lee's writings), and something in the area of 1000-3000 different vitamin D derivatives (best source is 'The Vitamin D Handbook'). Nature provides most of these forms and I truly believe there is a reason for all the different forms. This is one of the many reasons why synthetic nutrients are not the answer to real health.
Vitamin D is a hormone, not a true vitamin.
Quinones and hormones are just starting to be studied within the nutritional sciences and this field is considered cutting edge.
Fish Species will vary in their fatty acid complex (which mean they vary in the quinone,hormone structures). Example: The Skate liver oil we make typically has 14-16% DHA and 10% EPA +/-.
Quinones comprise of: Vitamin K family, Vitamin E family, COQ enzymes and other known and unknown structures.
When discussing hormones above I imply plant hormones as part of the the total hormone structure being studied within the cutting edge nutritional sciences.
Above i discuss real nutrients vs fatty acid complexes. Yes, the different fatty acids are important but in time it will be understood that there is much more to the story than the fatty acids alone. To fully answer the questions we have it will take 10-30 years as the nutritional study of the different plant and animal vitamin/ hormones/quinones structures is still in its infancy.
5. Here's something else I find very interesting about diet:
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2008/01/13/5617.html
1. Fish oil can go rancid. I only buy fish oil in bottles, and I usually get Carlson's lemon flavored. As long as I keep it in the fridge, it never tastes fishy. The Jarrow Max stuff has a bad ratio of DHA to EPA; you want 2x EPA to DHA, as far as I can tell.
2. Ground up flax seed is reasonably good for you, in small amounts, due to the fiber, but flax seed oil is not. The problem is that it contains way too much Omega 6, and in our industrialized diet with its heavy emphasis on grains, we get way, WAY too much Omega 6. Remember, humans have only been eating grains for about 10K years--we just aren't evolved to handle them.
3. The very latest research indicates that the RDA for Vitamin D is way too low. The recommendations I've been seeing lately are in the 1000 to 2000 IU per day range, in the winter.
4. The very best fish oil I've found, but ridiculously expensive, is this stuff:
http://www.greenpasture.org/products/cod-liver-oil
Here's some text from their website:
'Real' nutrients in fish oils/cod liver oils are not what is commonly discussed
Fri, 2009-01-09 14:52 — dave
I am posting this blog to answer the common question on Omega 3 /EPA/DHA . Industrialization of the fish oil industry has left the industry with little to discuss other than a few fatty acids. Recently, the fatty acid question is increasing in frequency so this blog post is warranted. I think this recent drive in confusion was set off by a prominent bloggers sales pitch for his fish oil. At least this is what I can ascertain from the recent influx of questions and reading the blog referenced.
Real nutrients are not EPA/DHA fatty acids but rather the vitamins, quinones and hormones attached within the fatty acid structures. In nature, each fatty acid carries a different nutrient complex. Scientists can study fish fatty acid complexes and understand the health/breed ability of the school/fish. It is not the fatty acids that create health but rather carry the nutrients for health and breed ability. As in all meat products the 'real' nutrients are accumulated/ stored within the organs. This is why we offer Cod Liver oil rather than fish oil
99.99% of all fish oils/cod liver oils are so heavily industrialized / processed that they have removed all the 'real' nutrients and they have little left to discuss other than omega 3's / EPA/DHA. This is why the industry, in concert, programs the populace to look for omega 3's and or EPA/DHA. And this is the very same reason why we don't discuss EPA/DHA/omega 3's in great length as we have much more to discuss within our products.
EPA/DHA are common or given within cod liver oil. DHA's natural range is 7-10% of the oil and EPA is 12-15% of the oil. Industry can manipulate EPA/DHA through heavy processing methods but naturally occurring the above ratio's are what is found in most species of the cod family.
Side notes for this post...
Their are something like 130-160 identified varieties of vitamin A (best source for this information is within Dr. Royal Lee's writings), and something in the area of 1000-3000 different vitamin D derivatives (best source is 'The Vitamin D Handbook'). Nature provides most of these forms and I truly believe there is a reason for all the different forms. This is one of the many reasons why synthetic nutrients are not the answer to real health.
Vitamin D is a hormone, not a true vitamin.
Quinones and hormones are just starting to be studied within the nutritional sciences and this field is considered cutting edge.
Fish Species will vary in their fatty acid complex (which mean they vary in the quinone,hormone structures). Example: The Skate liver oil we make typically has 14-16% DHA and 10% EPA +/-.
Quinones comprise of: Vitamin K family, Vitamin E family, COQ enzymes and other known and unknown structures.
When discussing hormones above I imply plant hormones as part of the the total hormone structure being studied within the cutting edge nutritional sciences.
Above i discuss real nutrients vs fatty acid complexes. Yes, the different fatty acids are important but in time it will be understood that there is much more to the story than the fatty acids alone. To fully answer the questions we have it will take 10-30 years as the nutritional study of the different plant and animal vitamin/ hormones/quinones structures is still in its infancy.
5. Here's something else I find very interesting about diet:
http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2008/01/13/5617.html