All the Same: Costco Wild Salmon and Fish oil Blend

Miso · medicine forum beginner Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

My doctor prescribed me fish oil, 9 grams a day to help with my
Irritable Bowel disease. I started taking the Costco brand. I have
developed anxiety issues since taking these capsules. I have stopped
taking them and my anxiety in general is reduced.

Just wondering if all fish oil is the same or if it is just a
coincidence that I am less anxious now that I stopped taking this Wild
Salmon and Fish Oil Blend?

monty1945@lycos.com · medicine forum addict Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 93

Miso:

Back in 2000, I got similar advice, and it almost killed me. Being a
scholar, trained in evidence analysis in graduate school, I decided to
do my own research and try to save my own life (since the doctors
appeared to be "clueless"). You can see my conclusions and my approach
at:

http://groups.msn.com/TheScientificDebateForum-

I sell no products and have no industry or agency affiliations - I am
an independent scholar. You can click on the one of the links that
describes my diet, if you don 't have the time to read all the essays.

Vanny · medicine forum beginner Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 4

Here's my tuppence worth. There can be a lot of heavy metals and other
nasties in fish (and naturally in most other non-organic food items and also
in organic food items) and I read a report recently that advised that fish
intake should be no more than twice a week. Even organic tuna can contain
high levels of mercury - more than that released when having an amalgam
filling taken out.

I am guessing here, but you might be taking in some/lots of toxins with the
fish oil. Heavy metals and co. act on the central nervous system (CNS).
Anxiety is a CNS manifestation. If the fish were farmed then there could be
antibiotics, pesticides, etc., and their breakdown products in the fish oil.
The enteric coatings of the capsules can also contain nasties and recently
here in Germany they made the manufacturers change the formulation of the
capsule coatings because they contained plasticizers, which can cause
defects in particularl in baby boys. In addition, some of your other
medication might be reacting with whats in the fish oil capsules. Basically
your guess is as good as mine, but I suspect (a non-medical opinion or pure
layperson's guesswork) your anxiety has less to do with the fish oil itself
and more to do with the other things in and around it.

You could try looking for an organic fish oil and prior to purchasing it get
in touch with the manufacturer and ask them to provide you with a listing of
trace elements in it. You could also do this with the Costco stuff - have
the batch number and packaging ready. However, trying to get hold of this
information from manufacturers (unless the regulatory authorities demand it)
will be like drawing blood from a stone. This is a big problem with the food
and food supplement industry, which is not as regulated as the drug
industry.

Perhaps, you could ring up [organic] fish oil manufacturers, explain your
situation (they always like dirt on the competition) and ask if they could
send you a trial sample.

V.

"Miso" <newsgroup2003@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1153376774.008840.324410@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
My doctor prescribed me fish oil, 9 grams a day to help with my
Irritable Bowel disease. I started taking the Costco brand. I have
developed anxiety issues since taking these capsules. I have stopped
taking them and my anxiety in general is reduced.

Just wondering if all fish oil is the same or if it is just a
coincidence that I am less anxious now that I stopped taking this Wild
Salmon and Fish Oil Blend?

Ken.W · medicine forum beginner Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

One can now get fishoil that is basically double distilled. It's been
available in the states for a while and is now available in canada too.
It's a much safer bet then regular fishoil. Also one doesn't have to take as
much of it.

"Miso" <newsgroup2003@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1153376774.008840.324410@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...

Ron Peterson · medicine forum Guru Wannabe Joined: 18 May 2005 Posts: 181

Miso wrote:

Karen · medicine forum beginner Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 21

As far as I'm aware, flax seed oil has the same anti-inflammatory
properties as fish oil, although the metabolic process is slightly
different I think. Anyway, flax seed oil does not contain any heavy
metals, does not give you "fishy burps" and does not further deplete
the already dangerously overfished oceans.

JMO. I've been taking flax seed oil capsules for more than a year now
and I think it has helped a lot.

Karen

Miso wrote:

Matti Narkia · medicine forum Guru Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Posts: 425

On 20 Jul 2006 09:06:50 -0700, "Karen" <kazbern@yahoo.com> wrote:

William Kaufman · medicine forum beginner Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

Monty--
Your link leads nowhere. Perhaps you made a mistake in typing it? Please try
to provide a working link. Thanks,

<monty1945@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:1153388583.642025.201570@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...

Jeff and Mary Berk · medicine forum beginner Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 3

or perhaps flax seed oil.
jeff

"Vanny" <VannySS2003@antispam.com> wrote in message
news:e9nnih$kfl$1@newsreader2.netcologne.de...

Mike (remove XX's to repl · medicine forum beginner Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 4

I take Carlson's brand, and found the opposite. I take the Super DHA
one. From what I've read, it's the DHA, much more so than the EPA, that
helps with inflammation and neurological stuff. Half your brain is made
of DHA and cholesterol.

Thanks,

Mike

Miso wrote:

JohnH · medicine forum beginner Joined: 14 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

I've been taking heaps of flaxseed oil and eating fish. I'll have to have a
second think.
John
"Matti Narkia" <mna@mbnet.fi> wrote in message
news:l0bvb2p945gacegebr53unirmeiojtft3j@4ax.com...

Vanny · medicine forum beginner Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 4

Here's some information on fish oil. The conclusion is buy good quality
products, not liver oil (danger of vitamin A overdose - hence pregnant women
should not eat fish oil derived from liver) and ask the manufacturer for the
results of tests for heavy metals, DDT, and PCB, etc, in the particular
batch that you are going to buy. There is variation from batch to batch and
from manufacturer to manufacturer. The good news is that the products are
not as dangerous as they were twenty odd years ago. However, sensitivity to
the contaminants in fish oil will depend on your body load of toxins and the
assumption is that you are not exceeding the FDA recommended dose of 3 g per
day.

For Canada the IFOS has tested various fish oils and the results are posted
here:
http://www.nutrasource.ca/ifos_new/index.cfm?section=ifosconsumer&ifossection=CRN%20Bar%20Graph%20Reports

Third-party certifiers are gearing up to help manufacturers and marketers of
omega-3 fish oils ensure their products contain safe levels of pollutants,
such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals like mercury. The
action comes on top of warnings issued by food standards agencies in the US,
Europe, Australia and New Zealand about the dangers of mercury contamination
in popular omega-3 source fishes such as tuna and salmon. Recent studies
show farm-raised salmon and cod liver oils contain vastly higher levels of
heavy metals than whole-body fish oils. Farmed fish samples contained PCB
levels equivalent to 63-312 fish oil capsules.
http://www.ffnmag.com/NH/ASP/strArticleID/479/strSite/FFNSite/articleDisplay.asp

Here is a paper in which 5 OTC (over the counter) fish oils were tested for
mercury only and there were trace to negligible amounts. Mercury poisoning
causes CNS symptoms, including emotional instability, and these are detailed
in this paper.
http://arpa.allenpress.com/arpaonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1043%2F1543-2165(2003)127%3C1603:MOMLIC%3E2.0.CO%3B2

This paper reports analytical results of selected contaminants, including
polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated
diphenyl ethers, for a range of commercially available n-3 fatty acid rich
fish and vegetable oil dietary supplements.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed

Heavy metal, DDT, and PCB contamination and the presence of lipid oxidation
products in the canned products tested remain at a level producing no
perceivable health hazard and could in no way interfere with consumption of
recommended amounts of n-3 PUFAs. (Vanny comment: The FDA recommends a
maximum of 3 g per day for healthy individuals to avoid danger to health)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11890054&query_hl=8&itool=pubmed_docsum

Concentrations of the selected persistent organic pollutants varied among
the samples: PCBs (salmon, 145-460 ng/g lipid; salmon feeds, 76-1153 ng/g
lipid; fish oils, 9-253 ng/g lipid), S DDTs (salmon, 5-250 ng/g lipid;
salmon feeds, 34-52 ng/g lipid; fish oils, 11-218 ng/g lipid), and PBDEs
(salmon, 1-85 ng/g lipid: salmon feeds, 8-24 ng/g lipid; fish oils, ND-13
ng/g lipid).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=12144249

Here is a paper in which 5 OTC (over the counter) fish oils were tested for
mercury only and there were trace to negligible amounts. Mercury poisoning
causes CNS symptoms, including emotional instability, and these are detailed
in this paper.
http://arpa.allenpress.com/arpaonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1043%2F1543-2165(2003)127%3C1603:MOMLIC%3E2.0.CO%3B2
To play it safe, the FDA recommends that women of childbearing age eat
shark, tuna, and swordfish no more than once a month. Everyone else,
including your daughter, should limit those fish to seven ounces a week.
http://tsangenterprise.com/news70.htm

The main issue here is that some fish oil supplements may be contaminated
with traces of heavy metals, PCBs or dioxins, because unfortunately not all
manufacturers take sufficient care over the quality of their oils and
manufacturing methods.
http://www.healthyandessential.co.uk/shop/panel.php?osCsid=7ddffa25536f4f11d2aecdf0f5ae4635
http://www.omega3phd.com/negative_side_effects.html

In a letter dated October 31, 2000 entitled Letter Regarding Dietary
Supplement Health Claim for omega-3 Fatty Acids and Coronary Heart Disease,
the U. S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements
noted that the known or suspected risks of omega-3 fatty acids may include:

a.. Increased bleeding can occur if overused (normally over 3 grams per
day)
b.. The possibility of hemorrhagic stroke,
c.. Oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids forming biologically active oxidation
products,
d.. Increased levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol or
apoproteins associated with LDL cholesterol among diabetics and
hyperlipidemics,
e.. Reduced glycemic control among diabetics.
f.. Suppression of immune and inflammation responses, and consequently, to
decreased resistance to infections and increased susceptibility to
opportunistic bacteria
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ds-ltr11.html

FDA recommends that consumers not exceed more than a total of 3 grams per
day of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, with no more than 2 grams per day
from a dietary supplement.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01115.html

"Vanny" <VannySS2003@antispam.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:e9nnih$kfl$1@newsreader2.netcologne.de...
Here's my tuppence worth. There can be a lot of heavy metals and other
nasties in fish (and naturally in most other non-organic food items and also
in organic food items) and I read a report recently that advised that fish
intake should be no more than twice a week. Even organic tuna can contain
high levels of mercury - more than that released when having an amalgam
filling taken out.

I am guessing here, but you might be taking in some/lots of toxins with the
fish oil. Heavy metals and co. act on the central nervous system (CNS).
Anxiety is a CNS manifestation. If the fish were farmed then there could be
antibiotics, pesticides, etc., and their breakdown products in the fish oil.
The enteric coatings of the capsules can also contain nasties and recently
here in Germany they made the manufacturers change the formulation of the
capsule coatings because they contained plasticizers, which can cause
defects in particularl in baby boys. In addition, some of your other
medication might be reacting with whats in the fish oil capsules. Basically
your guess is as good as mine, but I suspect (a non-medical opinion or pure
layperson's guesswork) your anxiety has less to do with the fish oil itself
and more to do with the other things in and around it.

You could try looking for an organic fish oil and prior to purchasing it get
in touch with the manufacturer and ask them to provide you with a listing of
trace elements in it. You could also do this with the Costco stuff - have
the batch number and packaging ready. However, trying to get hold of this
information from manufacturers (unless the regulatory authorities demand it)
will be like drawing blood from a stone. This is a big problem with the food
and food supplement industry, which is not as regulated as the drug
industry.

Perhaps, you could ring up [organic] fish oil manufacturers, explain your
situation (they always like dirt on the competition) and ask if they could
send you a trial sample.

V.

"Miso" <newsgroup2003@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1153376774.008840.324410@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
My doctor prescribed me fish oil, 9 grams a day to help with my
Irritable Bowel disease. I started taking the Costco brand. I have
developed anxiety issues since taking these capsules. I have stopped
taking them and my anxiety in general is reduced.

Just wondering if all fish oil is the same or if it is just a
coincidence that I am less anxious now that I stopped taking this Wild
Salmon and Fish Oil Blend?

JohnH · medicine forum beginner Joined: 14 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

Here are some test result from Consumerlab.com. You have to pay to see them
all

http://www.consumerlab.com/results/omega3.asp

Google