No Magical Mystery Tour

Today, the makers of Airborne agreed to pay 23 million to settle a class action law suit for allegedly making false claims. I’ve worked in the dietary supplement industry, with research and education, for over 15 years.

This is what I know:

There is good clinical evidence for some nutrition supplements.

Dietary supplement companies are not permitted to make claims for health conditions (even when there is good evidence in humans).

Consumers respond to claims, that is, they buy products that claim ‘to cure’ (this supports the TV weight loss ads).

Very often, the benefit of a nutritional supplement is in ‘Prevention’. Most consumers do not respond to ‘Prevention’ claims. Most wait until they have a problem, then look for a cure. It often costs much less to prevent a condition, especially if you know you are at-risk. It takes doing something.

Finally, regulators who have the authority to regulate claims have turned an eye for so long, the situation has become difficult to manage.

What are dietary supplement companies to do?

Taking good quality fish oil on a regular basis prevents heart attacks (companies can’t say this). CLA prevents weight gain (people buy products to loose weight, not prevent gain even though preventing gain would reduce the need for weight loss, and likely be more successful). CoQ 10 should be supplemented by people on statin drugs (doctors don’t know this).

It is crazy that people think they can eat fast food 3-4 times a week, then take a natural product to reverse the damage. It is ridiculous for people to think they can smoke for 20 years, then take a supplement to keep them from getting sick.

This is no Magical Mystery Tour. The dietary supplements that work, work with your body to prevent disease and promote health. They don’t replace lifestyle and they don’t save a life of unhealthy habits.

In regard to the Airborne situation, stating that something ‘supports immune function’ will not sell as much product as ‘miracle cure buster’. If it’s true that the makers of Airborne falsified credentials and clinical research, that is absolutely unforgiveable. In my opinion, that deserves reprimand.

For myself, I am on an airplane 2-3 times a month, and before I travel, I take an extra dose of vitamin C. That is for prevention, I want it in my body when I’m exposed to germs and viruses. Prevention works.

When the doctor doesn't know

A doctor asked me today how fish oil companies handle the contaminants, pollutants and heavy metals that are found in our fish supply. He asked if fish oil supplements were purified. He asked me because he hadn’t known anyone to ask.

The question took me by surprise as I forget that doctors don’t know these things, and they usually don’t have qualified people to ask. Doctors are trained in the use of drugs, not nutrients. If doctors don’t know, how can they educate their patients?

What follows here is my answer:

Most of the fish oil on the market comes from sardines and anchovies. These small fish are omega-3 rich and not endangered.

The fish oil sold at ‘big box’ and ‘volume’ stores is referred to as commodity fish oil, it is the inexpensive/volume priced product and provides 12-30% omega-3. This fish oil is slightly filtered slightly and put into capsules. Most of the mercury is usually removed especially since this toxic metal is ‘on the radar’ of consumers. These inexpensive products may or may not be oxidized (rancid). They tend to have an 'off' flavor (oxidation and contaminants) but they are cheap. They also tend to have trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol; if only 15-30% is omega-3, what is the rest? It is other fats. Compliance with patients is usually low with these products and this bad flavor/unpleasant experience is the unfortunate experience of many people.

Fish oil concentrates, offering 50% or more omega-3 (EPA and DHA) go through a multi-step purification process (beginning with chilling to remove saturated fats, then clay filtering, etc) and then are distilled to concentrate the EPA and DHA. As the level of omega-3 increases, the amounts of other fats are reduced. These products are handled with much more sophistication, as the challenge lies in maintaining freshness through the concentration process. Flavoring may be added, and natural antioxidant stabilizers, such as d-alpha tocopherol, are added. These products cost more, but the benefits are many: more omega-3 per capsule, less unhealthful fats, avoiding free radical pro-oxidants, and of course the greatest benefit, significantly better patient compliance. These products don’t need to be coated to ‘hide’ or ‘mask’ oxidation and bad flavor.

The other challenge is that folks may be taking 1 gram of fish oil, unaware of how much omega-3 they are getting. 1 gram of commodity fish oil can provide 120-300 mg of omega-3. 1 gram of better fish oil provides up to 700-800 mg omega-3. That’s up to 6 times as much in one capsule. There are only a few companies who offer these products. The company I work for is one. The amount of omega-3 consumed makes all the difference – to nutrition status, restoring health and reducing chronic disease. It is sad to watch people take omega-3 supplements, believing that they are doing themselves some good, when in fact, they are not getting enough of the product, or they are getting a poor quality product. Would you eat bad fish for good nutrition?

Fast Food or Fish oil; Harm or Health?

Could it be a clear choice? It might depend on how important your liver is to you.

In a study published today (Kechagias, et al, 2008), when adults ate fast food hamburger, fries and coke once or twice a day, their liver enzymes became elevated, putting them at risk for liver disease - within a month. “Fatty liver” as it is known, occurs unrelated to alcohol intake and it may be heavily influenced by what we eat.

On the contrary, fish oil supplements protect the liver. Purified fish oil supplements are known to support healthy liver function and proper metabolism of fat. You may know that fish oil supplements can reduce blood triglycerides by 30 – 40% (triglycerides are a fat in your blood, and high levels put you at risk for heart disease). To achieve this remarkable reduction, you have to take enough. The American Heart Association recommends 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA (that’s not grams of fish oil, it’s grams of omega-3 fish oil supplies) from products that are guaranteed purified and fresh.

Our liver tends to be ‘under attack’ by all kinds of pollutants and toxins in today’s world, so even if you don’t have high triglycerides, fish oil promotes good fat metabolism and healthy liver function.

I don’t know anyone who completely avoids fast food, but we do know that a good amount of EPA and DHA is good for you. We need a healthy liver; our life depends on it.

Oh, no! Dr. Oz

On the Oprah show aired February 5, 2007, Dr. Oz provided a great list for anti-aging. The list was comprehensive yet fairly simple and practical. When reviewing foods and vitamins, I was surprised to see him miss the all-important Omega-3 fat known as ‘EPA’.

He recommended DHA Omega-3, which is very important for the brain and vision, and appears to play a role in maintaining cognition. The other Omega-3 fat, EPA, is the anti-inflammatory Omega-3, and the one that is good for the heart, necessary along with DHA for mood and mental health, very effective for rheumatoid arthritis and more. Let’s remember, obesity is an inflammatory health condition.

His food recommendations of flax and chia provide some Omega-3, but it’s the plant form and research indicates that plant sources are not reliable sources of EPA and DHA as found in fish and purified fish oil.

Dr. Oz was wise to recommend magnesium along with calcium, as they occur together in foods and work together in the body. EPA and DHA are similar; they are found together in foods and work together in the body. Would you choose to use your left hand without your right hand when they work better together?

I would like to speak with Dr. Oz and provide him scientific literature on this topic. I invite a referral!

Wear Red on Friday!

This Friday, February 1st is National Wear Red Day, sponsored by the American Heart Association (www.goredforwomen.org). This effort is designed to remind us that heart disease is still the #1 killer of women. If we learned anything in the last century, we have learned that how we live and what we eat influences our risk for heart disease.

There is one nutrient that undeniably improves heart health and reduces risk for heart disease. It is a nutrient that we need every day and most of us are not getting enough (primarily because our current food supply is inadequate). That nutrient is the Omega-3 fats found in fish oil.

Omega-3s from fish oil have been shown to improve overall mortality (better than statin drugs), reduce triglycerides, normalize blood pressure, improve vascular function (blood vessels), improve overall circulation, reduce inflammation and inflammatory markers, improve immune function, reduce risk of stroke, normalize heart rate and important, if not most important, reduce risk for sudden death. EPA and DHA, the beneficial omega-3s in fish oil, have been proven useful in both the prevention and treatment of heart disease. For more research on any of this, please contact me.

Women who have diabetes have a greater risk for heart disease and clearly benefit from consuming more omega-3s. There are several studies on this, find one here: http://www.pharmaomega.com/shop/library/article.aspx?id=317&catid=1

Women with more DHA in their blood have less plaque build-up. A study here: http://www.pharmaomega.com/shop/library/article.aspx?id=319&catid=1

And finally, if someone is on hormone replacement therapy or not, omega-3s can reduce a woman’s risk for heart disease: http://www.pharmaomega.com/shop/library/article.aspx?id=321&catid=

How we live is as important as how long we live; fish oil improves quality of life as we age. Research findings support this, as well.

Is that a therapeutic dose you are taking?

I recently had a conversation with a friend about doses of fish oil. She’s been taking an omega-3 fish oil product that provides less than 400 mg of EPA and DHA in three (3) capsules. “But you get more capsules in a bottle”, she told me, “so it’s a better value”. Now she is a bright person, but in fact, the product was not a good value. Some fish oil supplements provide a lot more EPA and DHA in only ONE capsule.

Fish oil is fish oil, and there are different grades (different quality standards) and different doses of EPA and DHA per gram of oil (concentrations). So, we compared the amount of omega-3 per dollar. The product providing 700 mg omega-3 in one (1) capsule was, by far, a better value. And, she could take only one capsule and stop swallowing 5 capsules a day just to get her omega-3s.

The next question asked, is whether or not she was taking a therapeutic dose. She thought, because she was taking 3 capsules, that she was getting a good dose.

The bottom line on dose is this: We do not have formal recommendations for EPA and DHA intake in the United States, but the estimated Minimum daily intake for adults is 500-650 mg EPA and DHA. That meets basic nutritional needs.

In my opinion, the minimum therapeutic dose of fish oil begins at 1 gram of EPA and DHA per day. That’s the minimum amount recommended by the American Heart Association if you have a family history of heart disease, and that is the minimum recommended for mental health or mood conditions. These are minimum intakes.

Most professionals and researchers, who know about fish oil, take 2-3 grams of EPA and DHA per day.

It's Healthy Weight Week (Jan 20-26, 2008)

This is ‘Healthy Weight Week’, established by the Healthy Weight Network, and a good time to remember that a healthy weight is often not our dream weight. A healthy weight includes mental health and physical health and reduced risk for chronic disease. Today is also called ‘Blue Monday’ as it’s the day when conventionally, people are ‘blue’ from breaking their New Year’s resolutions, getting post-holiday bills and the weather. Yes, the weather in the US is not conducive to many outdoor activities right now.

Here’s my suggestion: Avoid falling into the ‘blue’ trap by staying active and making good choices in your diet. Also, be realistic about a healthy weight. Making good choices is not perfection or idealism. Making good choices is making a ‘better’ choice, perhaps with only one or 2 foods, one meal at a time.

In regards to omega-3 fish oil, just by virtue of how omega-3 fats work, if you choose to consume them (reminder: your body can’t make them), they can improve your mood (help prevent the ‘blues’), strengthen your immune system (in the cold weather), support healthy metabolism (while exercising) and reduce inflammation (after exercising or too much celebration).