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CHOLESTEROL: FISH OIL PRODUCTS VARY
Not all Omega-3 fish oil products are the same, even though the amounts of their cholesterol-lowering components (EPA and DCA) do not vary. Like old-fashioned cod liver oil, these products also contain some vitamin A and vitamin D, and in many cases some vitamin E as well.
If a product’s label states that it contains 2 percent of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for vitamins A and D, this is acceptable just so long as one is not already obtaining large doses of these vitamins from other sources.
However, many of these products contain quite a lot of vitamin E — as much as 6 percent of the RDA per capsule. This is a cause for concern. By taking 10 capsules of fish oil daily, one would get 60 percent of the RDA for vitamin E. That much vitamin E, added to the amount one gets from other sources, could easily be excessive and give rise to internal hemorrhaging. As we stated above, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), the major cholesterol-lowering ingredient of fish oil, already has a blood-thinning effect that could make internal bleeding in response to trauma more likely. By adding vitamin E’s effectto this, we increase the risk of bleeding.
Some fish oil products, such as Maxepa, Proto-Chol and Promega, however, are free of vitamin E and seem to be more refined; their higher price can therefore be justified.
To be on the safe side, furthermore, it is advisable to limit one’s intake of fish oil capsules to no more than 10 a day. This much EPA, Drug Therapy (11′#2:53) reports, does not prolong the bleeding time (a test that measures the likelihood of internal hemorrhage). However, twice that number of fish oil capsules (20) every day does prolong the bleeding time beyond normal. We should take this matter very seriously because the Eskimos, whose diet contains large amounts of EPA, are protected from the dangers of cholesterol (such as heart attack), but die most often from bleeding within the brain (cerebral hemorrhage). Be careful, therefore, to buy only those fish oil capsules that are free of vitamin E and take no more of them than 10 each day.
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