[Runningmommy]

It's been a while, but I am pretty sure I read some good info on here about taking the supplements especially if you are vegetarian. I started taking some a few months ago, from the health food store and they seemed to be doing fine. I bought some from the grocery store because they were cheaper, but on the side it cautions if you are pg or nursing. So in researching a little I found Thomas Hale stating not to take supplements with any kind of polyunsaturated fat. Now these contain 1g per capsule, and I"d be taking about 3 per day. I threw out the Natural foods bottle so I cant' compare right now. any insite? Thanks a bunch,
Lisa

 

[mavery]

I am also a vegetarian and have taken moderate amounts of fish oil throughout pregnancy and nursing. I basically consider this to "make up" to some extent for the absence of a common and generally healthy food as part of my diet. Since I don't eat fish because I don't like it, rather than for ethical reasons, I have no problems taking fish oil, but if I did I would probably take vegetarian DHA supps.

Hale is concerned wwith the relationship between fish consumption and stroke when he makes that recommendation. As far as I can tell from what I've read, a moderate level of fish consumption reduces the risk of ischemic stroke but may increase (according to some) or not affect (according to others) the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic strokes are when a blood vessel gets clogged, hemorrhagic are when a blood vessel bursts.

Compare the following two reports:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract
http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/ne....cfm?number=75

Since ischemic strokes account for over 80% of all strokes, I'm willing to take my chances with the cod liver oil.

 

[chiro_kristin]

I am guessing that the reason why there would be good reason for caution with the omega 3s you are taking now is because they probably have more toxins in them. I say this just because you said they are "cheaper."

In my professional opinion, these are the only three omega-3 supplements I would advise taking, and in this order:

1) Innate Choice
2) Nordic Naturals
3) Carlson

Anything else is not good enough/has too many toxins/you are probably throwing away your money.

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny says that with a good quality liquid omega-3 supplement, you can even put a drop directly on your nipple for the baby to take while nursing.

 

[Runningmommy]

thank you both for the information. should I just stick to the flax seed oil? would that be safer for the unpolysaturated fats but still give me the omega 3's?

 

[mavery]

The potential problem with flax seed oil is that the fatty acids are in the form of ALA (okay, I can't spell the words these things stand for) and the body has to convert it to get EPA and DHA which are the useful forms, and the amount of EPA and DHA you end up with can be very little, depending on how well your body converts ALA. So while it might be good for your health by itsef, it's not an 'all-round' omega-3 supplement. (DHA is the one that is hypothesised to be good for infants' brain/visual development, if that's what you're interested in.)

I think around 2-5% of the ALA you ingest gets converted to DHA, so you might bear that in mind when figuring out how much flaxseed oil you would take.

 

[3_opihi]

I just was doing a search on the same subject, and came across this thread.

My doctor just prescribed me Omacor, which is a medical grade, prescription only Omega-3 supplement. It's very pure, but I think it's a bit stronger than grocery store stuff.

I'm wondering if this is ok to take while nursing? I forgot to ask at the appt. and when I check online it says to use caution..