Posted by Larry Hoover on August 22, 2003, at 8:28:09
In reply to Re: Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Depression -, posted by Bill L on August 21, 2003, at 8:57:52
> My wife takes fish oil due to potentially beneficial effects for arthritis.
>
> Larry would know about that.If she's using fish oil for arthritis, she should also take (at the same time) another oil containing gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Common examples are evening primrose and borage oils. Borage oil has twice the concentration of GLA as evening primrose, so I think it's a better buy.
When taken with fish oil, the GLA is shunted into a unique form of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, because the fish oil has a stronger affinity for the elongation enzymes that would otherwise convert the GLA into pro-inflammatory substances.
>The only thing I know is that you want a good quality brand if you take large doses because the better quality companies use an expensive procedure to filter out the mercury. Mercury can be bad for your nervous system.
Yes, mercury is bad for the nervous system. But, there is no mercury in commercial fish oils, of any sort. First, they would be blocked from market (there are standards for food supplements). Second, it's inherent in the processing of the fish oil that mercury is removed altogether. Mercury strongly binds to protein (that's why it's toxic in the first place). Moreover, it's not soluble in lipids (oils). So, when the crude fish oil is purified to remove all traces of protein (something that happens to all fish oil), the mercury is removed completely. I could provide a link to lab results for commercial fish oils, showing all had N.D. (not detectable, at the detection limit of 0.3 parts per billion) mercury content, but I hope you'll take my word for it. There is more mercury in tap water in some places, and *that* is quite legal.Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:252197
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030818/msgs/253036.html