Posted by Larry Hoover on February 14, 2005, at 8:07:03
In reply to ethyl-epa?, posted by carolineh on February 9, 2005, at 18:48:23
> i posted this in the midst of another thread on fish oil, but i decided to start my own because i am specifically interested in folks' experience with e-epa. specific brands? where ordered from? amounts?
I've never used it. I think the evidence for using it is flawed.
> i have tried 2g a day of omega 3s with no success, i decided to order some ethyl-epa (what the research is based on.)
Are you saying 2 g/day net, or gross? And, what form of omega-3? That is, did you take 7 grams per day of fish oil, containing about 30% DHA/EPA, to yield about 2 grams total? Or just two 1000 mg capsules? Did you use flax oil?
The idea of using ethyl-EPA, the ester of ethanol and EPA, rather than the natural triple ester of EPA (and other fatty acids) with glycerol, is not an idea based on expectation of enhanced effect. It is an idea borne from the ability to patent a derivative of a natural product. The company holding the patents is called Laxdale, and they've been the driving force behind every study of ethyl-EPA. If they can prove benefit, they make all the money. Horroben, a prolific author on the subject, works for and is an officer of Laxdale. (Maybe I should have said worked. I think he may have passed on.)
> i ordered from an outfit called vitamin research products off the internet--has anyone tried this?
>
> has anyone found e-epa worked when plain ole epa didn't?I think that taking such an isolated compound (essentially a food extract), without any of the normally associated compounds that would typically be ingested with it (not only DHA) is a flawed premise. Reductionist science, the idea that we can find precisely *the* molecule which does a specific thing in the body, is inherently restrictive. The dose-ranging study on ethyl-EPA found that higher doses were less effective than moderate doses. Is that because there was no DHA, no other fats supplemented, no phospholipids? That question cannot be answered, and you cannot generalize and say that the best dose of fish oil is one that gives only that level of EPA.
> (i found two listings for companies with ethyl-epa, and the prices were similar--it was more than drug store stuff but won't break the bank if it works.)
It's your money. Try some Carlson's?
> thanks, and please forgive the repetition.
>
> carolineYou're welcome. And I hope you can read past the cynicism.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:455587
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050131/msgs/457505.html