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Severe omega 3 defciency and adrenal issues

Messages
67
Hello all,
I had a fatty acid profile that showed severe deficiency of Omega 3s, and a huge excess of omega 6s. ( Quite extreme even compared to standard american levels)

I suspect this was due to a lack of omega 3 sources in my diet, coupled with eating a ton of omega 6 rich sunflower seeds. ( my fav snack, ate bags and bags of them all the time)

I am wondering if this could impact intestinal health / leaky gut, as well as adrenal fatigue problems, both of which i have struggled with. Perhaps via increased inflamation, or any other mechanism.

Has anyone seen adrenal benefit by reloading omega 3 levels?
Are certain types of omega 3s better tolerated?

Thanks
Jeff
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Yes. I take a large amount of Sears Labs Omega Rx liquid fish oil, which is pharmaceutical grade, so no worries about mercury.

Benefits - decreased pain/headaches, improved mood, improved PMS/mood/pain. As an example, I used to get horrible multiday headaches where I would have to take 4 ibuprofins every four hours. Now I rarely get the headaches, and if I do, a couple of ibuprofins will take care of it. I found out the headaches were from barometric pressure change.

My BF takes it for arthritis and it helps him significantly as well.

It also helps with the brain and heart, but those you can't really feel.

The worse your adrenals are, the more fish oil you'll need. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism, but it's something I've noticed. I haven't noticed any gut improvements.

In general, you want to take molecular distilled, or even better, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, especially in the large amounts that we typically need. As an example, I take 1-1/4 tsp, which would be 6 capsules. But this particular brand is twice as powerful as others, so that's more like 12 capsules. In the past, I've taken even more.
 
Messages
15,786
I am wondering if this could impact intestinal health / leaky gut, as well as adrenal fatigue problems, both of which i have struggled with. Perhaps via increased inflamation, or any other mechanism
No idea about my adrenals, but like Caledonia I find that fish oil keeps the constant headache away, so long as I keep taking 2-3 grams per day. Presumably it's helping keep inflammation down a bit.

Also, when omega 3 goes up, it will help keep omega 6 lower, IIRC.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
No idea about my adrenals, but like Caledonia I find that fish oil keeps the constant headache away, so long as I keep taking 2-3 grams per day. Presumably it's helping keep inflammation down a bit.

Also, when omega 3 goes up, it will help keep omega 6 lower, IIRC.


Interesting, I am prescribed 3 grams of fish oil per day. I did not know it is good for headaches, but I do get fewer of them these days! Unless I get stressed out.

GG
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Omega-6 is generally considered pro-inflammatory. If you eat too much you could be causing problems. Omega-3 is generally considered anti-inflammatory. Adrenal fatigue will increase the rate at which omega-6 is made into inflammatory hormones. Its all got to do with regulation of arachidonic acid, which can be used to make series 2 eicosanoids.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
fish oil gummies

I have been having increasing problems with Omega-3 supplements. I started out taking liquid cod liver oil. After a while, it started to bother my digestive system. I switched to cod liver oil pills, which were fine for a while, then were a problem. Switched to krill oil and repeated.

Last month I found some fish oil “adult gummies”. I am now up to two a day at different meals without problem. I eat them half at a time to spread them through my food. The two gummies are only 220 mg fish oil and they are rather expensive, so not a perfect solution.
 

undcvr

Senior Member
Messages
822
Location
NYC
Cod Liver oil is not an Omega 3 supplement, it is from fish liver n it supplies Vitamin A and D with very little real omega 3 oils. You want a supplement that actually says Omega 3 and has a breakdown of the amounts of EPA and DHA on the label somewhere.
 

Mij

Messages
2,353
Hello all,
I had a fatty acid profile that showed severe deficiency of Omega 3s, and a huge excess of omega 6s. ( Quite extreme even compared to standard american levels)

I suspect this was due to a lack of omega 3 sources in my diet, coupled with eating a ton of omega 6 rich sunflower seeds. ( my fav snack, ate bags and bags of them all the time)

I am wondering if this could impact intestinal health / leaky gut, as well as adrenal fatigue problems, both of which i have struggled with. Perhaps via increased inflamation, or any other mechanism.

Has anyone seen adrenal benefit by reloading omega 3 levels?
Are certain types of omega 3s better tolerated?

Thanks
Jeff

My Omega 3 was also very deficient on my RBC Fatty acid test 10yrs ago. My Omega 6 was in normal range. I've been taking 2x/day Life Extension Super Omega 3. Totally improved my cognitive function within 6 months.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
caledonia Just wondering if it is possible to get TOO MUCH fish oil. I think it thins the blood. Could this be an issue? And how much is too much?

Yes, just like anything else, it's possible to take too much. At one point I was trying up to 3 tablespoons. That would be like 30? capsules a day. It made my neck veins feel really bizarre. Kind of a weird pressure - hard to describe.

I was taking 2 tablespoons regularly for a long time (back before I started adrenal support supps) and that wasn't too much. If I'm remembering correctly, once I started the adrenal stuff, then I got the neck vein thing again, so I backed off to 1-1/2 tsp.

Then I started methylation and got some more improvements in adrenals, so I'm at 1-1/4 tsp. This time I figured out the dose by muscle testing. I do more of that than trial and error these days (saves you from a lot of weird reactions).
 

South

Senior Member
Messages
466
Location
Southeastern United States
Cod Liver oil is not an Omega 3 supplement,
Well, although products labeled "cod liver oil" have less DHA and EPA (which are what Omega 3s are) than most products that are labeled "fish oil" have, most cod liver oil does have some DHA and EPA - the back of the label will usually spell out how many milligrams of these omega 3s are in that bottle.

For example: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/carl...ver-oil-lemon-16-9-fl-oz/cl-1776#.VlwXDb8lrRg

On any fish oil or cod liver oil product, the label numbers for EPA and DHA are the useful numbers to look for; these two numbers are the two Omega 3s that have been so widely studied for health benefits.

Products labeled "fish oil" often do have more milligrams of EPA and DHA listed on their label than products labeled "cod liver oil" do.

(I have 7 years working in a job related to the supplement industry - but what that taught me could have errors so if I find conflicting info to this I'll come back to change it)
 
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Messages
15,786
Well, although products labeled "cod liver oil" have less DHA and EPA (which are what Omega 3s are) than most products that are labeled "fish oil" have, most cod liver oil does have some DHA and EPA - the back of the label will usually spell out how many milligrams of these omega 3s are in that bottle.
I doubt it's possible to get a decent amount of omega 3 fatty acids from cod liver oil without also severely overdosing on Vitamin A.

It would be very irresponsible and inaccurate to suggest that cod liver oil is a suitable replacement for fish oil.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
I take an agal-sourced Omega-3. I haven't noticed any difference since I started it, but that is typical for me.
 

outdamnspot

Senior Member
Messages
924
Might be a bit of a stretch, but is it possible that Omega 3 consumption can *worsen* adrenal function? Flax oil seemed to lower cortisol for me, and I've read fish oil can do the same. I've been in a bad, prolonged crash lately and nothing seems to be improving it. I don't take any supplements right now, but I do ingest 3-4 tablespoons of chia seeds left to soak in water (forming a kind of gel) before bed. I'm wondering if that might be adversely affecting things in any way?