alex3619
Senior Member
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- Logan, Queensland, Australia
It seems like my pain is worse in the last few months that I backed off fish oil, but it does make my sensitivity to light considerably worse. I wonder if it's due to the DHA (even though my 2010 nutrEval test showed low DHA levels)?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2666167/
Not sure if that study is applicable? @alex3619 ?
My quick take on this study, and I have yet to read the whole thing so may say more later, is that when mice are genetically modified to convert omega-6 to omega-3 they get more eye function issues, including physical degeneration. Omega-3s are very vulnerable to oxidative stress, and we have a bundle of that.
Too much omega-3 will distort tissue function, but its very hard to do. These mice were engineered to convert omega-6 to omega-3. What was their 6 to 3 ratio? What happens when most of the substrate for omega-6 based hormones are converted to omega-3? There might be massive hormone imbalance, which would be hard to detect. The name of these omega 3/6 hormones is eicosanoids, due to being made from 20 carbon fats.
Further, if oxidative stress mechanisms were not also enhanced, and they were not in this experiment, then the capacity to protect omega-3s from oxidative stress might not be sufficient. So damaged omega-3 might accumulate. This can lead to decreased omega-3 synthesis. So these poor mice might be making insufficient omega-6 eicosanoids, but still not enough omega-3 eicosanoids to compensate.
Omega-3s are best taken with natural vitamin E, and not alpha tocopherol. They are best taken in people with ME who are doing something about oxidative stress. I would actually recommend something be done about the antioxidant pentet, C, E, lipoic, glutathione and CoQ10. At the very least I would recommend more fruit (or vitamin C if you can't take fruit), E and CoQ10. Not in high doses though. Balance is more important than quantity in my view.
Methylation protocols are intended to boost glutathione, or NAC can be used.
The take-home message from this study is that balance is important, and so is oxidative stress.