Usually, when people start taking fish oil supplements, they concentrate on health benefits and the quality of the product. At some point they start wondering how much is too much fish oil. This article will touch on these three topics.
The reason that everyone is taking fish oil supplements is because of the omega 3 fatty acid content in it. When deciding on a practical dose of fish oil, what we really are doing is estimating how much omega 3 we need. That is what affects our body. The oil itself is not a big concern.
Regarding the omega 3 fats, several studies have been made on different Eskimo cultures. The first was in Greenland during the1970s. The most recent was on Eskimos in Alaska. There were two things they had in common.
1] Neither group had much heart disease, visual problems or even depression. Issues like arthritis and other joint deterioration problems were almost unknown.
2] Both groups set the standard for too much fish oil consumption. They had very high levels of omega 3 in their blood. Despite their high fat diets, they also had very healthy cholesterol levels.
To put this in more perspective, the Eskimos diets were probably around 8-12 grams per day of omega 3. That would mean that you would have to take about 25 capsules per day of a typical supplement to reach these levels. I am not aware of anyone that does this.
Last year there was a significant review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefits of the fatty acids came from four randomized controlled trials with fish oil omega 3, which involved around 40,000 participants.
The researchers were not worried about too much fish oil. They were concerned about too little. The scientists stated that the best results came with a minimum intake of 500mg per day [two typical supplement capsules] for healthy individuals and 1000mg or 1 gram [three-to-four capsules] for people with known heart disease.
A question that is often asked is how much omega 3 do we get from food? If you are a typical Westerner you would be lucky if your diet contains 100-200mg per day. If you are not using supplementation then you probably have an omega 3 deficiency. Welcome to the club. Nutritionists estimate that 90% of Westerners have this problem.
In conclusion, 500mg should be a minimum dose each day. The upper limit, according to the FDA is higher. Taking too much fish oil in their opinion is something over 3-4 grams per day. Two grams works for me. Whatever you do, be consistent. Do not skip a day and then overload the next day.
My website can help with picking a quality supplement.
Author Resource:
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