Oil confusion??

[Mawsky]

Hi all, ok so now I'm really confused, I started on fish oil, and evening primrose oil, and have just bought some flax seed oil, I have read that some take the uncapsuled flavored kind, is this better? Is it ok to take the capsules, it doesn't make sense to me that one would be better than the other, but now not sure. I purchased megamint fish oil gel caps that say you can chew them or swallow, is it really better to open the caps? Any info would be great, thanks

[PotatoCakes]

I can't imagine why one would want to chew fish oil capsules, blech. But I'm guessing the mint part of megamint cuts down on some of the unpleasant side effects that some people experience with fish oil capsules, like burping, etc. If that's not a problem you have, you probably don't need to spend the extra money for flavored fish oil. Since you've purchased some, try them out and compare them to the regular kind of fish oil and see if you have a preference. If not, use them up and stick with the cheaper kind. If you like the flavored ones better, they may be worth the extra money.

[MaryVa61]

Hi there Mawsky. I've thought about your question as far as why it's helped me more. I don't think it's necessarily that taking liquid rather than caps is more effective if you're taking the same total amount of the various types of Omegas per day. I think I had more luck with this Omega Swirl than the 3 brands of supplement mixtures for eyes because of a few reasons, as follows.

Some of the caps I'd tried all had a lot of other stuff mixed in, which I was afraid of getting too much of if I took the dose I thought I'd need of the Omega's based on my scouring this site and other web info and my weight. So I only took the amount recommended on the bottle or even less (due to expense). When I took just oil caps, with no other stuff mixed in, I had burping even if with products that didn't taste fishy. My current liquid doesn't cause me any burping.

Due to expense, and doctor's suggestions that you don't really need as much as is recommended on the bottle, I tended to try to get away with less than the bottle said to take of the caps when what I really needed was more than the amount recommended on the bottle (at my current weight). But with the liquid I'm very aware that the stuff is only at full effect for 8 weeks after opening it (and stored in fridge), and I don't want to waste it unecessarily, so I go by the amount I calculated is best to take rather than trying to skimp and stretch it out.

I also tended to take less than the amount of caps I really needed because that # of caps would overfill my pillbox so it wouldn't shut and it just felt creepy to take so many "pills". I know how ridiculous that sounds. But psychologically (and for pillbox size and for my swallowing problems) it's far easier to take a tablespoon of the liquid once or twice per day.

And the liquid I take now has been through some kind of process that is supposed to make it more bio-available, but not all lliquids are and maybe some gelcaps are put through a similar process. I'm not sure.

So the final verdict for me is: I'm pretty wimpy, obviously, about not wanting to take lots of "pills" (since I have many for other disorders), have some difficulty swallowing big gelcaps, don't like the burping or fishy taste of others I'd tried, am afraid to take high enough doses of the oils if there are other nutrients added in the complex, and I have a strong gag reflex so I can't get something bad tasting down, and I need a product that's very time-limited so I don't try to take less than recommended in order to save money. So I'm more compliant with my Omega Swirl than I've ever been with any of the Omega eye supplements complexes I'd tried. That may not be a problem for others.

So if you stick to the daily dose you need, the caps may work really well for you. If they don't, then try a different brand or form. It can take some experimentation. From my experience, it's worthwhile. I have no more mucus (which I never dreamed possible), no more of those nasty mucus threads or filaments, use the OASIS drops far less often (which saves some money too!) and instead of a daily humidifier I use that only every 3 or 4 days now in the evening after work. I still use Refresh PM, which works, at bedtime but I think I'm going to try the Tranquileyes soon. I no longer feel like my eyes are going to drive me mad! If not for some things I read on this site, I may have given up the expirementing but people here motivated me to keep trying the oils/omegas.