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I was taking the standard fish oil/flax seed oil supplements for about 15 months, and I never noticed that it made a difference. But I did notice that a couple of days after eating salmon, I'd have a "good eye day." This may have been merely coincidence, but I started researching omega-3 content in the actual fish vs. fish oil pills.
I apologize for not having the exact numbers, but I was taking 1600mg of "fish oil" a day, which contained about 1000mg of omega-3 fatty acids. A 3-4 ounce salmon filet contains more like 3000-4000mg of omega-3.
I asked my family doctor if there was any health-related reason I shouldn't start drinking cod liver oil every day, as I figured I'd be getting a lot more omega-3 in a tablespoon of cod liver oil than from the supplements.
And he introduced me to Lovaza. It is a prescription omega-3 that they give to heart patients to lower triglycerides. Each capsule contains "1000mg of omega-3-acid ethyl ester liquid concentrate consisting of at least 900mg omega-3-acid ethyl esters" (quote from the bottle). Each capsule gives you 465mg EPA ethyl ester and 375mg DHA ethyl ester.
I take the standard dose of two pills, twice daily, giving me about 4000mg/day of omega-3-acids. Oh, and they don't smell bad, give me fishy burps, or taste gross, either.
My ophthalmologist was excited when I told him about this, and, when he expressed some meibomian glands (previously clogged, clogged, clogged!), he said that they were a lot less clogged than before and "actually look pretty good" and "I guess your omega-3's are working."
I realize that the ethyl esters are slightly different than the omega-3s you get from fish oil pills or cod liver oil, but I don't know if the difference would prevent it from working.
My eyes have improved substantially over the last few months (I've been taking it for 2 months), but that could be due to a variety of factors, not just these pills. But I believe they are one piece of the puzzle, at least for me.
Teri
I apologize for not having the exact numbers, but I was taking 1600mg of "fish oil" a day, which contained about 1000mg of omega-3 fatty acids. A 3-4 ounce salmon filet contains more like 3000-4000mg of omega-3.
I asked my family doctor if there was any health-related reason I shouldn't start drinking cod liver oil every day, as I figured I'd be getting a lot more omega-3 in a tablespoon of cod liver oil than from the supplements.
And he introduced me to Lovaza. It is a prescription omega-3 that they give to heart patients to lower triglycerides. Each capsule contains "1000mg of omega-3-acid ethyl ester liquid concentrate consisting of at least 900mg omega-3-acid ethyl esters" (quote from the bottle). Each capsule gives you 465mg EPA ethyl ester and 375mg DHA ethyl ester.
I take the standard dose of two pills, twice daily, giving me about 4000mg/day of omega-3-acids. Oh, and they don't smell bad, give me fishy burps, or taste gross, either.
My ophthalmologist was excited when I told him about this, and, when he expressed some meibomian glands (previously clogged, clogged, clogged!), he said that they were a lot less clogged than before and "actually look pretty good" and "I guess your omega-3's are working."
I realize that the ethyl esters are slightly different than the omega-3s you get from fish oil pills or cod liver oil, but I don't know if the difference would prevent it from working.
My eyes have improved substantially over the last few months (I've been taking it for 2 months), but that could be due to a variety of factors, not just these pills. But I believe they are one piece of the puzzle, at least for me.
Teri