Q: I heard Kelly (from “Live with Regis and Kelly”) talk about forcing her children to take fish oil supplements and was upset that one of them had lied about taking them. That prompted me to go looking for the latest research or health dialogue concerning omega-3. I thought I might find more fad information out there given Kelly is a very trendy person and likely picked this supplementation idea up from a trend. As one might expect, I prefer to follow advice sourced from academic circles, so I was satisfied with the report I found issued by UC Berkeley in its Wellness Letter. Of particular interest to you might be the last side effect listed when consuming large quantities of fish oil. "Large doses of fish oil can also increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, suppress the immune system, and decrease glucose control in people with diabetes." Dr. Sears, I am now very concerned for my health due to heavy supplementation with fish oil (14 capsules a day). Can you kindly shed some light on this latest study?
A: The hemorrhagic stroke only occurs in Eskimos who have an AA/EPA of less than 0.5. If you are taking 14 capsules per day that would be about 8 grams of ultra-refined EPA/DHA or about 4 grams of a typical health-food-grade fish oil. In our clinical studies, neither of those doses would lower the AA/EPA to 1.5, which is that found in the Japanese population. The potential suppression of the immune system will only occur if the AA/EPA is less than 0.7 Relative to the decrease in glycemic control, the data state clearly that 3 grams of EPA and DHA per day have no adverse effect. Many of the side effects reported in the wellness letter are caused by poor-quality fish oil. As long as high-quality, ultra-refined EPA/DHA concentrates are being used, I would not be concerned.