Oil vs Capsules...

Hi to all,

Is there any benefit to one or the other???
I’m talking about fat oils such as salmon fish oil, flaxseed…
Just seeing which is better…or same…

Some recommendations seem to be a tablespoon of salmon oil with some meals, i think a table spoon is around 15ml??? so would i be able to use capsules for that?? sounds weird to slam down 15 capsules when the recommended daily dose is quite a bit lower…

Thanks!

I’ve never heard of any products recommending 1 TBS of fish oil. It’s always 1 teaspoon as one serving. For flaxoil, it’s always 1 TBS as one serving. I use Carlson’s fish oil liquid so I take one tsp 3 times a day which is 3g of epa/dha total. Liquid is always cheaper than capsules though…

[quote]dinodino wrote:
Hi to all,

Is there any benefit to one or the other???
I’m talking about fat oils such as salmon fish oil, flaxseed…
Just seeing which is better…or same…

Some recommendations seem to be a tablespoon of salmon oil with some meals, i think a table spoon is around 15ml??? so would i be able to use capsules for that?? sounds weird to slam down 15 capsules when the recommended daily dose is quite a bit lower…

Thanks![/quote]

Capsules are not recommended, because of rancidity issue. They’re for those that can’t taste oil or need to travel and want to continue supplementing.

[quote]Tungsten wrote:
I’ve never heard of any products recommending 1 TBS of fish oil. It’s always 1 teaspoon as one serving. For flaxoil, it’s always 1 TBS as one serving. I use Carlson’s fish oil liquid so I take one tsp 3 times a day which is 3g of epa/dha total. Liquid is always cheaper than capsules though…[/quote]

what i’m saying some of the diets recommended on here says table spoon serving along with meal…

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460716

Dino, it’s just a matter of personal preference. As Yustas said, some people can’t stand the taste of flaxseed oil or fish oil. If you fall into that category, you’ll just have to pay the higher price of taking encapsulated fatty acids. Liquid is significantly cheaper. Capsules are convenient when traveling, though.

Personal preferences aside, what you need to be doing is deciding how much fat you need in your diet. Bulking or cutting, .4g to .5g x LBM is about what you need. Some people manipulate the ratio or percentage of calories that come from fat, sometimes going down as low as 15% of calories or (safely) up to 30% of calories.

The trick with fat is to stay away from the bad fat (transfatty acids, fried foods, hydrogenated oils) and ADD IN the good fat. We’re talking avocados, raw nuts, expeller pressed oils, flaxseed oil, olive oil, fish oil high in measurable amounts of EPA & DHA.

Don’t worry about whether it’s measured in tablespoons or capsules. Get a handle on your diet and decide how many grams of fat you need (or want to take in) per day, and then make sure it’s from good/quality sources.

Does that help? Or was it just information overload? (grin)

What is a good brand of fish oil, and where can I purchase it online? I heard that you have to watch fish oil, it can become rancid quick, especially if you purchase a cheap brand.

Blaiser, there are a number of good brands. I like Health from the Sun’s product, Ultra Omega 3 and get it at iHerb. I buy liquid, but they have capsules, too. I refrigerate my fish oil, too.

I make up a batch of tuna fish with mayo, spoon out a couple of heaping tablespoons and add my fish oil to it. That way I hardly notice the fishy taste.

Re rancidity, all you have to do open a capsule with a pin and squeeze it into a spoon. If it smells bad/rancid, I’d return it for a different brand, a different batch, or for a bottle where the expiration date is farther out.

[quote]Tampa-Terry wrote:
Dino, it’s just a matter of personal preference. As Yustas said, some people can’t stand the taste of flaxseed oil or fish oil. If you fall into that category, you’ll just have to pay the higher price of taking encapsulated fatty acids. Liquid is significantly cheaper. Capsules are convenient when traveling, though.

Personal preferences aside, what you need to be doing is deciding how much fat you need in your diet. Bulking or cutting, .4g to .5g x LBM is about what you need. Some people manipulate the ratio or percentage of calories that come from fat, sometimes going down as low as 15% of calories or (safely) up to 30% of calories.

The trick with fat is to stay away from the bad fat (transfatty acids, fried foods, hydrogenated oils) and ADD IN the good fat. We’re talking avocados, raw nuts, expeller pressed oils, flaxseed oil, olive oil, fish oil high in measurable amounts of EPA & DHA.

Don’t worry about whether it’s measured in tablespoons or capsules. Get a handle on your diet and decide how many grams of fat you need (or want to take in) per day, and then make sure it’s from good/quality sources.

Does that help? Or was it just information overload? (grin)[/quote]

No it wasnt overload…haha thanks for the info!
i guess my only concern was if downing so man y capsules would have any bad effects…(10 at a time for 10g)!!!
aside from fat food sources

Dino, if you were 200 pounds (just picking a number, here), that would mean that your fat REQUIREMENTS were 80g to 100g per day. Fat is required for health, for brain functin, and to make hormones. T levels drop if you don’t get enough fat.

So I know what you’re saying about all those capsules. But 10g is not a lot. Try the liquid sometime. If you’re worried about the taste, I bet you flaxseed oil would taste great mixed with peanut butter. (grin)

[quote]Tampa-Terry wrote:
Dino, if you were 200 pounds (just picking a number, here), that would mean that your fat REQUIREMENTS were 80g to 100g per day. Fat is required for health, for brain functin, and to make hormones. T levels drop if you don’t get enough fat.

So I know what you’re saying about all those capsules. But 10g is not a lot. Try the liquid sometime. If you’re worried about the taste, I bet you flaxseed oil would taste great mixed with peanut butter. (grin)

[/quote]

Aight thanks, so basically one table spooon or 15 capsules at a time no diff to health to health, all i needed to know, thanks!

[quote]Tampa-Terry wrote:
Blaiser, there are a number of good brands. I like Health from the Sun’s product, Ultra Omega 3 and get it at iHerb. I buy liquid, but they have capsules, too. I refrigerate my fish oil, too.
[/quote]

You use the health from the sun, the liquid fish oil? It is dirt cheap but I wondered about the taste. I use Carlson’s and it tastes pretty good. Someone once posted about trying both and liked Carlson’s much better for the taste. You gotta have to admit it, why is health from the sun so cheap? Do they use different less effective processing? and so on…

Tungsten

I have heard Health From the Sun makes good products. Check out NOW Omega 3 Fish Oil Liquid. It gives the same statement that Carlson gives with it’s fish oil. “This natural LEMON FLAVORED fish oil is molecularly distilled and manufactured in Norway under strict quality control standards. It is screened for the absence of potentially harmful levels of contaminants (i.e. mercury, heavy metals, PCB’s dioxins, and other contaminants).” I just placed an order from Netrition for both oils (Health from the Sun and NOW)

Berardi recommends Fisol. I have been using them for the fish oil (caps). It comes with a special coating that doesn’t dissolve until they reach your intestine for better absorption and no regurgitated aftertaste. I can’t vouch for the absorbtion, but there is no “aftertaste” like I have experienced with others. I use Udo’s oil for the other EFA’s.

Let me go on the records as saying that I’m a huge advocate of the Omega-3’s, and I get 1 tablesepoon of it in the winter from Carlson’s Cod Liver Oil and 1 tablespoon from HEalth from the Sun’s Total EFA’s, daily. I also consume some milled falx seeds with my protein shake daily. I think if you mix the oils in your protein shake, you don;t really even taste the oils. I figure with the PowerButter, which I love, and all of the obove, I’m taking in about 15,000 to 20,000 mg of Omega 3’s per day. Works for me.

Nick

I’ve been using Carlson’s lemon flavored Cod Liver and Fish Oils. The taste is very pleasant; I never have the fish burps I’ve experienced from some of the capsules. My two sons, 4 and 2, even take the Carlson’s and often will ask for more.

This company sells Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Oil capsules over the internet, but they aint cheap.

Hey, Tungsten. I generally put quality over price when it comes to making purchasing decisions. When I was searching for a fish oil supp, I wanted something that had (high) measurable amounts of EPA & DHA, and I also wanted something that was molecularly distilled to remove mercury, PCBs, DDT, etc. Health From the Sun met those two criteria.

Taste? Well, it does taste fishy, (smiling), which is why I mix it with my tuna fish. It’s not a bad fishy taste. It’s about as fishy tasting as my tuna, which is why I mix the two.

Carlson’s is a good brand, though. Nothing wrong with sticking with (and recommending) what you know and love.

Hey Tampa Terry - Great stuff in this thread. Quesion for you though. I recently bought Carlson Cod Liver Oil (1000 mg per capsule) by mistake. I noticed that it has Vitamin D, along with the GOOD fats. My question is; is it safe to take that much Vitamin D - 250 IU per capsule. If I were to have 10g that would be 2500 IU of Vitamin D. I know that Vit D is fat soluable and NOT water soluable so can I proceed with supplementing with these, or should I just go with the Flax or regular fish oil instead??? Thanks in advance for your help!!

Andy

Thanks TT. I probably can tolerate Health from the Sun since I eat canned salmon. As for the kids, I’d go with Carlson’s! :slight_smile:

Tungsten, since I know you’ll appreciate this more than most, I’ll share what I learned on my conference call with Udo Erasmus today.

I specifically asked him about fish oil, about molecular distillation and about people’s ability to convert ALA (Omega 3s) to DHA and EPA.

I already knew that if everything is optimal 25 to 33% of ALA is converted to DHA & EPA. That’s why we supplement with fish oil, just in case there are defects in fatty acid metabolism (specifically in different enzymatic steps).

Udo said that defects in fatty acid metabolism are due to DIET, not genetics!

Things that enhance the conversion of ALA to DHA & EPA.

  • A high Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio
  • Phytosterols
  • GLA
  • Phytoestrogens

All of the above are included in Udo’s Choice. In addition a high ratio of protein to carbohydrate intake is supportive of DHA & EPA synthesis, along with a few vitamin and mineral cofactors.

Udo’s advice was to make sure the above EFA requirements were met (1 tablespoon per 25 kg or 50 pounds) and from there to assess. In some case the therapeutic goal might be improvement of ADD/ADHD or inflammation, cardiovascular risk factors or even energy levels, endurance, recovery as it relates to athletic performance. If the therapeutic or performance goals haven’t been fully met, from there, he recommends adding/using a small amount of fish oil and reassessing again.

It seems that at about 5g (don’t know whether this is EPA & DHA combined or 5g of fish oil), fish oil has a PRO-inflammatory response in people who are under high levels of oxidative stress. Between you and me, I’m thinking athletes and marathon runners.

Udo does not currently recommend fish oil supplementation because fish oil is bleached and deodorized and molecularly distilled (taken to VERY high temperatures for short periods of time). It seems that EPA & DHA are even more fragile and delicate than Omega 3s.

Udo told me he’s been doing research on fish oil and hopes to find a brand that is processed in such a way that he can recommend it. I asked him time frame, and he told me he should know in the next six months and would report his findings on his web site.

My plan, based on what I learned on the conference call is to switch back to Udo’s Choice, taking 1 tablespoon per 25Kg (55 pounds, to be precise) and reducing my fish oil to 1 tablespoon pre day (4g of EPA & DHA) until I use up what I have left.

Advocate of fish oil supplementation that I’ve been, I’m going to hold off and wait to see what he recommends.

Andy, you have nothing to worry about. In a recent case of Vitamin D toxicity described in the literature, a man recovered uneventfully after taking a supplement every day for two years that contained 156,000 IUs of Vitamin D.

Enjoy your Carlson’s. No need to worry about overdoing the Vitamin D. Actually your body can make about 25,000 IU with brief exposure to the sun – sunlight being another source of Vitamin D.