Fish or fish oil?

[Guest guest]

Fish oil alone is fine for enriching n–3 FAs, and with virtually nil

exposuer to mercury, dioxin or other contaminants found in a fish. Of

course, you may forgo the other discovered and any other undiscovered

nutrients in a fish by relying on the oil pills alone (like i do. but

i'll take that risk)

Comparison of the effects of fish and fish-oil capsules on the n–3

fatty acid content of blood cells and plasma phospholipids1,2,3

S , V Pottala, A Sands and Philip G

1 From the Lipid and Diabetes Research Center, Saint Luke's Mid

America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO

Background: n–3 Fatty acids (FAs) have been shown to be beneficial for

cardiovascular health. Whether n–3 FAs from oily fish consumed weekly

or from fish-oil capsules taken daily are equally bioavailable is not

clear.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the rate and

extent of enrichment of blood cell membranes [ie, red blood cells

(RBCs)] and plasma phospholipids with n–3 FAs from these 2 sources.

Design: Healthy premenopausal female volunteers were randomly assigned

to consume a daily average of 485 mg eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and

docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids either from 2 servings of oily fish (ie,

salmon and albacore tuna) per week or from 1–2 capsules/d.

Results: After 16 wk, EPA+DHA in RBCs in the fish group (n = 11)

increased from 4.0 ± 0.6% of total FAs to 6.2 ± 1.4%, whereas it rose

from 4.3 ± 1.0% to 6.2 ± 1.4% in the capsule group (P < 0.0001 for

both; NS for group effect). Similar results were observed in plasma

phospholipids. EPA+DHA stabilized in the latter after 4 wk but

continued to rise through week 16 in RBCs. EPA in RBCs increased

significantly (P = 0.01) more rapidly in the fish group than in the

capsule group during the first 4 wk, but rates did not differ

significantly between groups thereafter. Total FA variances were less

in RBCs than in plasma phospholipids (P = 0.04).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the consumption of equal

amounts of EPA and DHA from oily fish on a weekly basis or from

fish-oil capsules on a daily basis is equally effective at enriching

blood lipids with n–3 FAs.