So is there a nonprescription alternative?
Herbalife was promoting this stuff 20 years ago.
In the US, only FDA approved drugs can actually be beneficial to people - Silly.
Follow the money to find each and every nonsensical thing congress pushes down our throats(or not in this case) in these United States.
The downside of this treatment for the U.S. medical industry would be that fish oil doesn't cost $250 a bottle.
Why doesn't the NY Times pack up its operations and move to Europe. I'm sure that its management and employees would be much more happy if that were the case. They could call it an extended vacation a la the French.
So, people aren't smart enough to know about EFA and they can't quite find a health food store where they can buy all the Omega 3 EFA capsules they need for next to nothing?
Fish oil has many benefits. In addition to the ones mentioned, it also helps alleviate dry eye, especially in post-menopausal women. The only thing bad about fish oil is it gives you oily hair and skin when taken in large quantities. The lower quality forms can also go rancid and taste fishy, so it pays to use the purified product.
Oh yea,
Magnesium and chromium picolinate supplements enhance the bodies ability to effect a healthy insulin response (reduces insulin resistance and improves insulin production). This can be used to help prevent Type 2 Diabetes.
The doctor who does my annual blood work began eating tuna too after he saw the change of before/after in my blood work.
Out-of-Body Experience? Your Brain Is to Blame
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
My cardiologist asked me to start taking Omega-3 fish oil capsules the second time I saw him. He's had me on them ever since, along with a compliment of prescription medications that I take for a specific health problem.
It's probably worth mentioning that my doc is one of the top cardiologists at the world famous Methodist Hospital in Houston. Which is sometimes referred to as "Dr. DeBakey's hospital," because of all the magnificent heart work he performed there well into his nineties.
Some people incorrectly assume that doctors at that level automatically reject any and all so-called alternative medicines, diet plans, vitamins, or exercise programs. Not my guy. He doesn't love all of them, nor does he rule all of them out.
Since it was such an odd case, I've made a point to visit some of the top cardiac medicine centers in the world - Stanford Hospital and The Cleveland Clinic. So I'm consulting with some smart, smart cookies.
At first, I was told to supplement my medicine regimine with fish oil pills. However, a bit over a year ago, a study came out that thought it would prove that fish oil pills taken by heart attack sufferers would reduce the risk of tachycardias occuring. But guess what - the study showed that it increased the risk of tachycardia. My top-level docs recommended I stop taking the fish oil right away.
(Tachycardia is the condition when the electrical signals in the heart don't come through clearly, and cause rapid heartbeat or complete electrical confusion. Tachycardias are a risk in heart-attack survivors, because the scar tissue they leave behind can cause electrical malfunctions.)
If it's not something that the drug companies can benefit from, it's not used in American hospitals. You can get terrific fish oil products at good supplement stores, along with Co-Enzyme-Q10, bee pollen, and flax oil. Add the usual Ester-C, B-complex, a little bit of (natural) E once in a while, and take aspirin-81 every other day and you'll feel like a million bucks. I also take an A&D ge-cap and a zinc lozenge once in a while. I cannot remember the last time I had a cold or was sick. Years.
Our entire family takes salmon oil daily. There is no reason not to. Our old dog gets it daily as well. It's great for her arthritis.
My kids' pediatrician didn't get the memo that she's not supposed to recommend fish oil. She has both my kids on it because "it's good for just about everything."
We use Carlson's lemon-flavored in the bottle since they can't swallow those huge capsules. Hubby and I take it, too.
personal bookmark and bump
Great discussions here as I am looking for alternatives to the meds I am on: Zestril, Norvasc, Toprol XL (all previous for HBP) & Zocor. Any FReeper thoughts welcomed...
marking
Apparently, some studies indicate omega-3 does help avoid fibrillations, but other studies show no such effect. What would be helpful would be to see the studies done in Europe that have convinced them.
It isn't always just the drug companies, you know. It may be the European studies have been no more definitive than the American ones.
I take omega-3 twice daily. It provides, after I researched it, a number of possible benefits. I do know that it smooths out mood, and my cholesterols have never moved out of the perfect range since I began taking it. But I also think that may not work for everyone.