Fish oil is oil expressed from the bodies of whole fish. It is rich in eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexanoic acid, better known as EPA and DHA. While everyone from the American Health Association to the Mayo Clinic recognizes that these omega-3s seem to be beneficial when you get them from eating fish, they also acknowledge that they can be obtained from fish oil.
Triglycerides
The American Heart Association recommends that people with high triglycerides consume 2 to 4 g of EPA and DHA per day, in the form of capsules and under a physician's care. This recommendation is based upon the many studies showing that fish oil is beneficial for patients with high triglycerides. Typical of these studies is one published in the February 2011 issue of the "American Journal for Clinical Nutrition" that showed that 3.4 g per day of EPA and DHA significantly lowered triglycerides.
Kidney Disease
Ever since 1999, when researchers at the Mayo Clinic published a study showing that long-term use of high-dose fish oil retarded the progression of IgA nephropathy, nephrologists have been debating the value of fish oil. Even though the jury is still out on this subject, many nephrologists recommend fish oil because the risk of harm is relatively low and no curative treatments are available. Medline Plus cautiously rates fish oil as "possibly effective" for treatment of kidney disease.
Ineffective Uses
Medline Plus reports there is insufficient evidence to support a finding that fish oil is helpful in treating allergies, Alzheimer's, dermatitis, depression, cancer, cataracts, Crohn's disease and a long list of other disorders. Research in these areas is either conflicting or scant. It further reports that fish oil is "likely ineffective" for the treatment of gingivitis, liver disease, migraines and breast pain.
Warning
Don't confuse fish oil with cod liver oil. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 tbsp. of cod liver oil has 13,600 IU of vitamin A. This is far in excess of the 3,000 IU required by men and the 2,333 IU required by women every day. If cod liver oil were taken in doses customarily used for fish oil, vitamin A toxicity would soon result.
References
- U.S Department of Agriculture: Nutrient Data Laboratory
- Foundation for IgA Nephropathy: Fish Oil
- "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology"; The Long-Term Outcome of Patients with IgA Nephropathy Treated with Fish Oil in a Controlled Trial; J.V. Donadio, et al.; August, 1999
- MayoClinic.com: Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Fish Oil, Alpha-Linolenic Acid
- "American Journal for Clinical Nutrition"; Dose-Response Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Triglycerides; A.C. Skulas-Ray; Feb. 2011
- National KIdney Foundation: Renal Fellow Network
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