Monday, September 9, 2013

Poison Ivy, Sumac, etc

Poison Ivy Remedies
(& Poison Oak / Sumac)

Poison Ivy Remedies page - link navigation:

(Clicking on the links below will take you farther down this page to that particular section.)

Poison Ivy Remedies

When to Use Natural Remedies

Poison Ivy remedies also work on poison Oak and Sumac because the cause of the reaction is from the same thing – an oil called Urushiol (pronounced "you-ROO-shee-ol").

The oil is an allergen, not an actual poison. It causes rashes and blisters on the skin to those who are allergic to it but anyone can get an allergy to it at any time, even if you've never had a problem before.

It has to do with how much you're exposed to it – the more exposure, the more likely you'll have a reaction.

The first thing you'll want to do in all cases before using Poison Ivy remedies is wash the oil off of your skin and anything else that may have come in contact with the oil. Any kind of soap or solvent will work fine.

The faster you wash it off, the better! Sometimes the oil will absorb into your skin and bond with your proteins in as little as 3 minutes (although some people say it takes at least 30 minutes).

Once the Urushiol bonds to the protein molecules in your skin, it can't be washed off – you just have to wait and see if you have a reaction.

If you have inhaled the smoke from burning poison ivy, oak or sumac, go to the doctor right away! Also go to the doctor immediately if it's been eaten. In either of those cases, natural remedies will not be effective.

List of Natural Remedies that Treat this Condition

(Clicking on the underlined name of the remedy below will take you to the page that tells you specifically how to use it for this condition. It will open a new window.)

  • Baking Soda - Make a paste out of baking soda (preferably aluminum free baking soda) by adding a little water until it becomes thick enough to apply to the area evenly but without being watery. Some have also used vinegar instead of water or both vinegar and water in the baking soda. Keep applying the paste as often as needed to help relieve the itching.
  • Milkweed Sap - Some people swear by this poison ivy remedy. Take the sap of a milkweed plant and rub it on the rashes. It will still itch for about 15 minutes but after that, it's been reported that a full night of itch-less sleep can be had and that the rashes are significantly reduced by morning.
  • Oatmeal - This is one of the most common poison ivy remedies. Cook up some oatmeal, but make sure it's a thick paste, not runny. Let it cool enough that you don't scald yourself, but keep it as warm or hot as you can tolerate it. If you like, you can add vinegar and baking soda to the mixture to add that extra anti-itching benefit. (Just be careful not to make it too runny!) Apply the mixture to your poison ivy rashes and cover with a towel or cloth wrap of some kind. Repeat as often as necessary. This should help relieve the itching.
  • Oatmeal Baths - To make an oatmeal bath to soak the itching away, you'll need about 1/3 cup of powdered oatmeal. You can make your own using a blender or coffee grinder, or buy it already powdered online or at the local drug store. To make sure the powder is fine enough, put a little in a glass of water an stir it up. The result should be a milky white water that's smooth in texture. Run the bath as warm as you can tolerate, add the oatmeal powder, and relax. To make this poison ivy remedy even more effective, add 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.
  • Tea Tree Oil (Melaluca Oil) - Numerous accounts have stated that Tea Tree oil works wonders to relieve the itching and rash of Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac almost immediately. Using a cotton ball, you can use it diluted in a little water or not (whatever you can tolerate) and dab it on your rashes every two hours or so. Some people find their rashes clearing up within a day or two.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac are the same – it starts with horrible itching, and then progresses to rashes and sometimes even blisters and swelling on the skin.

This usually happens in 24 to 48 hours after contact with the plant sap. There are those few people that can have a severe reaction however – usually within 4 to 12 hours – their eyes might swell shut and blisters will begin to form right away in addition to the other symptoms.

These people need to be taken to the emergency room immediately! No poison ivy remedy will be quick enough to help that severe of a reaction.

There are reports of those who don't have a reaction for up to 14 days after being in contact with the plants.

Of the people who are allergic to these plants, only about 15% might have a reaction severe enough to need emergency medical attention.

Causes

As stated in other sections, the cause of the itchy rashes from Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac are from a sap in the plants called Urushiol (you-ROO-shee-ol). This oily sap is in every part of the plant – leaf, stem and root – and will only hurt you if you are allergic to it.

Unfortunately, between 50 to 80% of the population of North America is allergic to it. These plants grow mostly in the US and Canada and look like this (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Poison Ivy Remedies

Poison Ivy

Poison Oak Remedies

Poison Oak

Poison Sumac Remedies

Poison Sumac

There is a saying: "Leaves of 3 – let it be!", but as you can see, that will not work for Poison Sumac. Sumac can have leave bunches in any number.

But all of these plants are fragile and will break easily exposing the sap. Even if the plant is dead, it will still have Urushiol on it. You can get the sap on you from anything that's touched it like tools, animal fur, clothing, etc.

You can also become exposed through the burning of these plants by inhaling the smoke. Urushiol is so potent in fact, that an amount the size of the head of a pin can cause an allergic reaction in 500 people.

Even Urushiol that's hundreds of years old can cause reactions in those who are really sensitive!

In spite of some old myths about Poison Ivy, breaking the blisters or itching the rashes does not spread the poison to other parts of the body or to other people. (Although scratching too much will cause bleeding and maybe scarring.)

The only way to spread Urushiol is if the oily sap is still on your skin. Once it binds to your protein molecules, it doesn't spread.

Nutritional and Dietary Support

In addition to natural Poison Ivy remedies, there has been anecdotal evidence that those who eat a lot of raw honey or raw bee pollen as part of their regular diet or supplementation can develop an immunity to Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac.

Additional Actions You Can Take

Additional support to natural Poison Ivy remedies is:

  • Very hot water can help relieve the itching temporarily
  • Some people have said that ice packs on a rash will relive itching and burning
  • In those rare cases that your reaction is severe, please go to the emergency room to receive emergency care – although not a "natural remedy", it can save your life if you are hyper-allergic to Urushiol.

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Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Benefits of Adding Minerals to your Diet

The Benefits of Minerals in Your Body

I've learned a lot about the benefits of minerals over the last year or so. I'm sure you've heard from a lot of people that we all need minerals in our diet, but I've noticed that no one seems to say what kind of minerals we need.

Benefits of Minerals

Notice I said "what kind" of minerals, not "which ones" (we actually need all of them in balance).

The biggest thing I found missing when I was researching this for my own health was that almost no one talked about the difference between organic and inorganic minerals.

This goes for trace elements too, like copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum, etc. - They are all very important.

What's the Difference?

Inorganic minerals are what you find in the ground and in salt.

So many people are recommending using sea salt or Himalayan salt for mineral intake. That's not where our bodies are going to get most of their minerals.

We do need salt in our diet, but the best sodium we can get is the kind that has already been converted into organic salts - and...

Guess what's amazing at converting inorganic minerals and trace elements into organic ones...?

Plants.

Organic Minerals

It makes perfect sense. Plants take up inorganic minerals from the soil and convert them into organic minerals by attaching a carbon atom.

Here's the amazing thing. When you try to fertilize a plant with organic minerals like what's commonly used in organic farming (I've noticed that using sea kelp and manure is a common practice these days) the poor plant cannot absorb it directly, just like we can't absorb inorganic minerals.

So in order for the plant to absorb any minerals from what you gave it, it has to wait for microbes in the soil to convert the organic minerals into inorganic minerals.

This process uses up some of the minerals and elements and is much less efficient than just fertilizing with inorganic minerals to start with. It also upsets the balance of what's available to the plant. (We use a sea water solution - you can find out more about it by clicking here.)

This amazing relationship between plant and human is quite simple. We need minerals that are organic, they need the inorganic ones. They convert these inorganic minerals into organic minerals and then we eat them.

The Benefits of Minerals in Your Diet

Minerals and trace elements are used by the body for every single process.

Yes, for Everything.

There are trillions of processes going on at any given moment. Every chemical reaction, every electrical pulse, every thought you have and every cell in your body must use minerals and trace elements in order to function.

When your body isn't getting the benefits of minerals from what you eat and drink, it gets them from somewhere in the body. It has to, or you would die.

The best place to steal minerals from is your bones, but wherever it can get them, it will.

This starts a cascade of imbalance that leads to things like Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, allergies, skin conditions and any other condition that's considered common these days.

Getting Enough...

In order to get the benefits of minerals in your diet, you need to either:

  • Eat (or juice) a lot of vegetables everyday, especially the green leafy ones. They need to be organically grown without chemicals of any kind AND they must have been grown in soil or water that has every available mineral available to it.

---Side Note---

A plant will grow and fruit on a lot fewer minerals than it has the ability to take up, but you'll know when there aren't very many minerals and trace elements in what you're eating because it'll be flavorless - like eating cardboard.

---Side Note---

OR

  • You can grow and juice your own wheat grass, barley grass etc. These grasses actually pick up more than 90 minerals and trace elements if they're available to the plant to begin with. Sea kelp only picks up around 60 in comparison to wheat grass.

We chose the second option for a couple of reasons. First - it's less expensive to hydroponically grow your own wheatgrass, and it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. (Check out our growing operation by clicking here.)

Second - we know what we're putting in it - meaning we know what we're using as fertilizer, and we know we're growing it without chemicals. There's no doubt that it's healthy. We know we're getting all of the benefits of minerals that we can.

If you'd like to see what it takes to grow and juice your own wheatgrass, check out this page to see what we've been doing.

If you've already gathered all the supplies you need to grow wheatgrass, click here for the instructions page.

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Natural Remedies for Depression

Natural Remedies for Depression

Natural Remedies for Depression page - link navigation:
(Clicking on the links below will take you farther down this page to that particular section.)
Natural Remedies for Depression

When to Use Natural Remedies

There are nearly 20 million people who suffer from depression every year and many don't even get diagnosed. The thing about depression is that even though you may think you have it, you really must get a diagnoses from a qualified health practitioner. This is one case where seeing both a conventional doctor/psychiatrist and a holistic health practitioner would be a good idea.
There are many natural remedies for depression, some are used in combination with each other, and there may be times where the short term use of a pharmaceutical can help as well. You can see that this can get complicated however.
True depression (versus just feeling a bit down) can be a complicated problem to diagnose and can be caused by many different kinds of imbalances in the body that were brought on by any number of different triggers.
If your conventional doctor/psychiatrist just writes you a prescription for some common anti-depressant, find another doctor. You don't want to be on long term pharmaceutical medication for any reason - the side effects are too deadly in the long run, and this medication only treats the symptoms, it doesn't cure the imbalance that's causing the symptoms.
Use natural remedies for depression:
  1. When you know that you have issues with pharmaceuticals
  2. When you've already tried different pharmaceuticals and they didn't work
  3. When your health practitioner is confident that natural remedies for depression will work for you
  4. When you really want to cure your depression instead of just treating the symptoms.
It's worth repeating that you need to work with a professional when it comes to depression, please don't try to treat this on your own.

List of Natural Remedies that Treat this Condition

(Clicking on the underlined name of the remedy below will take you the page that tells you specifically how to use it for this condition. It will open a new window.)
  • 5-HTP - If you aren't currently taking anti-depressants, you might want to consider a 5-HTP supplement. This compound is made naturally in the body and is the precursor to Serotonin which is one of the hormones that makes us happy.
  • Flax Seed
  • Omega 3's
  • SAM-e - (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is a compound that is naturally found in the body that increases the hormones Serotonin and Dopamine. You can buy it as a supplement - just make sure it's enterically coated so it makes it through the stomach intact.
  • St. John's Wort - For mild or moderate depression, studies have shown that St. John's Wort is effective. This natural remedy is one that takes 4 to 6 weeks before you start seeing a difference in your mood, so you have to stick with it. In some people, it can also cause a few side effects like dry mouth, fatigue, indigestion and dizziness, so you may only really want to try this one when other natural remedies for depression are ineffective.
  • Vitamin B (Folic Acid and B6) - Studies have found that people who are often depressed are very low in Folic Acid. Vitamin B6 is used in the body to make Serotonin and Dopamine, the mood enhancing hormones.
  • Vitamin D

Symptoms

We all get sad or depressed once in a while, it's all part of being human. It's when being depressed becomes your 'status quo' that it becomes a problem. Depression becomes a serious issue if you feel overwhelmed by it, it lasts for a long time (more than a few weeks), or when it starts to interfere with your regular activities.
Some of the symptoms of depression include:
  • Fatigue and lack of energy
  • Feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and/or worthlessness
  • Feeling helpless
  • Changes in sleep patterns such as insomnia or sleeping too much
  • Loss of interest in things you used to like - hobbies, outings, being with friends and loved ones
  • Decreased sexual drive
  • Overeating or lack of appetite
  • Feeling empty and/or anxious
  • Restlessness and irritability
  • Physical aches and pains, digestive problems, muscle cramps
  • Suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide
Again, keep in mind that some of these symptoms are felt by most people occasionally. It's only when you're feeling these things all the time for more than a few weeks and nothing anyone tries is helping.
The scariest part of depression is the potential for suicide. Here is a list of common "red flags" that might indicate someone is wanting to commit suicide:
  • A sudden switch from being very sad to being very calm or appearing to be happy
  • Always talking or thinking about death
  • Clinical depression (deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating) that gets worse
  • Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death, such as driving through red lights
  • Losing interest in things one used to care about
  • Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless
  • Putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will
  • Saying things like "It would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"
  • Talking about suicide (killing one's self)
  • Visiting or calling people one cares about
(List from WebMD)
If you notice these kinds of things in yourself or someone you know, please call the Suicide Hotline at:
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
If you can't remember the number, call 911 and they'll guide you in the right direction.

Causes

If you were to do a search for the causes of depression, or even if you were to ask your doctor, you would likely find that the answers you get are things like:
  • Traumatic events (past or present)
  • Genetics
  • Chronic health conditions
  • Excessive stress
  • Medication and substance abuse
  • Parasites, Candida, mold
While I agree that any of those things can be a trigger for depression, you really can't say that they are the cause of depression, because if you did, you'd also have to say that everyone who goes through those things on the list would be depressed.
Everyone reacts differently to the events in their lives, good and bad. Those events are triggers for joy, depression, and everything in between. But what actually causes the emotional states that we experience?
From a physiological perspective - hormones.
When someone is chronically depressed, there is a serious imbalance in the hormones running around in their bodies. That's the cause.
Natural remedies for depression are effective because they all help the body re-establish the correct balance of hormones in your system.

Nutritional and Dietary Support

The natural remedies for depression that you choose will be enhanced even further by paying attention to the following in your diet:
  • Magnesium is compound that our bodies need to make Serotonin and Dopamine, so check your diet to make sure you're getting enough - somewhere between 300 and 400 mg per day. If you choose to take magnesium supplements, don't take more than 350 mg per day because there are adverse effects when you do.
  • Avoid excessive sugars and starches. Although eating those things bring a rush of happiness at first, there is also a large crash that follows. Your body cannot balance itself out if it's constantly going through a roller coaster of hormone fluctuations from too much sugar.
  • Make sure you're getting enough of the whole range of B vitamins in your diet. Vitamin B complex is needed for the body to produce Serotonin and Dopamine.

Additional Actions You Can Take

  • Exercise increases Serotonin and Dopamine in the body and helps your body detox from the stress hormones that have built up. Since it's important to be consistent, pick something you will like and that isn't too difficult for you. If you're a beginner, walking is a great start - just 30 minutes a day. If you can't walk, try to find ways to move your body while seated or lying down, anything that gets the fluid in your body flowing is a good thing!
  • Light Therapy is becoming popular for those who are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder or by those who are Vitamin D deficient.
  • Reduce stress in your life as much as possible. You can try meditation, therapy or counseling, soothing music or anything else that lowers your stress and anxiety.
  • Ask for help. Remember that you are not alone. Sometimes an objective point of view is one of the best natural remedies for depression.
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Friday, September 6, 2013

Omega 3 Oil Benefits

Omega 3 Benefits

Omega 3 Benefits & Remedies page - link navigation:
(These links take you farther down the page to these specific categories.)
Omega 3 Oil and the Conditions it Treats

Buying Guide & Tips

Omega 3 benefits are best when using natural and organic foods. If supplementation is necessary, look for the following qualities in your product:
  • Organic if you're using plant based Omega 3's, or if you're taking fish oils, make sure it's free of heavy metals.
  • Antioxidants are included - This tells you that the oil is much less likely to go bad on the grocery store shelf and also keeps it from going rancid in your body.
  • No carrier oils or filler oils - Carrier oils are not required to be on labels in the ingredients section, so some companies may use them and you wouldn't know it. Look for a product that states that it doesn't use them.
Make sure the source of your Omega 3 benefits are from oils that are clean and of high quality. One thing you can do is to cut open a capsule and smell the oil. If it smells rancid, don't take it.
If you buy the cheapest oil you can find, the old saying will be true in this case - You get what you pay for!
As you can see on the right hand column, we use Moxxor. There are 2 links in that box, the first one gives us credit for your purchase and the second one doesn't.
Feel free to use either link, we feel that strongly about the product itself. It's the one we won't go without.

My Own Experience...

I've tried a few different products when it comes to Omega 3 oils. For a while I did 3 tablespoons of Flax Seed a day and although I got great fiber benefits from it, I didn't notice any of the Omega 3 benefits that I should have.
I then tried a popular organic Flax Oil capsule. Nothing.
I also tried a sustainable Arctic krill oil product for 30 days. Again, no difference and the fishy burps were pretty bad. Yuck.
I don't remember how we were introduced to it, but Moxxor (Green Lipped Mussel oil) ended up being the product that made a difference for both Jeff and I. Not just a small difference, but a dramatic one.
Jeff has had lower back pain from a minor injury he suffered many years ago. When he uses Moxxor as directed the pain goes away. If we ever run out, the pain comes back.
One of my ongoing issues is an SI joint that keeps going out place. When I take Moxxor, the pain goes away and I can walk without a limp. The adjustments I get from my Chiropractor stay in place. If I run out of Moxxor, the joint goes back out of place and the pain comes back.
These could be small issues compared to what you're experiencing, but correcting them definitely made a huge difference in the quality of life for us.

Dosage:

Dosages for Omega 3 oils are varied depending on what you are using it for. You can look below at the specific conditions for their specific dosages.
Because Omega 3 oils are considered a macronutrient, the USDA doesn't have a recommended daily allowance. For general good health and as a disease preventative however, the average adult male can take about 1600 mg per day of combined DHA, EPA and ALA and the average adult female, 1100 mg per day.
ALA is actually converted into EPA and then DHA in your body, and men seem to have a harder time doing that than women do, so if you are taking most of your Omega 3's from plant foods and ALA supplements, you'll need a bit more than if you are taking EPA and DHA directly (animal based Omega 3's).
Fish oil supplements should be cold pressed, as heat processing will make the oils useless to the human body because it changes the molecular structure. The amount of Omega 3 in the supplement could still be accurate, but it just won't be useful to you anymore.
Look for supplementation that comes with a good antioxidant included in the ingredients as oils of any kind can go rancid rather quickly. Also try to find a product that has little or no carrier or filler oils in them. Some products have "carrier" oils such as olive, soy or canola that are not required to be listed on the ingredient labels.

Conditions This Remedy Treats:

(Clicking on the name of underlined conditions below will take you to the page that discusses the causes and other remedies for that particular condition.)

Allergies

Keeping your diet balanced with the proper ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids to Omega 3 fatty acids (1:1) has been shown to lessen allergy symptoms of many kinds. This is due to Omega 3's anti-inflammation effect on the body. Omega 6 oils are pro-inflammatory, so having too many of those in the diet can make allergy symptoms worse and more frequent.

Alzheimer's Disease

Studies in mice have shown that the plaques and tangles in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease were significantly slowed when DHA was added to their diet. It was added to their diet in such a way as to balance the ratio of Omega 3's to Omega 6's.

Arthritis

The Omega 3 oils DHA and EPA are well known for their anti-inflammatory properties. It has been recommended that those with Rheumatoid Arthritis for example take around 3 grams per day of these Omega 3's combined.

Asthma

Balancing your Omega 6/Omega 3 intake (having it as close to a 1:1 ratio as possible) has an overall anti-inflammatory affect on your body. Since Asthmatics suffer from inflammation of the air pathways in the lungs, taking a regular dose of 1100 to 1600 mg of Omega 3 per day will help reduce occurrences of that inflammation.

Blood Pressure (High)

Omega 3 benefits have been studied in those with high blood pressure and found that overall, a dosage of 3 to 4 grams per day of DHA and EPA combined will lower blood pressure.

Cancer

Studies on rats have proven that one Omega 3 benefit is that it reduces tumor size because of its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Another Omega 3 benefit for those with Cancer is that it helps reduce the negative side effects of some chemotherapy drugs, especially Cisplatin. Talk to your health practitioner about the possibility of adding Omega 3 to your regimen.

Cholesterol

Studies have shown that a surprising Omega 3 benefit is its ability to lower cholesterol. More specifically, it lowers the LDL ("bad") cholesterol, raises the HDL ("good") cholesterol and lowers triglycerides too (even in those with hyper-triglyceridemia).
The dosage for this effect is 3 to 4 grams per day of combined DHA and EPA. If you are on medication for cholesterol already, tell your health practitioner that you'd like to try to switch regimens gradually and ask him/her to monitor your cholesterol levels.

Depression

Depression can be a tricky condition. Depending on the type of depression, it has been shown that re-balancing your ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids can significantly improve depression symptoms.
Studies have shown this to be the case for major depression, mild depression and seasonal affective disorder.
Omega 3 benefits the down side of bipolar disorder as well but seems to have no effect on the manic side of it. Ask your health practitioner if adding Omega 3 benefits you along with your current regimen.

Eczema/Psoriasis

Although they are different conditions, both Eczema and Psoriasis in some people have been attributed to Omega 3 deficiency.
Many who take Omega 3 supplements see the condition of their skin improve dramatically, although sometimes these conditions are caused by allergies and you would need to also eliminate the allergen from your environment or diet. Work with your health practitioner and see if adding Omega 3 benefits your skin clarity.

Heart Disease

The American Heart Association recommends that those who already have CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) eat fatty fish on a daily basis because of the Omega 3 benefits in it.
Since that isn't practical for a lot of people, taking a clean source of fish oil supplementation at 3 to 4 grams per day will fulfill that recommendation. This helps by lowering your triglycerides and lessening the incidents of arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats).
For those with a healthy heart, helping to prevent heart disease can be done by taking a regular dose of 1100 mg for women and 1600 mg for men each day.

Osteoporosis

Studies in mice have shown that Omega 3 fatty acids slowed bone loss after menopause. It was also shown that Omega 6 oils actually stimulate a chemical in the body that causes bone loss concluding that a balanced ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids would slow the onset of Osteoporosis.

General Properties:

Omega 3 oils are a group of unsaturated fatty acids that are made up of many different types, three of which are essential for our health and are more easily used by our bodies than the other Omega 3's.
These three are called ALA (alpha-Linolenic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).
It's important to know which kind of Omega 3 oils you are getting in your supplements, because some companies will not tell you that. But not all Omega 3's are created equal, so to speak, as they are intended for different purposes in your body.
ALA is actually converted into EPA and then DHA in your body, and men seem to have a harder time doing that than women do, so if you are taking most of your Omega 3's from plant foods and ALA supplements, you'll need a bit more than if you are taking EPA and DHA directly (animal based Omega 3's).
One of the most important things to know about Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils is that the balance between the two is essential.
Currently, an American type diet which is high in cooked animal meats and processed foods is very high in Omega 6 oils and low in Omega 3's. The ratio between the two should actually be 1:1. (Meaning 1 part Omega 6 to one part Omega 3.)
A highly processed American type diet has a ratio that varies from 15:1 to 16.7:1. Check out this important study that talks about the relationship between disease and Omega oil ratios.
Food sources that are high in Omega 3 oils are:
  • Cold water fish such as Salmon, tuna, halibut, mackerel, and sardines – These will provide DHA and EPA type Omega 3's.
  • Some seeds and nuts such as chia seeds, hemp seeds, hemp oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, walnuts, and walnut oil – These provide ALA type Omega 3's.
  • And other sources like green lipped mussels from New Zealand, Krill oil, and some algae also provide DHA and EPA.
Seeds are best when freshly ground rather than ground far in advance of eating them (you can get an inexpensive coffee grinder just for that purpose) because they will lose some of their Omega 3 benefits.
Keep fish oil and flaxseed oils refrigerated so they don't go rancid.

Possible Side Effects:

Side effects from taking Omega 3 oils simply depends on the source of the Omega 3.
For example, if you take too much fish oil, you'll end up with bloating, gas, and possibly a "fishy" odor either in your breath or on your body. That would be the same with a lot of things you ate too much of – garlic is a good example.
Taking a product that is low in quality will also sabotage any Omega 3 benefits you might get out of it.
If it's rancid or full of heavy metals (as fish often are these days) then you are just adding unnecessary free radicals and heavy metal poisoning to your system – a most unfortunate side effect.

Drug Interactions:

So far, we haven't found a Drug that Omega 3 oils interact with in a negative way. There is some controversy regarding the blood thinning effects of Omega 3 oils, but studies have not proven this effect one way or the other.
If you are on an Aspirin regimen or are on Warfarin, talk to your health practitioner if you have any concerns.

Did You Know…?

  • Omega 3 oils are a group of unsaturated fatty acids. Of this group, there are three that are important for your health – ALA (alpha-Linolenic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).
  • Some fish oil supplements are OK for those who are allergic to fish because all of the fish proteins have been filtered out of the oil. Ask the manufacturer if their process does this.
  • Fish oil supplements are one of those products in which the old adage "You get what you pay for!" is true. If you're serious about Omega 3 benefits through supplementation please don't buy the cheapest thing you can find. That can actually be worse for you than not taking them at all because sometimes they will go rancid on the store shelf. When oil goes rancid, it becomes full of free-radicals, which we all know cause a lot of havoc in your body already.

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