What Happens When You Take FISH OIL Everyday For 30 Days?

Hello, Vell champions. Today we're going to talk about what happens if you eat fish oil every day. And there are four big questions we're going to answer along the way. One is, do you need fish oil? Two, what does it do? Three, what kind do you take? And number four, who really needs fish oil? So here's the problem. If you do a search, if you look around whether it's a blog or a video or a top 10 list, they're going to tell you pretty much the same thing. And here's a typical list that prevents heart disease, fish oil, boost brain function. It's a great source of vitamin A and D. Slows the aging process, helps joint health, boosts immune system, decreases eye pressure, increases stamina, speeds muscle recovery, and increases serotonin. But actually, fish oil does none of this at all. And we're thinking about it the wrong way when we say things like this. And yet, I'm a huge fan of fish oil. I think that almost everyone should take fish oil. And we're going to talk about the real reasons, not to treat some symptom or some condition, right? Because what we want to understand is that fish oil doesn't do anything. It's not supposed to do anything. It's not supposed to cure a condition or a symptom. That's not what it does. So overall, what I'm trying to get to, that hopefully you'll get by the end of this, is, don't take supplements for the wrong reasons. I do a lot of supplements in my clinic. Basically, nobody leaves the clinic without supplements, but I explain why and the person really needs them when they get them. I believe 90% of supplements, soul, and taken are for the wrong reasons. And people are getting more and more desperate because they understand that medication will cover up the symptom, but it's not the way to long-term health. Medication can't get you healthy because it doesn't do anything for the body. It interferes with the body and suppresses a symptom. And overall, the supplement industry is a $50 billion industry just in the US. So basically, $45 billion are probably wasted for all the wrong reasons. So most people go about selecting supplements based on a condition. And they do a search or they go to a health food store and they ask, what is good for that? And they get the answer from someone who's not a clinician that, well, this supplement is really good for that condition or that symptom. So people are desperate. They grab for a needle in a haystack and they end up with dozens or hundreds of supplements, most of which are not the right ones for them. So here's how you want to think about it instead. Here's how it really works. If you need something, if your body has a need for something, that's called essential. That means it's necessary for life. It's something that your body cannot manufacture on its own or manufacture from something else. You have to provide that to the body or you die. Or if you don't have enough of something, then you can't have optimal health or function. Something is going to suffer. So if you don't have enough, now it's called deficient. And you are not going to have optimal health. You start developing some conditions or symptoms where you don't feel great. And then if you provide enough, now that's called sufficient. Now your body has enough of the essential thing of the necessary for life thing that you can function optimally. That's what sufficient means. And then the body starts moving toward health. It's that simple. And yet, I know you'll think it looks like child's play. And it's like, why is he telling us this? Because I already knew that. It's so self-evident. And yet, 90% of supplements are taken for the wrong reasons. Because people really don't get it. It's too simple. But this is how we want to understand it. And the first big question then when it comes to fish oil is, are you deficient? Are you missing some of that essential thing? So most people are deficient. And it's typically because of low consumption. There are three reasons. They don't eat fish. They don't hardly ever get any fish oil. Or they have a condition where they have a lot of stress. So they have a higher need than what is provided. Or they have poor conversion. And we're going to talk about all of these. So you probably heard about omega-3 fatty acids. But what are they? And what do we need to understand about them? There are three different kinds that we typically want to know about. It's called ALA, EPA, and DHA. So what are they? Well, ALA has 18 carbons. EPA has 20. And DHA has 22. And then they are called unsaturated, even polyunsaturated. So something that has one time unsaturated is mono unsaturated. It has one double bond. ALA has three. So we would write that in as one, two, and three. And don't worry, I'm not putting these in a specific place. In reality, they do have a specific location, but we're not going to get that technical. So this one is 18 carbons and three times unsaturated. EPA has five double bonds. And it is 20 carbons long and five double bonds. DHA has 22 carbons and six double bonds. And we're going to talk in a little bit about why this matters and why we're even talking about this. One, two, three, four, five, six, 22 and six. So a saturated fatty acid has no double bonds. It tends to be in a straight line because these single bonds, they can swivel freely and this molecule likes to not be crowded. So it tends to stretch out where everything kind of goes away from each other. But once they have a double bond, that tends to put a kink in it. And it doesn't rotate. So this is not how they actually look, but they tend to be more squiggly and more curved the more double bonds they have. So if something is saturated, they tend to pack really, really close. And that's why saturated fats are very stable. They're packed together so they're solid at room temperature. And when you get to ALA like a flax oil, then it is totally liquid in the fridge and oftentimes mostly liquid in the freezer even. So the more irregular they are, the lower the melting point. EPA has five times unsaturated and DHA is six times. So these are going to be more and more squiggly, more and more curved and irregular. And this is super important because the body uses these very specifically in cell membranes. And if they pack tight, then that cell membrane has no flexibility. And it loses a lot of signaling properties of the ability to let things through at will, selectively let things through. And this is why DHA is mostly used in the brain when we need certain properties. And if you think about it, it makes a whole lot of sense why cold water fish would have a lot of EPA and DHA. Because this stays liquid even in the freezer. So when these fish swim around in ice cold water, then they don't stiffen up all of a sudden. It keeps all the membranes, keeps their tissue very, very flexible. And that's where we can get the EPA and DHA from them. So that's what they are and some of their properties. But why is there so much confusion about this? Because the ALA, also called alpha-linolinic acid, can be converted into the other. So the body can use ALA, which is a plant source. So in flax and in nuts and in chia seeds, there is a lot of ALA. And then theoretically, we can turn that in to EPA, which is acosa pentaninobic acid. And pentad just means five. So it has five. five double bonds, and the ALA is classified as essential, because the body can't manufacture it. We need to get it from food. So therefore, ALA is classified as essential, but because we can turn ALA into EPA theoretically, then EPA is not essential. We wouldn't absolutely have to eat the EPA. But we'll talk more about that, why it gets so confusing, why this is the stuff that we really need, but this one is the one classified as essential or necessary for life. And then the DHA stands for docosahexa-innoic acid, and the hexa just means six. So in order for us to convert the ALA into EPA, we need an enzyme called delta-six-dissaturase. And we worry about the names, I'm just trying to give you the flow of things to understand why things are necessary. And this D6-d is a rate limiting step, meaning if we don't have enough of this, then this process stops completely. So if we look at it this way, ALA, if we have a good amount of the D6-d, delta-six-dissaturase, we could turn about 5% of the ALA into EPA. But notice it says less than, and we'll talk about that. The DHA typically is less than 0.5%. So very, very little, we can eat tons of flax and flax oil, and yet not a whole lot gets converted. And what if there are additional things? This is under a good scenario. What if there's more things that inhibit that interfere with this enzyme than even less is going to be converted? So what is it that interferes? Well things like insulin resistance, which over 80% of the population has, if you eat a diet high in omega-6 acids, which is grains and grain fed meat and seed oils and all those things. So we are supposed to get about a 1 to 1 ratio between omega-6 and omega-3, or maybe as high as 4 parts omega-6 to 1 part omega-3. But most diets are about 20 to 1. So that's going to push us toward a pro-inflammatory state. And it's going to inhibit further this enzyme. If we eat a lot of sugar, if we eat a lot of processed foods, if we have inflammation and if we have stress, all of these things will interfere even further with this conversion, which means if you have one or several or all of these, you're probably really close to zero on that conversion. So if any of these items on the list apply to you, or if you don't eat a whole bunch of fish on a regular basis, then you are probably deficient in fish oil. So that brings us to the second big question, which is, what is it really that fish oil does for us? And the first thing is that it normalizes inflammatory responses. And you probably have heard by now that cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic diseases, most of the degenerative diseases are caused by chronic, low-grade inflammation. So it means the body doesn't have the resources or the circumstances to balance inflammation. So fish oil helps us do that. So fish oil basically helps prevent. If we have enough, we can prevent those conditions. And next, it is a precursor for hormones and chemical messengers. And finally, and most important probably is it builds cell membranes. And you have 40 trillion cells in your body. Every tissue, your brain, your muscles, everything, every cell has a membrane. And that membrane is built up of a double layer of fatty acids. And we need a certain percentage of those fatty acids to be EPA and especially DHA for those cell membranes to function properly to maintain their signal properties, their flexibility, their ability to decide what goes inside and what stays outside. So the critical function of every cell in the body depends on those cell membranes and it depends on the quality of the fatty acids that we can include in those cell membranes. But now let's take another look at this list that we started with where they said that fish oil does all of these things. And now people get it wrong. They think by taking more fish oil than they would prevent all of this. We want to understand this in a different context. So rather we say fish oil deficiency would cause a heart disease. It, fish oil deficiency causes inflammation that causes heart disease. Fish oil deficiency destroys brain function because we don't have the proper building material to make these cell membranes that work. Fish oil is not a source of vitamin A and D. There's a specific type of oil called cod liver oil. So it's not the fish in general. It's the liver that has these vitamin A and D. So if you just take regular fish oil, then you're not getting any vitamin A and D. So if you're looking for the A and D, you want to take cod liver oil and we'll come back to that also. It speeds up the aging process. A deficiency in fish oil means the body isn't working. So these aging processes will be accelerated. It hurts joint health. If we can't regulate inflammation, it destroys the immune system. It gives the immune system an inability to function properly if we don't have these things. And here's an interesting thing. When they say that something would decrease eye pressure, is that a good thing? What if you already have perfect eye pressure and you take fish oil? Does that mean it's going to lower the eye pressure below what's normal and optimal? See, people think of these things like medications. So if you take a blood pressure medication, it will lower blood pressure. If you have normal blood pressure, if you have perfect blood pressure and you take a bunch of blood pressure meds, they will lower it below normally. It would be abnormally low. It would be dangerously low. But fish oil doesn't do that. It's not a medication. It doesn't interfere. It doesn't suppress anything. So we get confused when we think that fish oil and nutrients are supposed to do something. They don't. They provide resources to normalize function. Next, it decreases stamina if we have a deficiency in fish oil. It will slow muscle recovery if we don't have the proper building material. So those muscle cell membranes that we break with hard exercise, they need additional components. They need these fatty acids for the cell membranes when they repair. And then they say that fish oil increases serotonin. But is that a good thing? What if you already have perfect levels of serotonin? Is it going to boost them? Is it going to give you too much? Again, a medication can do that. It can push the body out of balance. Nutrient won't do that. It will normalize serotonin, whatever that means for you. If you have the necessary resources, your body will figure out where it's supposed to be. So again, we've got to stop thinking about them as medication. We're not replacing a synthetic with a medication with a natural one. We are supporting the body. So if you're missing fish oil, if you're deficient, you can develop all these problems. If you are providing it, then you'll just be normal. Which brings us to our third big question, which is what kind of fish oil should I take? Well, a lot of people are tempted by the really cheap brands. You can buy a huge tub and that says take one of these a day for fish oil. But the problem is they aren't concentrated. They don't contain a whole lot of the stuff that you want. And as a result, you might have to take four or more of these huge horse pills, 1,400 milligram capsules. They're gigantic to get the amount that you need. Plus, they don't specify if you're getting EPA or DHA. Did you say Omega-3s? And so the active component, the stuff you're really looking for, which is the final product EPA DHA, is only about 22% of it. And then you'd have to chomp down a whole bunch of pills. And a good brand, however, they're going to concentrate these fish oils. So in two capsules, which would be a lot smaller than those four big ones, you would only have to take two of those and you would get about the same amount of fish oil because it's 55% of the capsule is what you're actually looking for. And these are just examples. Some are even better and some of the cheap ones are even worse. And that may not even be the most important question. The question is the quality. What are you actually getting? Are they guaranteeing what you're getting? Are they filling it with stuff? But even if it's true what's on the label, then you have to ask, how was this produced? Has it been exposed to light? Has it been exposed to heat? Has the fish oil become rancid? Because if it's rancid, if they oxidize it now, it doesn't provide the things that you're actually looking for. And another thing is the toxicity because the fish today are full of heavy metals and PCBs because they swim around in oceans that are polluted. So the good brands, they're going to use a process called molecular distillation. They're going to extract these fish oils very, very carefully and leave all of the heavy metals and the PCBs behind. So that might be the most important part. So don't try to save just a few dollars on a cheap brand because you probably not getting what you're looking for. Then there's a question of EPA versus DHA. Does it matter? What's the difference? Well, everyone needs both. But some people need more of one than the other. So depending on what you're looking for, it can get really, really complex. But in the simplest terms, the EPA is for the heart, for the cardiovascular system, more for general inflammation. And the DHA is more about brain. It is a building block for brain tissue. And if you just get your regular average fish oil, a good quality where they've concentrated it down from sardines or salmon or something, you're usually going to get a three to two ratio of EPA versus DHA. But frankly, I don't know why it turns out to a three to two because if you look at what's in the fish, they usually have more DHA. So I'm not sure why they do that. But that's how it is. And this would be if you're just looking for general support for a little bit of everything that we talked about. And especially inflammation and cardiovascular support. However, in my clinic, we check these. We test everybody to see what they actually need. And we find that a lot of people need different ratios of EPA to DHA. Their body prefer different ratios. So if you take something like cod liver oil, it's going to have the reverse ratio. And again, if you look at cod liver oil, it's not necessarily this ratio, but the brands that we use will typically have that. So it's a two to three where DHA has more DHA in it. And this is the kind of fish oil called liver oil, where you're actually getting a very good source of vitamin A and vitamin D. Other fish oil won't give you that. But if that's something you're looking for, then you can do that. And sometimes it might be a good idea to take the cod liver oil in the winter, when there is less sun, and you're not converting as much sunlight into vitamin D. But then there's a little more specialized oil called tuna omega. And the brand that we use is from standard process, both the cod liver oil and the tuna omega. We use from standard process. There are other good brands, but we know that they work. I'll put some links down below if you want to check that out. But the tuna omega has a five to one ratio of DHA to EPA. And I wrote that the wrong way, but it has five times more DHA. So this is when you're looking more for brain support. And these would be for people who have cognitive concerns, memory issues, focus, anxiety, or kids with ADHD. It can be miraculous in calming them down and helping them focus. And then there are other products out there that will have even higher concentration like a 10 to 1 or a 20 to 1 of DHA. But I rarely find in my office, we do have some of those on the shelf, but I rarely find that that's necessary because these are very affordable for what you're getting. And one example of how important the DHA is for the brain is that most people will eat a ratio of a close mix like a 2 to 3 or a 3 to 2. And yet in the brain, there is 250 times more DHA than EPA. So the brain doesn't really care for EPA at all. It wants the DHA because it's a building block, a very significant portion. I forget the percentage, but it's like a quarter of all the fatty acids or something like that is DHA. And if we don't have them, then the brain can't build proper cells and proper cell membranes. And the fourth big question is who really needs to supplement fish oil. The obvious one actually is people, women who are childbearing. And think about this as the feed is forms when it's just a few cells like just a few cell layers thick, it's microscopic, the brain develops first. It's a very first structure because it's going to coordinate everything else. And in the very beginning, there is very, very little brain tissue. So it's not going to require enormous quantities, but at some point in development, 25% of the total mass of that fetus is brain tissue. And then as the rest of the body grows a bit and the brain grows at birth, it's about 10%. So it's hugely important for that baby to have enough DHA enough of the longest chain fish oil for that brain to develop. And by comparison, the brain in adult is about 2% when the rest of the body grows more. But as a newborn, it is super important because 10% of that baby's weight is brain tissue and DHA is one of the most important component. If we don't provide enough, then that brain will not develop optimally. But then after they're born, obviously they keep growing and the brain keeps growing as well. Even though the percentage is huge when we're newborn, the brain is still going to keep growing. And another aspect of this is anytime you're learning something, the brain has to rewire. It has to prune brain cells and even make some new ones. But in doing this, it's always as it's rewiring, it's always repairing cell membranes and we need DHA for that. So this is why you can actually improve learning, you can improve brain function by having enough DHA. But again, don't think of it as a medication. If you have enough, then you're normal. If you don't have enough, then you're subnormal. And also, if you have any metabolic or inflammatory disease, again insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, which most people have, then it can help. And if you have high stress, then you will absorb less, you will need more. People who don't eat fish are obviously not getting a whole lot of this. And we talked about why the conversion is so poor. Now, even just a few years ago, if you claimed that the conversion was poor, then you were looked upon as some kind of lunatic. And today, it is very, very well recognized that in most people that alpha linoleic acid is not convert hardly at all. So the more people need it, the less it's being converted. And then if you just want to make sure, if you wanted for prevention, just as insurance, then obviously you can do that. But if you eat fatty fish, three, four, five times a week, and you eat this substantial amount, not just four ounces, but maybe six to eight ounces, then you're probably getting enough. And there's really not a need, but I would probably say that I don't think there's one percent of the population that eats that amount of fish. If you enjoyed this video, you're going to love that one. And if you truly want to master health by understanding how the body really works, make sure you subscribe, hit that bell, and turn on all the notifications so you never miss a life-saving video.