Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Do Fish Oil Supplements Cause Vitamin E Deficiency

Fish oils are stripped of much of their natural vitamin E during processing.


Fish oils are fast becoming one of the most popular supplements on supermarket, health food store and pharmacy shelves, as it is used to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease, arthritis and central nervous system complaints. However, there is evidence that fish oils may be a factor in causing vitamin E deficiency.


Research


Researcher Mohsen Meydani from Tufts University published findings in "The Journal of Nutrition" in 1991 that showed women who took fish oils each day have significantly lower levels of vitamin E in the blood. Six grams of fish oil were taken each day over a three-month period, and the longer the women took the fish oils, the stronger the reduction in vitamin E.








Significance


If fish oils are to be safe, they should include vitamin E.








If the body does not have enough vitamin E or other antioxidants to protect ingested fish oils circulating in the body from damage by free radicals, the oils may become unstable or harmful to the body rather than beneficial.


Manufacturing


Fresh fish and fish oils naturally contain decent amounts of vitamin E; however, the process of refining and deodorizing the fish oil for encapsulation removes many of the natural antioxidants, such as vitamin E, contained within fish oils. According to Mohsen Meydani's research, most commercial fish oil supplements contain approximately 1 IU of vitamin E per capsule, which is less than half of what is required to prevent oxidation of the oils in the body.


Recommendations


Despite these concerns over the antioxidant status of fish oils, the therapeutic benefits of fish oils are still strong. Readers are recommended to favor fish oil products that have added vitamin E to preserve and protect the integrity of the fish oils once ingested.

Tags: fish oils, fish oils, fish oils, women took fish, Mohsen Meydani, took fish
Posted by at
Labels: