Fish oils are generally considered safe and most people don’t think that fish oils could have unintended side effects. The truth however is quite different. Omega 3 fatty acids reduce some of the dangers of omega 6 by using the same enzymes. But as fish oils increase together with omega 6, the total amount of polyunsaturated fats increases within the body. As the total amount of polyunsaturated fats increase, the potential for reactive oxygen species is increased, together with its dangers.
Scientific history is riddled with warnings against fish oils. Although not widely publicized, a stern warning against fish oils has been made. A small selection includes;
“In a pilot study, we found that dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate (MaxEPA) leads to the synthesis of prostaglandin E3 (PGE3) in the kidney. PGE3 is a hormone-like substance which metabolically derives from EPA. The physiological activity of PGE3 is largely unknown. Therefore, this new finding is an implicit warning against the uncontrolled use of marine oil concentrate by the general public because some of the biological consquence of such use may not be desirable”
SCIENTISTS AND THEIR SPECIALTIES
Beltsville. Human Nutrition Research Center
W.Mertz,Director. Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-East Beltsville, Maryland, 20705. SPRING 1987
“Important potential adverse effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation include altered platelet function, gastrointestinal adverse effects, detrimental effects on wound healing, lipid peroxidation, potential for nutrient excess and toxin exposure, weight gain, altered immune function, effects on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity, and nutrient-drug interactions”
Potential Adverse Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Dogs and Cats. C.E. Lenox and J.E. Bauer. Review J Vet Intern Med 2013;27:217–226
“These data show that dietary EPA supplementation in ALS has the potential to worsen the condition and accelerate the disease progression. This suggests that great caution should be exerted when considering dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplements in ALS patients.”
Yip PK, Pizzasegola C, Gladman S, et al. The omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid accelerates disease progression in a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e61626. Published 2013 Apr 19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061626
Our data suggest that augmented intestinal barrier permeability to fluid and macromolecules is a possible side effect of (n-3) FA-rich diet supplementation”
J Nutr. 2011 Sep;141(9):1635-42. doi: 10.3945/jn.111.143016. Epub 2011 Jul 20.
Ingestion of (n-3) fatty acids augments basal and platelet activating factor-induced permeability to dextran in the rat mesenteric vascular bed.
Dombrowsky H1, Lautenschläger I, Zehethofer N, Lindner B, Schultz H, Uhlig S, Frerichs I, Weiler N.
“Until evidence accumulates, no recommendation should be made to encourage pregnant women to take ω-3 fatty acid supplements”
Dubnov-Raz G, Finkelstein Y, Koren G. ω-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy: For mother, baby, or neither? Canadian Family Physician. 2007;53(5):817-818.
“This initial PTSD patient sample not only did not benefit from ϖ3-FA, but rather appears to have experienced somewhat deleterious effects… Our initial results have alerted us to the possibility that further study of ϖ3-FA must be performed with awareness towards the possibility that the preparations may have potentially deleterious effects in certain patients.”
Zeev K, Michael M, Ram K, Hagit C. Possible deleterious effects of adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids in post-traumatic stress disorder patients. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2005;1(2):187-190.
“However, these two PUFAs promoted brain oxidative stress and aging protein overproduction. These findings suggest that these two PUFAs have double-sided effects toward aging brain. Therefore, the safety of EPA, DHA or foods rich in these PUFAs should be carefully re-considered.”
Hsu YM, Yin MC. EPA or DHA enhanced oxidative stress and aging protein expression in brain of d-galactose treated mice. Biomedicine (Taipei). 2016;6(3):17. doi:10.7603/s40681-016-0017-1
“Dietary intake of omega-3 PUFA fails to prevent and may indeed exacerbate DOX-induced cardiotoxicity….Clinical use of omega-3 supplementation during chemotherapy should be deferred until more information is available regarding the mechanisms of interaction between fatty acids and the myocardium during anthracycline exposure.”
J Card Fail. 2012 Jun;18(6):502-11. doi: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2012.03.005. Dietary omega-3 supplementation exacerbates left ventricular dysfunction in an ovine model of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Carbone A1, Psaltis PJ, Nelson AJ, Metcalf R, Richardson JD, Weightman M, Thomas A, Finnie JW, Young GD, Worthley SG.
‘Given the inconsistent benefits reported in clinical and experimental studies and the potential adverse actions on cardiac rhythm noted in the present study, recommendations.. to use n-3 PUFA in the post-MI patient need to be reconsidered’
Billman GE, Carnes CA, Adamson PB, Vanoli E, Schwartz PJ. Dietary omega-3 fatty acids and susceptibility to ventricular fibrillation: lack of protection and a proarrhythmic effect [published correction appears in Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2012 Aug 1;5(4):e89]. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2012;5(3):553-560. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.111.966739
“indeed, providing fish oil capsules may even have an adverse effect, for reasons that are at present unclear. Further data from this cohort will be examined in order to elucidate this finding. Caution is needed when giving pragmatic dietary advice in case it has unforeseen effects.“
Burr, M., Ashfield-Watt, P., Dunstan, F. et al. Lack of benefit of dietary advice to men with angina: results of a controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 193–200 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601539