Fish oil...is some better than nothing?

[Akif]

I read up on the benefits of fish oil and wanted to add some. I don't buy into supplements; all I have is protein & a multi. Mark, Glenn, Eric Cressey, & others have all recommended fish oil so I considered it.

However, I'm a 16 year old novice and the minimum quantity recommended is like 3g of EFA a day (10 softgels according to the economy-sized fish oil I've seen at the supermarket) and would run out in a couple weeks since it has 240 softgels in total and costs 25 bucks. Meaning, it would cost a lot of money, a resource that is not readily available in large amounts in my family.

To save some cash, yet benefit from the oil, I was thinking of simply taking less, and making it an effort to consume fish at least once a week regularly. (not much of a problem since the parents have a liking for it)

1) What if I took 7 on training days, & 2 on non-training days? This would come out to about 2g on training days (where I assume more fish oil is useful since hard training days ask for more in general) and not much on rest days, but I've got fish to cover up for the rest. Even then it ain't much. Is some fish oil better than none?

2) Is this being overthought? Should I forget the oil and simply ask the parents to buy and cook fish more often, and then eat a lot of it?

[Carlos Daniel]

I hear people can buy some bottled fish oil for a fairly cheap price in the US. If I'm not mistaken it's way cheaper than the softgels. I'm sure some US residents around can provide more information.

[Akif]

I live in Montreal, Canada. I'll check it out though.

[Carnivroar]

http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-Finest...8426879&sr=8-1

[Carlos Daniel]

http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-Finest...8426879&sr=8-1

Yep, that's the one.

[ZenGeek]

However, I'm a 16 year old novice and the minimum quantity recommended is like 3g of EFA a day

reccommended by who? Not trying to be a dick, but different sources have different reccomendations, and what a research scientist reccomends might be different to what the guys who are trying to sell it (or the doctors they pay) would reccomend.

Studies that are decades old showed that three oily-fish meals a week provided the benefits touted by the supplement companies. (I would have to find the book, which references the article and then track it down but yes I do have references) More might be better though?

1) What if I took 7 on training days, & 2 on non-training days? This would come out to about 2g on training days (where I assume more fish oil is useful since hard training days ask for more in general) and not much on rest days, but I've got fish to cover up for the rest. Even then it ain't much. Is some fish oil better than none?

Yes, Some fish oil is better than none.

2) Is this being overthought? Should I forget the oil and simply ask the parents to buy and cook fish more often, and then eat a lot of it?

Yes this is being overthought.

Carlos Daniel - I hear people can buy some bottled fish oil for a fairly cheap price in the US. If I'm not mistaken it's way cheaper than the softgels. I'm sure some US residents around can provide more information

Yeah, but it's typically gross, you can get odourless or flavoured varieties, but these start to get just as expensive as gelcaps. If you don't mind the taste and inconvenience it's a good option, but it is also a punishment for bad behaviour in some countries.

[Carlos Daniel]

Yeah, but it's typically gross, you can get odourless or flavoured varieties, but these start to get just as expensive as gelcaps. If you don't mind the taste and inconvenience it's a good option, but it is also a punishment for bad behaviour in some countries.

That Carlson's brand that Carnie recommended, isn't it pretty flavorless? Are you sure you're not confusing it with cod liver oil? I know that if I chew one of my softgel I get the taste of Satan's Unholy cock on my mouth, but my brand is pretty low quality.

[ZenGeek]

That Carlson's brand that Carnie recommended, isn't it pretty flavorless? Are you sure you're not confusing it with cod liver oil? I know that if I chew one of my softgel I get the taste of Satan's Unholy cock on my mouth, but my brand is pretty low quality.

Can't vouch for the specific brand. Some are better than others due to the raw materials and process that they use. Some are absolutely DISGUSTING this I know. And I've accidentally gnawed a gel-cap fishoil, it wasn't pretty.

I yeah, was reffering to codliver oil as punishment, I just thought it made a good point.

[Carnivroar]

Carlson's taste good.

You're better off just getting rid of pro-inflammatory foods (those high in omega-6 and maybe gluten if you're hardcore) first, though. Otherwise the fish oil won't do much to begin with.

[Eric K]

Though cod liver oil is typically unpleasant (though not unbearable) but they also make them with lemon flavor. Although if cost is a concern I don't know how to compare it, except to say that a teaspoon of the oil has plenty of EPA/DHA as compared to most soft gels so it's probably fairly even (and more convenient with the oil). If you pay attention to the label, good cod liver oil will give you a lot of Vitamin D and A which are both a big plus (especially the A for building muscle).