How Fish Oil Supplements Can Help Menopausal Women
Depending on the kind of medical practitioner you consult, or which headline you read, fish oil supplements are either a waste of money, or they can help improve conditions such as dry skin, joint pain, poor memory, and hot flashes. Some studies have even shown that fish oil may help prevent heart disease. How can one supplement claim all these benefits?
To get to the bottom of this, I asked Dr. Tori Hudson, a Naturopathic Doctor, who knows a thing or two about fish oil. She’s the author of several books on women’s health including Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and Menopause: Maintain Health and Vitality. She also is on the advisory board of Nordic Naturals, which makes and distributes more than 150 Fish Oil products. She explained that fish oil can be especially beneficial for menopausal women. Here’s a summary of what I learned:
Six Benefits of Fish Oil Supplements
- Fish oil can indeed help with hot flashes. It’s not a cure, but two recent studies showed a significant reduction in frequency.
- It also promotes healthy bones by increasing the absorption of calcium and reducing how much calcium gets secreted.
- When it comes to cardiovascular health, fish oil helps by lowering cholesterol levels; and reducing the risk of heart disease as well as preventing its progression in those who already have CV issues. It may also slow the progression of atherosclerosis, thus preventing heart attacks.
- Fish oil can be helpful in certain kinds of arrhythmias, or irregular heart beats, a not uncommon complaint of women during the menopause transition.
- DHA is particularly beneficial during pregnancy for fetal brain and eye development. In our later years, it supports brain aging and depression and also helps prevent macular degeneration. Women experiencing memory issues, or mood swings during menopause would benefit from from a Fish Oil that is heavier on the DHA than the EPA.
- On the other hand, if you’re complaining of joint pain (inflammation)you’d want more EPA than DHA.
Buyer Beware
When it comes to fish oil, Dr. Hudson told me that you definitely get what you pay for.
“You have to consider taste, rancidity, freshness and purity,” she said. “What contaminants have been tested for and removed? Potency is another issue that suffers when you buy lower quality fish oil. “It’s often lower in cheaper brands,” she added.
Last year, ConsumerLab.com tested 24 Fish Oil products and only 17 of them passed quality testing, meeting requirements for freshness and purity and containing their claimed amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids. Three of them were found to be spoiled.
I agree completely, quality and purity is indeed a huge issue in the natural products/supplement industry and continues to be an issue to this day. Our contract scientist, Dr. Brian Duff Sloley of Phytovox located in Edmonton, Alberta Canada has tested many products to find many of them either don’t contain what’s claimed on the label or they contain undeclared compounds.
As a businesswoman in the business of developing Natural Health products, I’ve learned first hand how hard it can be to produce a pure, natural product. I’ve personally gone toe-to-toe insisting on not taking any short cuts, short cuts compromises quality and safety.
It is buyer beware. A good bit of advise, Canadian consumers should look for a NPN number on the label which is a regulatory approved product of Canada that has gone under rigorous review with the Natural Health Products Directorate of Canada
Anita Drybye.
Thanks for the explanation. Dee, I’m hoping to connect again with Dr. Hudson so she can weigh in on this too.
In response to Joan Pagano’s question about how krill and fish oil may compare, my research into this shows that they are both effective in alleviating joint pain, but they may work in different ways. Some animal research shows that fish oil can directly help by increasing anti-inflammatory effects within the body. Krill oil, on the other hand, can help keep inflammation from moving into the joint and tissues that line the joint. People often think of one versus the other, but maybe both could be incorporated into a great joint healing plan!
I use New Chapter WholeMega. epa is 180mg and dha is 220mg. I’d like to know if this is a good product and does it have enough of the above for flashes and calcium absorption. How does it compare with nordic?
My doctor recommended that I take Neptune Krill Oil (NKO). I’d love to know more about how this compares with other kinds of fish oil.
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