I like Dr. Oz.
A lot.
But the popular TV doctor is off-target with his message on Omega 3 supplements.
To be fair, Dr. Mehmet Oz has done a lot for America’s health. He has a wonderful way of explaining complex medical symptoms and diagnoses to everyday TV watchers.
The problem with Dr. Oz and Omega 3 Supplements:
- He favors DHA Omega-3 over EPA Omega-3. He actively instructs his followers to avoid EPA.
- He believes EPA is not ‘really effective.’
- He believes EPA can cause increased bleeding.
Avoiding EPA entirely may be harmful, especially to Americans and those eating western diets – I’ll explain why in just a minute.
It’s true that DHA and EPA have slightly different roles in your body.
DHA is a STRUCTURAL Omega-3. That means the body uses it to build body parts, especially in fetus and children.
EPA on the other hand, acts as a ‘lubricant.’ It is essential and works through all stages of life.
DHA is critical for pregnant women and children. Most of the Omega-3 in the brain, eyes, heart and other very active tissues is DHA.
DHA must be consumed by pregnant women to ensure proper development of the fetus. Research has shown that children of women who avoided fish during pregnancy had much lower IQ points than women who ate fish during pregnancy.
Well, my argument with Dr. Oz is not with DHA and pregnancy, so let’s take that off the table.
My issue with his advice is the avoidance of EPA, an entire fatty acid!
All Omega-3 supplements should ideally provide BOTH DHA and EPA. A prenatal omega-3 supplement could have very high DHA and low EPA levels. That’s OK.
And Omega-3 supplement could have a high EPA to DHA ratio.
Looking at Nature for Answers
Most fish oils naturally have more EPA than DHA. More than 90% of all fish oil sold in the world contains more EPA than DHA.
Salmon has roughly equal parts EPA and DHA. Tuna oil is the rare exception with more DHA.
Looking at Science for Answers
In the last decade, a lot of research has focused on the separate roles of DHA versus EPA. Here are some of the findings:
- EPA helps supports healthy inflammation response*
- EPA helps support immune health*
- EPA supports heart health*
- EPA helps support mood balance*
- EPA must be constantly provided to the body because it is found in EVERY CELL in your body
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research suggests that improving omega-3 fat intake from a concentrated source may help support a healthy mood. Some, but not all studies, indicate that 2,000 mg of omega-3 fats daily may offer benefit. Research suggests that omega-3 supplements with a higher concentration of EPA may offer distinct support for mood health.
Source: Gillies, P. “The New Science of Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Differential Nutritional Pharmacology” Texas Human Nutrition Conference, Texas A&M University, February 2010.
EPA helps support mood. DHA does not.*
More than a dozen clinical trials have used EPA (not DHA) helps support mood.*
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research suggests that improving omega-3 fat intake from a concentrated source may help support a healthy mood. Some, but not all studies, indicate that 2,000 mg of omega-3 fats daily may offer benefit. Research suggests that omega-3 supplements with a higher concentration of EPA may offer distinct support for mood health.
The landmark Oxford-Durham trials used high-EPA fish oil to reduce childhood learning and behavioral problems.
Natural Conversion of DHA to EPA and Back
Our bodies are capable of converting DHA to EPA using enzymes, but it is not an efficient conversion. Conversion of EPA to DHA is far less efficient or even completely absent due to the requirement of an elongase enzyme followed by beta-oxidation. There are several metabolic factors that influence these elongation and retroconversion steps. Sources: Hansen et al. Lipids. 1998 Feb;33(2):131-8, Grimsgaard et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Sep;66(3):649-59. Read full paper here.
A study conducted at the University of Guelph by the renowned Dr. Bruce Holub estimates that only 9.4% of DHA is retroconverted into EPA. Source: Conquer & Holub. Dietary docosahexaenoic acid as a source of eicosapentaenoic acid in vegetarians and omnivores. Lipids. 1997 Mar;32(3):341-5.
The same authors conducted a similar study, this time, using Algae-DHA. Again, they found that 11 to 12% of DHA was retroconverted to EPA. Source: Conquer JA, Holub BJ. Supplementation with an algae source of docosahexaenoic acid increases (n-3) fatty acid status and alters selected risk factors for poor heart health vegetarian subjects. J Nutr. 1996 Dec;126(12):3032-9. Read full article here.
Both these studies suggest that if you took just DHA, only a tenth of it would be converted to EPA. That’s not enough if you are seeking benefits that only EPA seems to provide, such as mood support.
The new science of Nutrigenomics says that foods are messengers. They convey messages to our body. And tell it what to do – gene expression.
It is far more efficient to just take preformed EPA and DHA together.
The American Diet NEEDS EPA-rich Fish Oil
Our bodies are designed to thrive on equal parts Omega-3 and Omega-6.
Unfortunately, due to the presence of omega-6-rich corn oil and soy (vegetable) oil in almost all our foods, we now eat 25, 30 or even 50 times more Omega-6 than Omega-3.
This is a formula for disaster. Why? Because the byproducts of excess Omega-6 (ARA) may cause inflammation in tissues and organs.
Another famous doctor, Dr. Barry Sears, outlined exactly how and when you’d gauge health by looking at your ARA to EPA ratio. See his book, The Omega Rx Zone. Harper Collins. Check out page 95.
With the growing mountain of new scientific evidence supporting the benefits of EPA, I’m finding it very hard to believe that EPA is ‘not really effective.’*
OK, how about EPA and excessive bleeding, you say?
Well, the American Journal of Cardiology just published a paper from scientists at Drexel University that says high-dose fish oil by itself or even if combined with aspirin ‘is safe and does not increase risk of bleeding.’*
Again, the bleeding argument is old.
When Jorn Dyerberg, the ‘father’ of Omega-3 first discovered that Inuits were protected from poor heart health from their high Omega-3 levels, he also noticed increased incidences of nosebleeds.
Dr. Oz and Algae-based Omega-3 Supplements
He claims that algae-derived DHA give you “DHA’s perks without the fishy burps that fish oil capsules may cause.”
Huh?!
DHA, regardless of where it comes from, is extremely sensitive to oxygen, light, heat and metals. All these things cause oxidation (rancidity.) And oxidation causes DHA (or EPA) to smell.
It does not matter if the DHA (or EPA) comes from fish or algae. If it is poorly handled or stored, it will spoil. It will stink and it will make you burp. Period.
If you don’t believe it, go to Walmart and buy a Spring Valley DHA 900 mg made with algae-DHA. Or talk to my wife who took one pill and gagged.
Algae-based DHA is neither more nor less susceptible to rancidity than fish oil based Omega-3 supplements.
Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Oz’s long-time business partner and co-author, is/was a scientific and medical consultant to Martek Biosciences Corporation (DSM), the algae DHA company.
Algae is a great source of DHA. After all, that’s where fish get it from! In the not-too-distant future, we will run out of fish to feed our expanding population – so algae-sourced DHA & EPA is the sustainable future of Omega-3 supplements. But for now, making EPA from algae is still very tricky.
Doctor Oz, it hurts your TV audience when you disparage EPA. That bugs me. May be it bugs me more because I’m associated with OmegaVia, a high-EPA formula. But I don’t tell people to avoid DHA! On the contrary, I encourage it.
But I see recently that you’ve been warming up to EPA.
What Other Experts are Saying…
In the last week, I spoke to three doctors about this and got four different opinions.
But here are a few public opinions:
“I was surprised to see him miss the all-important Omega-3 fat known as ‘EPA’. EPA and DHA are similar; they are found together in foods and work together in the body. Would you choose to use your left hand without your right hand when they work better together?”
“…when it came to recommending omega-3 fats, known to be vital to cardiac health, Dr. Oz, once again, gave recommendations only for DHA, and not EPA. DHA is one of the 2 functional omega-3 fats, but some of the best evidence for prevention of [poor heart health] is attributed to EPA and how EPA works in the body. I sure would like to discuss this with Dr. Oz, and welcome the opportunity to show him the scientific evidence.”
– Gretchen Vannice, Expert Nutrition Researcher and Dietitian, in her blogs titled:
Why is Dr. Oz missing EPA?
Oh, no! Dr. Oz
Diabetes: Dr. Oz, How Did You Get It So Wrong?
Dr. Oz Gets It Wrong On Fish And Mercury and National Fisheries Institute weighs in as well.
Dr. Sears, a Doc of a Different Stripe
Dr. Barry Sears, founder and chairman of Zone Labs, has said the key to benefits from consumption of fish or fish oil supplements are due to the EPA, not the DHA.“Because the brain contains relatively low amounts of EPA compared to DHA, it has always been assumed that it was the DHA that gave rise to these benefits. In fact, an entire industry was built on the concept of supplementing infant formulas with DHA would improve the neurological health of both the mother and child. Of course, no one ever tested this hypothesis until now.”
The October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article looking at the dietary supplementation with a fish oil supplement exceptionally high in DHA and very low in EPA. Unfortunately, the results were the opposite of the prevailing thoughts. In fact, the researchers found no cognitive benefits for either the mother or child. This calls into question why we are supplementing infant formulas with DHA.
The answer is that benefits of fish consumption or fish oil supplementation are due to the EPA, not the DHA.”
Botton-line:
Overall, I think, Dr. Oz has done a tremendous job informing and educating. I respect and look up to him for that. But I see that he is warming up to EPA, noting in a recent YouDocs newspaper column that “EPA is getting its due.”
Nutritionally, America is SO off-balance, that any national awareness Dr. Oz brings to Omega-3 (DHA or EPA), will improve our well-being and reduce our health care costs drastically.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.