I have been supplementing with Fish Oil labeled DHA Omega 3 which also has EPA Omega 6. I am wondering if this is doing more harm than good.
We humans are supposed to take only DHA because we get enough EPA from the foods in our diets. DHA and EPA are supposed to be equal.
Does anyone know the answer to the ratio for dogs?
From my take on the web sites about EPA is that we get it from the Grain in our diets. It also says that mammals get DHA from grass and need equal ammounts of DHA for hormones, hearts, arthritus and other things.
Here is one web site. I am so totally confused about this. I'm just not getting it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid
Thank you for your answer. One site said that DHA is converted into EPA.
I think it is just the alphabet soup of abbreviations used for fatty acids that is confusing.
My understanding is that EPA and DHA can be converted from one to the other because both are omega-3s. The fatty acids we get from grains in the diet and grain fed meat are omega-6s.
Have you got this article? http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/12/3/207.pdf
It's a bit lengthy but it has a helpful chart on the various omega 3s and omega 6s.
Although omega 3s are good, have you heard that with any omega 3 product it is a good idea to also supplement vitamin E? Omega 3s are a easily oxidized and can use up antioxidants in the body, adding additional E supposedly compensates for that process. My dogs get 200-400 IU of vitamin E every day to go with their fish oil.
You may want to consult a vet before giving vitamin E though, it can have a blood thinning effect that would be bad if for instance the dog were scheduled for surgery in the first few weeks of being on it. I know you didn't ask about E but thought you might be interested if you are researching fish oil.
Thanks Laurel,
I found a new salmon oil at Costco that has almost equal amounts of both and is cold pressed deep water Salmon. It costs a little more. Oh it has Vitamin E too.
Yes, the Vitamin E and DHA are supposed to be stopped two weeks before surgery along with Asprin and other thinners. I had surgery about 5 years ago and the E and DHA were on the list.
Its getting so bad one year something is good and the next it's not.
