Any formulaes out there for how much EFA's you should take?

[Westsider]

I know you are supposed to have omega 6,omega 3 etc but her much should you be taking? Does anyone know how much is optimal? A mg per pound of bodyweight rule would be nice. I am considering buying some pills containing EFA's but there is no point in buying it if I have no idea how much I am supposed to be taking.

[mpetry]

there are no formal rules as far as I know, but I have heard varying things.

my doctor recommends achieving as close to a 1:1 ratio of omega-3s to omega-6's (almost impossible unless most of your protein is fatty fish), but really the closer you can get to even the better. the typical american diet is something like 1:20 (3's to 6's).

if you have an omega-3 supplement like a fish oil, check the EPA and DHA concentration per capsule. I buy my fish oil from metagenics (expensive but I trust the quality). each softgel contains 430mg EPA and 290 mg DHA and I typically take between 4-8/day. there is, as far as I know, nothing wrong with taking a lot of EPA/DHA. as long as it fits within whatever caloric/macronutrient restrictions you may have set for yourself, you're fine.

I have read varying sources (not necessarily doctors) claiming that you should be getting >2g/day of EPA from your supplement regimen (so for my particular fish oils, that'd be 5 caps). some homeopathic doctors recommend upwards of 30g of marine lipid oils a day to cure skin disorders.

I think >2g/day EPA is a reasonable goal to shoot for but beware, I have seen caps that only contain 100mg EPA. even though they may be cheaper by the bottle, it'll end up costing you more if you have to buy 4 times as many bottles.

[Westsider]

Thankyou for your response. I have started the Dave Palumbo keto diet and he recommended 9 grams of omega 3 per day. I did not know whether it was for the individual who he was giving an example of or if it was supposed to be a guideline for everyone. I have just orderred super omega from myprotein and will try to shoot for perhaps 3-4 grams per day. The diet recommends 0.5 grams of fat (all types) per pound of bodyweight. I also have to take in account the fact that I eat 1 salmon and have a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil everyday. The packets don't say how much omega 3 is contained in them though which is annoying. With regard to any kind of supplement I think it is important to know exactly how much of it I am meant to take for optimal results. When I used to take creatine even though I didn't know anything about it I would just read the recommended dosage on the tub. I could've been taking in too much or too little. I don't want to make the same mistake with omega 3.

Do you have any links to detailed articles that I can read about EPA? Thanks once again.

[mpetry]

I think you're getting hung up on `optimal results'. there is no real way to know what those are for you unless you try taking different dosages and then adjust up or down based on how things are affecting you. that said, I have read stuff by john beradi explaining his diet and he eats almost all omega-3s and very few omega-6's, so there is really no harm in cutting out most omega-6's and just eating wild caught fatty fish, flax, eggs, etc as opposed to beef and milk (which have omega-6's in higher ratio).

also note that olive oil, while incredibly good for you, does not contain many omega-3's, it's mostly omega-6s. with salmon, you need to be very careful; farm-raised salmon is grain fed and as a result is high in omega-6's and not as healthy for you as wild caught, which is high in omega-3's and extremely low in omega-6's.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/ has breakdowns of fatty acids contained in every food. these can be helpful.

again, the bottom line is eat as many omega-3's as you you can afford in a combination of both normal foods and supplementation.

here are john beradi's articles: read several, they're all worth your time. http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/index.htm

as a side note, you're on a keto diet recommending .5g of fat per lb of body fat? how much of a caloric deficit are you in? any keto diet I've ever seen has been between 60/40 and 70/30 caloric ratios respectively between fats and proteins. if I were taking in only 90g of fat a day on a keto diet with the rest filled with protein (60/40 ratio), I would be consuming only 1350 calories a day. that seems dangerously low.

[Westsider]

It is 1.5 grams of protein and 0.5 grams of fat per pound. I don't feel sapped of energy at all right now. In fact if you look at my log you will find that my lifts are actually increasing. I feel no different than from when I was carb cycling. Which makes me wonder how much of a role carbs really play in muscle building. Thanks for all of the articles. I will read through them. I will just experiment with my omega 3 dosages and fight what works best for me.