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Tons of Info on Fish Oil Potential Benefits, Risks

Here's a boatload of info on dosages, safety issues and more from the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, which is an evidence- based reference compiled by pharmacists. They don't sell anything. The numbers in parentheses are usually hyperlinks to Medline studies-- can't use them here. It looks like there are (surprise!) many potential benefits AND many potential watchouts/risks. Buried in the effectiveness section is a statement that fish oils do seem to help in depression, except for manic symptoms in bipolar depression (DR O`FLAHERTY`S COMMENT:THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT FISH OIL IS EXTREMELY USEFUL IN BIPOLAR,INCLUDING THE SUPPRESSION OF MANIA.A few cases of manis have been reported too.Read Professor Andrew Stoll`s work-see www.amazon.com for details.Interesting too is www.hriptc.org-The Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Illinois which treats psychiatric conditions mostly using minerals,vitamins and amino acids):

Safety:
LIKELY SAFE ...when used orally and appropriately. Doses of 3 grams per day and less can be safely used by most people. Fish oils have Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status in the US (5703,7376).
POSSIBLY UNSAFE ...when used orally in high doses. Doses greater than 3 grams per day can inhibit blood coagulation and potentially increase the risk of bleeding. Doses greater than 3 grams per day might also suppress immune response (1313,7376,7383,7384).
CHILDREN: POSSIBLY SAFE ...when used orally and appropriately (5708,5711).
PREGNANCY AND LACTATION: LIKELY SAFE ...when used orally in amounts found in foods (5703). There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of fish oils when used in amounts greater than those found in foods during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Effectiveness:
LIKELY EFFECTIVE ...when used orally for hypertriglyceridemia. Fish oils from supplements or from dietary sources can reduce triglyceride levels by 20-50% (1024,2299,2300,2301,2302,2315,2317,570