5 replies to this topic

[Dorian Grey]

A little heads-up to our fish oil friends... It seems fish oil and alcohol are not a good mix!

I don't have access to the full study details on how much fish oil or alcohol it took to damage these little ratties livers, but I'd been researching lipid peroxidation related to polyunsaturated oils and omega-3s when I came across this little study.

Looks like if you're taking fish oil for your health, it's best not to toast your health, and if you have been doing this, some saturated fats may be in order to get your liver happy again.


Dietary saturated fatty acids: a novel treatment for alcoholic liver disease.

Nanji AA, Sadrzadeh SM, Yang EK, Fogt F, Meydani M, Dannenberg AJ.

Source

Department of Pathology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

BACKGROUND & AIMS:

Lipid peroxidation may be important in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver injury. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a saturated fatty acid-based therapy (palm oil) could decrease lipid peroxidation and alcoholic liver injury during ethanol withdrawal.
METHODS:

Three groups of male Wistar rats (5 rats/group) were studied. Rats in group 1 were fed a fish oil-ethanol diet for 6 weeks; rats in groups 2 and 3 were fed a fish oil-ethanol diet for 6 weeks before treatment with fish oil-dextrose (group 2) or palm oil-dextrose (group 3) for 2 weeks. Liver samples were analyzed for histopathology, lipid peroxidation, fatty acid composition, cytochrome P450 2E1 activity, and tocopherol levels.
RESULTS:

By 6 weeks, all rats had developed fatty liver, inflammation, and necrosis. Group 2 showed minimal histological improvement, whereas group 3 showed near normalization of the histology. The improvement in group 3 was associated with decreased lipid peroxidation and P450 2E1 activity. Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids were detected in group 2 than group 3. Tocopherol levels were similar among the groups.
CONCLUSIONS:

A diet enriched in saturated but not unsaturated fatty acids reversed alcoholic liver injury. This effect may be explained by down-regulation of lipid peroxidation.

Comment in

• Gastroenterology. 1995 Aug;109(2):617-20.

PMID: 7615205 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[niner]

I haven't seen the full paper, but these mice were probably fed a LOT of fish oil and alcohol. Fish oil in reasonable quantities, like 2g/d is a distinct win if you are ApoE 2 or 3, and a very likely win for the other 25% of people who are ApoE 4. Alcohol is a mixed bag overall with distinct positives and negatives depending on various things, but if it gets to the point that you are considering ethanol as a macronutrient rather than as a drug, you are not going to do well.

[Dorian Grey]

Good points niner... It appears they were intentionally trying to damage the livers with the alcohol and fish oil to test their hypothesis that saturated fats might correct the damage, so the doses may have been greater than therapeutic with the fish oil and recreational with the alcohol.

This point accepted, it is surprising the damage they could do and the remarkable swiftness in which it occurred.

With the pervasiveness of alcohol in our society, there may well be a large percentage of those who imbibe who might wish to consider the wisdom of mixing the two, or perhaps adjust the dosages accordingly.

Perhaps, as with acetaminophen, recommended dosages might be halved for those who drink more than two drinks daily.

I find it interesting that prescription drugs frequently contain interaction warnings, but supplements rarely do.

[niner]

Yeah, lots of people drink too much, but at least no one is laboring under the illusion that it's "good for them". On the other hand, you can find a lot of people here who take insane quantities of fish oil, like fifteen grams a day, and don't seem to think there's anything to worry about. That said, if there is an interaction between fish oil and alcohol, I don't think you'd see it at normal doses, like 2 grams and 2 drinks.

[Luminosity]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: all extracted fish oil is rancid. Rancid oils are bad for you, especially your liver.

Eat fresh fish.

[niner]

all extracted fish oil is rancid.

If I bite open one of my fish oil softgels, it tastes and smells fine. It contains some vitamin E that serves as an antioxidant. I'd be less confident of bottled oil that is exposed to air every time it's opened.