If you regularly take fish oil supplements, this segment may be difficult to hear. Professor Brian Peskin, scientist and MIT graduate in electrical engineering, insists that he never had a vendetta against fish oil – but he sure has a lot to say about it in his latest book Debunking the Fish Oil Myth. Despite a lifetime of low-fat food and exercise, his wife Debbie was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990. When the clinic’s recommendations made her worse, Professor Brian Peskin began studying health research to find answers. With an extensive background in statistics and engineering, he quickly recognized that even research in highly-regarded medical journals is often incomplete, inconclusive, opinion-based, or makes statistically inconsistent recommendations. To address this critical issue, Professor Brian Peskin founded the field of life systems engineering science in 1995, bringing unprecedented scientific rigor to health and nutritional research. Although leading sources for health information tout fish oil supplements as a good source of essential fatty acids (EFAs), Professor Brian Peskin’s research shows that fish oil supplementation is ineffective against cardiovascular disease and cancer, detrimental to immune health, and promotes diabetes. So why in the world are we taking it? Join us with Professor Brian Peskin as he discusses parent essential oils (PEOs), the role of EFAs in the body’s metabolic pathways, and explains why everything we know about the science of fish oil is wrong.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Kim,
I wonder how Brian feels about the Life Extension Foundation as a reliable source of information? Any clues?
Bob
Bob, I’ll answer directly.
Anyone or any institution recommending fish oil for helping either prevent or reverse cancer — while the world’s leading medical journals report the direct opposite…. what would you say?
Hello Brian,
Are there any reliable sources of nutritional info regarding oils and fats that you recommend? Who are we to trust?
Also, it is my understanding that you are not advocating Omega 6 oils in the usual manners we receive them (such as in food) – due to rancidity. But, ingesting them in a pure/fresh state – along with fresh Omega 3s is the way to go. Is this correct?
Do you recommend keeping the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio around 2:1 in our system? It is my understanding that we ingest way too many Omega 6 fatty acids in our diets in relationship to Omega 3s. The population, in general, has a ratio of 20 or > Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio.
Now regarding flax oil, it is also my understanding that the ALA in it is not always converted to EPA and DHA if people consuming the oil don’t have the enyzmes necessary to do so. So, are small quantities of fish oil acceptable for people in this situation?
Lastly, there has been a concern regarding flax oil and prostate cancer. What is your take on this?
Thanks a bunch! And, I look forward to your reply.
Bob
Please review http://www.brianpeskin.com for numerous papers on this topic.
Well, Bob — how’s that for a nonanswer? If all we need is Mr. Peskin’s website and his “numerous papers” he’s got up there supposedly — why is he being interviewed here? Why is he posting here? If he doesn’t have a short and truthful answer to the questions people are asking here, then why doesn’t he just go hang out at his website and suck his thumb? I just think that was a RUDE and disingenuous non-answer to a central point, that ALA (from vegetable sourced Omega 3) is not properly converted to EPA.
“Professor Peskin” is a FRAUD. And so are all his claims about fish oil.
Fact: DHA levels are high in people on low fat diets. Period. People who have used NO FISH OIL. You don’t need to take any fish oil.
Bottom line: There is no proof, no studies showing ANYBODY having any bad effects from fish oil — rancid or otherwise. The studies of the high DHA levels are not from people who took fish oil. Mr. Peskin’s claims otherwise are PURE LIES.
IOW, there are no studies where people were given fish oil capsules and got cancer (or any of the other things this shill for Big Pharma is claiming.)
Thanks anyway, Kim, for bringing this guy on — so that the topic can be aired and the truth can be revealed. Mercola and Mike Adams and Weston A. Price have proven records for truthfulness. This “Professor Peskin” is spreading more slander against natural supplements, and what else is new? How much is this guy getting paid? Would be interesting to find that out — and someday when everything is revealed at the Judgment, we will all know all this stuff. Won’t that be an interesting day?
Wow this is great Kim. Thanks
So the omega 3 oils not from fish are apparently superior. Probably because their not oxidized.
Many nuts have more 6 than 3 but have not been mentioned as a good alternative
Co
I now a very sceptic this guy is telling the truth…
Nowhere else have i heard this this opinion. this must come out somewhere else in the health community… This guy sounds more like a disinfo agent.
I know they exist on many fronts/topics, its how they keep the status quo..
Before automatically doubting this guy and labeling him as a disinfo agent, why don’t you instead do some work to corroborate his research? Here’s an article to start. I found it in two minutes. It’s important to do your legwork before leaping to conclusions…
Chris Kesser article
If you found it in two minutes you havent done any research either…
See my other response and Cabs …
Good point, Joe. I was skeptical of Mr Peskin’s new ideas; but I liked his understanding of real science that includes research based upon laboratory studies. His explanation of ‘association’ (Associative Science) was so startling. It gave understanding to my own concerns over how so many pronouncements are made in health, by the medical community which is always behind the times, government and big pharma which have their own agenda, and so many other areas of discussion in our society which seem based upon agenda. I spent two months studying his ideas, listening to his interviews, reading his books and searching out correlations and laboratory studies that supported his ideas while commencing to use seeds and nuts to get the oils balanced. So little of them are needed. My health improvement regarding my eczema has been spectacular; but only time will tell if this is a permanent rectification of my problem.
I found an old document, a number of lectures actually, by another scientist, Dr Johanna Budwig, “Flax Oil As a True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer & Other Diseases” from 1959~1972 which advocates similar changes to diet and naming the same diseases that present diet seem to promote. So Mr Peskin is not the first to question this area of diet health, by a long shot.
Many find it very difficult to challenge their own beliefs, I know I do at times when assuming mine are correct. But I am never so sure of my own beliefs and studies that I do not, usually, at least give the new idea the time it needs to be understood and honestly disproven. Mr Peskin’s exuberant bearing on many interviews was a turn off until the last year or so when he seems more calm in his lectures and interviews and his previous demeanour might be part of the reason so many seem to take such vehemence against his ideas.
But time will tell over the next year or so as I observe my health. I am fortunate, as I enter retirement, that I have excellent health. My thinking outside the box of conventional health has certainly held me in good stead. I have never believed in over exercising: mammals of all sizes seem to have roughly the same number of heart beats in a life time and though exercise and movement are important, many long distance runners and those in professional sports often do not have good health and longevity. Moderation is an important part of good health I suspect. But for a moderately overweight, laid back person who spends far too much time sitting, my bone strength and health stats my doctor finds unbelievable, and jokes that it may not be the fat but the weight of my bones that is tipping the scales. I am very small boned for my average height.
Interestingly and coincidentally the Kessler article you posted is one I just read prior to making my posts on Rainmaking. Many of his other articles seem to disclaim Mr Peskin’s ideas. It is so difficult for many to challenge sacred held beliefs. Many of the comments here seem to jump to quick conclusions. That is a big problem in society today. True study takes time and time is at a premium in our hurried society.
Namaste and care,
mhikl
What about Krill oil? Is it good? It includes an antioxidant called astaxanthin that should stop rancidity.
5mcg of astaxanthan is 1/1000 the dose in a salmon filet
I don’t see on his website directions on how to make this stuff. 🙁
Why should we pay much attention to the medical journals? The whole peer-review, government grant set-up is designed to perpetuate the big racket known as Big Medicine, Big Pharma, and that supplements would be put under strict supervisions, requiring a doctor’s prescription, or banned outright. Fish oil would compete with the statins and the blood thinners and a bunch of other petro-drugs, so why should we be surprised to find this kind of “evidence” against fish oil in the medical journals. Scientists on the government payroll are notorious for providing the results to government that government desires. Is this not true?
Grandma always prescribed cod liver oil, and fish oil has been a valued home remedy for a long time. This guest sounded too eager, too pushy, too much like a salesman eager to make a sale. I’m not buying it.
Swanson sells fish oil capsules that are blended with lemon oil. If the oil is air tight and has an antioxidant mixed with it, I’m not so sure this is a rancid and dangerous supplement.
It’s possible I suppose, but I’m not completely sold on this.
I will stick with grandma’s recommendations and her past success in raising children — rather than the medical journals who are in the pocket of the Rothschild Dynasty and their big corporate buddies and their evil fraudulant “Medical” system. These journals are also telling us that vitamins are dangerous. They are liars. They want us sick. They don’t want us doing anything for ourselves to be well, simple things like taking vitamins or supplements such as fish oil. They want us taking their statin drugs and all the rest of their poisons. I hate them. Please, please keep them away from me, and keep their medical journals away too. I don’t trust them, or their whole medical matrix, including the “reports” they issue on either their own drugs or the supplements they would very much like to make illegal and prevent us from getting.
This guy sounds like somebody who’s got a personal axe to grind with the end result being money in the bank for him. That’s my intuition, my gut speaking, which Kim Greenhouse says we should listen to our gut, and I’m listening.
Kim has some fantastic, pioneering geniuses as guests, and she does a great job of interviewing them — people like Dr. Judy Wood and Dr. Gonzales and Wallace Thornhill and many others, especially in the area of alternative health.
Some of these interviews are just pure gems, great guests interviewed by somebody familiar with their work and asking probing questions. Others, like this one — I’d include in the group of lost souls, New Age kooks and $hysters.
I have noticed there are more excellent programs lately. Get more Judy Wood interviews, Wallace Thornhill interviews, James McCanney to talk about the Great Comet coming in, get Sally Fallon on to talk about Oiling of America. The Hal Huggins interviews were great. Get Bill Still on, and I know he’d be a fantastic guest (better than G. Edward Griffin). Texe Marrs would make a great guest too. Get Nathanael Kapner on to talk about World Peace.
Exactly..
This Brian Peskin doesnt feel like the truth even though i originally bought it as well
There IS disinfo out there on many subjects and its hard to differentiate at first.
He throws it on statistics and examining all the research out there … right …NOT.
Hés an MIT engineer, these are not the people in the know in practical REAL health.
There is indeed massive fraud in the research.
If you want the truth check out Naturalnews.com
I’m a victim of the medical field/dentistry myself and i know what i’m talking about
Regards, Collin
Dear Collin,
Brian Peskin’s direction to take the PEO’s to the pharmaceutical companies is anathema to me. I too wish he were less abrasive about his findings. I have been a fish oil consumer for years and his research is the opposite of the Life Extension Foundation who I really like. But know that there are things even with LEF.org that I disagree with even with their research about Coffee for example. I don’t know that he is a disinformation person. I know that many people hear him and take issue with the way he presents. It’s still worth it to let people like him who have opposite findings about supplments be invited to present them even if I personally don’t agree. Thanks for your input.
Kim, why don’t you just take down this interview.
Official study linking omega 3 to prostate cancer relied on negligible or non-existent evidence. This study was carried out by researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and published in the peer reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The only problem is – it looks like a fraud!
The original SELECT study’s primary endpoint wasn’t to test the effects of omega-3. The fact is they did not look at the participants’ diet or whether or not they took omega-3 supplements. The research was based only on samples of a single blood draw
See more at: http://www.naturalhealth365.com/nutrition_news/prostate_news.html#sthash.MHkAhQ4s.dpuf
He’s just another drug peddler.
Quackwatch Home Page
Brian S. Peskin Charged with Deception
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Bryan Scott Peskin, of Houston Texas, has promoted three herbal products (Basic Essence, Mineral Essence, and Herbal Essence) with claims that they can eliminate food cravings, produce permanent weight loss, boost the immune system, increase energy levels and endurance, eliminate cellulite, maximize heart health, reduce the risk of cancer, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, help achieve peak health, and help control blood sugar / diabetes. The products—marketed by Maximum Efficiency Products as part of the Radiant Health Program—are said to be based on the concepts in Peskin’s book Radiant Health: Moving Beyond the Zone. [1] Peskin’s Web site has stated that the book is “the key to radiant health” and provides “a system of nutrition that will give you permanent weight loss, boundless energy, improved concentration and the maximum shield against disease.” [2] According to two Web sites that market the Radiant Health products:
Brian Peskin is recognized as a world leading pioneer in transforming Nobel Prize winning research into practical solutions for quantum nutrition, peak personal performance, and radiant health. Professor Peskin, an M.I.T. – degreed scientist, has combined the understanding of metabolism, fat-loss, and immunity to disease into practical and understandable terms.
. . . . Brian Peskin is one of the world’s leading authorities in Life-Systems Engineering, earning his degree from M.I.T. Life-Systems Engineering is founded on hard science and its focus is explaining real-life results.
Life-Systems Engineering is technically defined as the brand new science of producing desired results by working cooperatively with the natural processes of living things.
Brian and his Life-Systems team have discovered the solution to getting into the “zone,” and keeping you there with no dieting, calorie counting, or special exercise. . . .
Beyond The Zone took over 5000 hours of research and summarizes the results of over 3500 medical text books and scientific research studies and has been recognized by members of the medical community as being “one of the most significant works on diet and nutrition published in the last 100 years.”
Brian has developed, originally for his own personal use, the only three nutritional supplements our bodies require. Each is based on what “Mother Nature” designed us to eat everyday, before modern-day commercial food processing chemically distorted them or removed them from our diets.
Professor Peskin has been interviewed literally hundreds of times for radio and television and is a frequent guest on local, regional, and national radio and TV programs. He is the chief consulting scientist to Maximum Efficiency Products, a leading manufacturer of health enhancing products including the three Radiant Health products [3].
The Radiant Health Program, which sold for about $150, included audiotapes, a videotape, a copy of the book, and a one month supply of the products. The products alone retailed for $77 for a 1-month supply and $780 for a 1-year supply.
One of Peskin’s strategies was to ask users of his products to submit “success stories.” To encourage this, he promised a free bottle of one of his products if the story was used. However, testimonials do not provide reliable evidence of benefit. Testimonials obtained in response to a promise of reward are even less reliable.
In March 2002, the Texas Commissioner of Health ordered the defendants to recall all Radiant Health “Herbal Essence” products that had been commerically distributed. The recall was ordered because of safety concerns about the manufacturing process [4].
In April 2002, the Attorney General of Texas charged Peskin, Maximum Efficiency, and the parent company (Perkins Management Company) with making misleading claims about the products and Peskin’s credentials. The government’s complaint charged Peskin and the company with making false claims that he held a Ph.D degree, was a research scientist, and was a professor at Texas Southern University [4]. The complaint also noted that the company had not registered with the FDA or obtained a Texas manufacturing license as required by law. Peskin quickly agreed to a temporary injunction that prohibits these claims and bars the defendants from making unsubstantiated claims that their products will protect against heart disease; reduce the risk of breast, prostate, and other cancers; eliminate varicose veins; lower blood pressure; lower cholesterol; eliminate cellulite; prevent diabetes; manage ADD; help children or other persons with ADD, ADHD, or hyperactivity; make children smarter; or cure constipation [5]. In January 2003, the county judge issued a permanent injunction ordering Peskin and his company to pay $100,000 in fines and costs and prohibiting them from:
Making unsubstantiated claims that their products will (a) protect against heart disease; (b) reduce the risk of breast, prostate and other cancers; (c) eliminate varicose veins; (d) lower blood pressure; (e) lower cholesterol; (f) eliminate cellulite; (g) prevent diabetes; (h) manage ADD; (i) help children or other persons with ADD, ADHD, or hyperactivity; (j) be safe for infants, toddlers, or pregnant or nursing mothers; (k) make children smarter; (l) cure constipation; and (m) any other express or implied health or disease claim which bas not been substantiated by Defendants and approved by the FDA or satisfies the requirements of § 403(r)(6) of the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.
Providing or discussing any general nutritional information or theories in connection with the advertising of any particular brand of nutritional supplement.
Using any vignette or symbol, including the “heart smart” vignette, on the labeling of any food or drug product advertised, manufactured, processed, sold, or distributed which makes any health or disease claim that has not been validated and approved by the FDA;
Representing, in any labeling or advertising that food products will mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent specific classes of diseases, as well as performing any role in the human body’s response to a disease.
Exaggerating Peskin’s credentials, education, background or expertise by stating that he (a) is the “Holder [of the] Emeritus Life-Systems Engineering Chair, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University” or (b) is a doctor, professor or holder of a Ph.D.
Using Peskin’s book Radiant Health—Beyond the Zone to help market Herbal Essence, Mineral Essence, or Basic Essence [6].
Peskin, a former employee, and Yes Supplements are facing a private lawsuit charging them with fraud, conversion (theft), business disparagement, tortuous interference, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract in connection with unauthorized use of a client list to market supplements. The judge has issued a restraining order [7].
References
Peskin BS. Radiant Health: Moving Beyond the Zone. Noble Publishing, 1998.
The Diet Book from Radiant Health. Radiant Health Web site, archived Oct 24, 2001.
Identical biographical sketches were published on the Web sites of Radiant Health of Des Moines and Radiant Health of Chapel Hill. (Accessed May 7, 2002)
Plaintiff’s original petition and application for temporary and permanent injunction. State of Texas v. Perkins Management, Inc., D/B/A Maximum Efficiency Products & Brian Scott Peskin. District of Harris County, 55th District Court, Case No. 2002-21594, filed April 26, 2002.
Agreed temporary injunction. State of Texas v. Perkins Management, Inc., et al., Signed by judge, April 30, 2002.
Agreed final and permanent injunction, signed by judge, Jan 7, 2003.
Best of Health America v. Yes Supplements, Inc., and Brian Peskin and David LaFavers. Temporary restraining order, issued Nov 25, 2003.
Quackwatch Home Page
This article was revised on December 4, 2003.
Dear Stephen,
This indictment of Mr. Peskin has nothing to do with his premise and issues with fish oils, for which the entire subject of the segment was about. People get sued daily for not going with the systems information and know how. He brings many important issues to bear even if his past, his legal issues or ways of doing business might be questionable. QuackWatch is political and is there to destroy people who don’t go with the flow. Whomever reads this comment should think twice before taking whatever is written on QuackWatch literally or as facts based on truth. Many people do not like Brian’s demeanor. This does not mean that he does not have a contribution to make regarding fish oil science that is worthy of reflection.
Stephen Barret is a laughable medical doctor whose OPINION is NOT the arbiter of ANYTHING. In science authority MEANS NOTHING. Nature either agrees or disagrees with what you propose……….
NATURE AGREED WITH EINSTEIN- THAT IS ALL THAT COUNTS.
Kim, you said “ Many people do not like Brian’s demeanour.”
Have you read “Exuberance: The Passion for Life”, Paperback – 2005 — by Kay Redfield Jamison? http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0375701486?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
I suspect she would put Mr Peskin in the category of an exuberant.
As well, it is a worthy read and I suspect Ms Jamison would make for a wonderful interview.
Mr Peskin is definitely an exuberant character and his earlier YouTube experiences are similar in their exuberance as found in his interview on your site. However, in the past year or so he is now better able to control his nature and his discussions are now actually very good, and much easier to follow and appreciate.
I though you did an admirable job trying to control or direct the interview, but I’m afraid his exuberance was mightily powerful and your patience, admirable.
After listening to your interview with him, I spent two months studying his work and ideas and have now been off fish four months now— I had been over-using fish oils and Pacific Pink Salmon years before the oils came to the forefront of mainstream health. At the time I listened to your interview, I had had a terrible attack of eczema where my skin from my elbows and knees down fell off. It was the most trying three months of my life; but my skin is now healing and I suspect I may be freed of this affliction for good, all due to discovering this man through your interview.
Little gives me greater pleasure than overturning a long held belief and this simple change in my life may make all the difference to my remaining years so, again, I am indebted to your eclectic choice of interviews. A hollow moon, earth or sun is a little difficult to comprehend, but still worthy entertainment. Mr Peskin’s interview may be one of those moments that makes life much more appreciated.
Namaste and care,
Michael
Fish make me gag, but my cravings for any kind of nuts never ceases.?????????
Medicine and knowledge of the human body is still in the stone ages.
u avin a giggle m8?
head some parts of the program what is the krill oil is it good or bad been taking 1000mg
krill oil good or bad
I am 76 years old. I’m told I look 50—smooth clear skin, no wrinkles. I work out in the gym. I have a 34 inch waist and a 47 inch chest. My resting BP is 155/65. My resting pulse is 55. I am in bursting good health with none of the infirmities of “old age.” And guess what? I have been taking 15 — 20 grams of fish oil daily for 15 years. Enough said.
Image how young you would look if you were not taking the fish oil! Fish oil is just as bad for you as polyunsaturated oils. The only thing fish oil is good for is varnish because it oxidizes so fast.
You are full of it. There are no studies to verify your wild claims. There are many centuries of traditional use of fish oils. Wise Traditions as Sally Fallon calls them.
You aren’t speaking of traditions, nor are you speaking of any studies, or any evidence, not any studies where people were actually given any fish oil suplements. And low fat diets produce elevated DHA levels. So Mr. Peskin is just one more sell-out working for the Drug Companies and Big Medicine, because truth be told fish oil is keeping a lot of people out of the doctor’s offices and sparing them from the exotic and hugely expensive and life-shortening procedures mandated by the wicked medical industry’s “Standard of Care.”
Mercola published a report on this BS about fish oil today, 7/31/2013 and here’s the summary of it:
A recent case-cohort study found that men with higher blood concentrations of omega-3 fat had a 44 percent increased risk of developing low-grade prostate cancer compared to those with the lowest levels
Specifically, higher blood levels of the omega-3 fat DHA correlated to higher prostate cancer risk, while no correlation was found for EPA and ALA. They also had a 71 percent higher risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer
The elevated blood levels of DHA found in the featured study is not necessarily indicative of higher fish consumption. In fact, low-fat diets can increase DHA levels in much the same way omega-3 supplementation can
While the researchers warn that fish oil supplements may be dangerous based on their findings, this study cannot show causation. Furthermore, no fish oil supplements were actually given as part of this study
Foods rich in omega-3 fats have previously been shown to prevent prostate cancer from spreading, and one recent meta-analysis found that fish consumption was associated with a 63 percent reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality
I was taking 2 to 3 fish oil gel caps daily for 10 years. After 7 years I began to experience heart palpitations that really got my attention. I happen to run across Brian Peskins site &
took his advice. I dumped the fish oil 4 months ago and experience NO more heart palpations. After 3 years of irregular heartbeats & now taking organic omega 6 & 3 parent essential oils I feel great!… Enough said! ~ Thanks Brian Peskin.
Correction: resting BP is 115/65!
Dr. Mercola has addressed this, says it’s a fake scare. Here’s the summary of his report:
A recent case-cohort study found that men with higher blood concentrations of omega-3 fat had a 44 percent increased risk of developing low-grade prostate cancer compared to those with the lowest levels
Specifically, higher blood levels of the omega-3 fat DHA correlated to higher prostate cancer risk, while no correlation was found for EPA and ALA. They also had a 71 percent higher risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer
The elevated blood levels of DHA found in the featured study is not necessarily indicative of higher fish consumption. In fact, low-fat diets can increase DHA levels in much the same way omega-3 supplementation can
While the researchers warn that fish oil supplements may be dangerous based on their findings, this study cannot show causation. Furthermore, no fish oil supplements were actually given as part of this study
Foods rich in omega-3 fats have previously been shown to prevent prostate cancer from spreading, and one recent meta-analysis found that fish consumption was associated with a 63 percent reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality
I’ve been reading Dr Ray Peat’s paper on “The Great Fish Oil Experiment” at http://www.raypeat.com. I wish I could hear people, who have studied on health issues like the people on this site, share how they feel Dr Peat contributes to or supports not using Fish Oil for Omega 3. I am surprised that Dr Mercola didn’t mention Dr Peat’s work. I would love to know if and when someone responds to my comment. Thanks.
Telling us to get omega 3 from other sources than animal fats — is BAD ADVICE. They are not the same omega 3s. They are different kinds of omega 3. DIFFERENT. They perform differently and do different things, and omega 3 from flax and vegetables will not protect your heart and brain as the omega 3 from fish oil will.
Nowadays we all need all the help we can get to stay alive and functioning, and anybody who gives up their fish oil based on the wild (and false) claims of Brian Peskin is making an extremely dangerous and foolish decision.
How come these shysters always get away with their slander and false science? Answer: Because they are working for Big Pharma.
I have been taking fish o il omega 3 supplements for 7 yrs am living proff feel great been sick only twice my energy level is fantastic I swear by it just ask dr oz
Brian, thanks for a fresh perspective. Somehow I’m not inclined to label your pronouncements fraudulent because I mself have often wondered how people and cultures where fish and seafood is not prevalent in their diet have survived. I’m likewise skeptical of the need for PEO’s because my understanding is that natural foods in the tropics don’t have the 2: 1 omega-6/omega-3 ratio yet people in the tropics have thrived thru time. My thoughts are that evolution has allowed people to adapt to food available in their locale, and that humans have adapted to the natural fats available. The need for PEO’s is fine, but this recommendation sounds applicable to temperate regions where plants with such lipid profiles are native. It may not be so applicable in tropical and polar regions. I’m tired of growing up in the tropics bombarded with the “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” propaganda, especially that all apples that are imported into the Philippines are sprayed with chemicals that are toxic. I mean, I could just benefit from say pineapples and do away with apples but of course that would be bad for companies exporting apples to the Philippines.
At any rate, just supposing you are right about PEO’s, wouldn’t taking hemp oil or eating hemp hearts be sufficient since it already has the requisite 2:1 ratio?
Michael, good points and ones in which I am also interested.
I could be wrong, but I believe PEOs are also in local animal natural foods and in their flesh and bones. Grass grazing bovine and lamb have the appropriate fats, especially if they are not overcooked and when eaten raw. I enjoy and eat raw beef liver and heart. Other natural animal and plant products (not denatured through processing or fed antibiotics) should provide all nutrients that we need.
The hemp seed you talk about are what I also use, along with some raw, though soaked, and moderate temperature dried sunflower and pumpkin seeds. The raw hemp seeds grown in Canada have a ratio of O-6 to O-3, at 8:2.5 which is close enough to the ‘claimed’ optimal ratio. I believe there is a lot of wiggle room in nature.
The expense to purchase the elixir capsules with the magic ratio would cost me greater than three dollars a day. That is a lot of money in a year and a lifetime. I believe nature provides the nutrients if we spend the time and effort to find out about them. And unlike the PEO capsules being sold, nature produces them far less processed and cost effective.
I am still working on the fish thing and our Inuit. But I have given up all fish products as I have terrible eczema outbreaks in the darker season, though I suspect mood and other psychological aspects have their influence. I also have some early signs of brown spots on my skin that I am watching to see if they disappear with this modification to my diet. (Though they may just be freckles—as a male, I pay far less time on such matters of interest.)
I lived three years in Sarawak (about 20 km from the equator) and the plethora of different foods that grew and lived in the jungle were jaw dropping. The native populations were always eating in season, some seasons coming once in seven or more years, and from their varied diets I am sure their nutritional needs in these aspects were met. The fish in their warm waters surely had far fewer EFAs, if any, than in what the Inuit found in their animals sources, eh?
Namaste and care,
mhikl
Please check out http://www.raypeat.com for more on his thoughts on PUFAs (polyunsaturated fats), among other things. There is also a forum, Google and you will find it. Brian Peskin doesn’t seem it worthwhile to entertain our curiosity by involving himself here.
Thanks for the sight; a plethora of study there.
The hemp oil grown in my country, Canada, has the omega oils ratios in proper order so that is what I stick to.
I have taken my diet to extremes and nix all over processed foods; sticking with lamb and beef heart as my only animal protein; which seems to have the widest variety of nutrients of all animal parts; I do use some liver from naturally raised beef. The Heart I get for myself and dog comes from a Muslim butcher; they are methodical about bleeding animals properly and using the best sources.
The rest of my diet consists of O blood beneficial vegetables, berries and a little fruit (which is high in sugars).
The Hemp seed oil has certainly helped my eczema (came suddenly about 12 years or so ago; never had probs of such before.)
I have ‘extremely strong bones’, ‘for any age’ according to a dentist I visited in 2015 for a root canal. I have posted on this site today, one of Kim’s latest postings more thoroughly on my experience with the re-infected root canal. There you will find my experience and pondering on the miracle that is Borax, a valuable mineral for health and healing.
namaste and care,
mhikl
Fish oils suppress the immune system
I would like a copy of the report to show my family and friends about the danger of fish oil.
Jim and Bernice
Dear James,
Contact the guest directly.
Thank you for listening.
Kim