Is it okay to take Dr. Sears' fish oil 2 at one meal and 2 at another or is it best to take all 4 before the same meal?

As far as I am aware, I don't believe that it really matters.

But, this is a good question for tech support to answer, as I am certainly not a fish oil expert.

I recall in past forum posts that some people have split up their fish oil over the course of the day, and some take it all at once. Some people take it earlier in the day, as they believe it interferes with their sleep. As for me, I take it at once because I would otherwise forget to take it later! LOL

YES it is! I have seen many Tech posts over the years and three different forums here, that because it is a fat soluble nutrient and not a water soluble nutrient, that a divided dose has the same affect as a single dose.

John summed it up pretty well.

The Fish Oil was giving me loose stools so I stopped it for a day. Then had only 2 capsules for two days and did fine. Yesterday I had two in the morning and two in the evening and after this morning's urgent stool the water in the toilet had an oily film on it and I feel like I could have diarrhea at any time so I'm staying near the bathroom. I'll stop taking the fish oil for a few days and then resume taking only one or two a day and see what happens. I think I'm one of those that won't ever be able to tolerate the full 4-cap dose. Any other advice?

Larry.. Try this. Take one for three days.. Then two for three days... Then three for three days. Are you taking Dr Sears Fish Oil ? You might also want to consider having the AA/EPA test to determine how much FO you actually needs.

thanks, Tech Support. It's the Dr Sears brand. I didn't have this issue when I was taking a less powerful grocery store brand. I'll try your suggestions and also look into the AA/EPA test.

Hi Larry,

Fish oil has long half life. It sticks around in you system for a few days, so going without it for a day will not always be long enough. My advice here is going to be based on my personal experiences with fish oil and the advice given to me by Barry Sears as he helped my find a my correct dosage. Stop the Omega Rx for a week to allow it to dissipate form your system. Then resume at the lower level, the 2 capsules daily that seems ok for you. I also highly advise you take Sea Health Plus with the fsh oil dose. It should help you to better absorb the fish oil. Dr. Sears worked with me on my dose for a couple months (10 years ago) before we found one I could tolerate. It sometimes takes a little bit of trial and error but it's well worth it. We settled on 1 capsule Omega Rx every third day. It sounds like nothing, but within days of beggining Omega Rx supplementaion I had a drastic lowering (normalizing , I should say) of my high blood pressure, and my doctor immediately took me off the two high BP meds I'd been on for years. I haven't had high blood pressure since then, and I have not been able to increase thta Omega Rx dose without having the unwanted symptoms of too much EPA. Incidentally, the two high BP meds I was on at the time had not been controlling my BP. My doctors (primary care doctor and a cardiologist) had tried many combinations of high BP lowering meds to no avail. Omega RX is powerful stuff!

Larry, regarding the testing, take a look on the web site for a promotion in which you can get a free test after your purchase of 6 month supply of fish oil. I have not reviewed this promotion myself, but this was posted in the forums sometime last week, so thought I would pass it along. The blood test is expensive and not covered by most insurances, but if you can get it for free, that would be awesome!

It is possible that you are someone who already has a good profile, and if you are eating cleanly in the Zone, then you may not be in need of a lot of fish oil.

Hi Tech Support, I must have been composing my reply while you were posting yours. :)

Cranberry makes a good point.. Your diet may be providing you with all the Omega3 you need. By testing you can know for sure.

CranberryCat is also correct... If you buy 6 bottles we do send you the blood test kit. You are required to have your doctor sign off and oversee the test and mail it in.. Just FYI

Thanks, Cranberrycat, for the tip about the free test. I'll keep that in mind. For the 10 months prior to going on the Zone Diet I was eating a low carb, raw vegan, alkaline diet. It was very high in good fats (avocado, olive oil & flax oil), very low carb (no fruit) and of course had almost no protein (just the good fat and tons of green vegetables was all I ate). It is designed to draw acids out of the system so my AA might be low. The problem with it is that I was freezing cold all the time and in the last month I lost my appetite and quickly became underweight. That scared me so I decided to add animal protein back in and returned to the Zone.

Thanks, Sue - that's great advice. I'm going to try it exactly as you suggest.

You're welcome! ;-)

Larry, if that doesn't help I know of a few more things to try. Good luck.

Hi Sue - I followed your advice and got the Sea Health Plus and slowly worked my way back up to 4 capsules of the Omega RX Fish Oil. I've been at 4 for about a week and seem to be tolerating it well.

I'm wondering if I should try to gradually increase the fish oil intake.

In order to keep from losing weight and becoming underweight, I have tripled my fat intake (also per your recommendation). My meals are 4P blocks, 4-5C blocks and 12F blocks. My weight is staying at a good level for me, about 160 lbs. I'm wondering if the extra fat (mostly olive oil, almond butter & avocados) is increasing the omega 6 too much in proportion with the omega 3. Do athletes, etc. that take extra fat also take extra fish oil?

I've had neck pain for many years and have to take Prozac to keep anxiety at bay.

That's very good news, Larry. I wouldn't recommend a fish oil increase due to the omega 6 you're ingesting from the increased fat blocks, but you may want to check out more about the appropriate fish oil dosage for your wellness concerns (anxiety and chronic neck pain). Keeping in mind that everyone will have very individualized needs, an athlete's fish oil doses will also depend on the amount of inflammation being generated in their body by the activity they perform. My advice is to either get the AA/ EPA test done so you'll know for sure how much fish oil you need, or follow the dosage recommendation chart in the book "Toxic Fat". If you're considering getting the test done, keep in mind that you need to be at any given dosage for about 30 days to receive the full benefit of that dose, so you'd want to be at a dose for that long before testing to see if it's the correct amount for your needs.

thanks, Sue.