I could have added my comments to the thread on shoulder pain, but I think this subject is important enough to give it maximum visibility.

For the past 3.5 years, I've suffered from serious hip pain and loss of motion and range. It caused me to stop running and gain over 30 lbs. I've tried everything: PT, stretching and strength training, cold laser, acupuncture, etc. None of it helped much. It took almost 2 years, but I was eventually told I need a hip replacement.

I've been in the Zone for 13 days now and today marks the second time where my hip feels significantly better than it has in the past couple of years. The first time was shortly after starting. A co-worker asked how my hip was doing. I told him it was inexplicably much better that particular day. For the next few days, it reverted back and I figured it was simply an "awakenings" moment.

Then, I read the thread on shoulder pain disappearing and wondered if the Zone may have been what helped me that day. Well, today I am having another good day and I think it must be due to the Zone diet. I'm not even taking fish oil.

The problem with hip joint pain and stiffness is that it's difficult for any treatments to penetrate deep enough to get at the source of the inflamation. I think the Zone may, in fact, be reducing my inflamation and improving my hip function.

Should I start taking fish oil?

Thanks,
Rich

That is great news! The Zone is classified as an "anti-inflammation" diet, and the fact that it promotes using whole foods rather than processed foods is one big reason why you are feeling so much better.

I think that you will notice even better results if you combine the diet with fish oil.

I have been on a fish oil hiatus, as of late (had a reaction, and had to back off). I can definitely feel the difference, all of the stiffness that comes with age is really starting to feel more pronounced.

Cran - do I really need to use the Dr Sears fish oil or can I get similar results with brand x?

It's awfully expensive

thx

On the surface, it may appear expensive. But, you may want to do a little comparison shopping.

First, make sure you choose a fish oil that is "pharmaceutical grade". This means that the pollutants have been removed.

Then, compare how much EPA and DHA you are getting in the brand that you choose. For instance, in the Zone Labs fish oil, there is 1800 mg of EPA and 900 mg of DHA. I bet, if you purchase another brand, the concentration is not as high, and you will be "thinking" that you are paying less, but in reality you are also getting less.

Check out the information on the International Fish Oil Standards website. I don't have the link handy, but if you google "international fish oil standards", it should come right up. This organization is an independent organization that tests fis oil for its purity. Each fish oil company listed on this website has paid big money to have its fish oil tested.

Richard,

Barry Sears recommends using an IFOS 5 star rated fish oil (for safety re: pollutants...heavy metals and chemicals), with EPA /DHA of 2:1, and 60% concentration.

You would begin with 5 grams of Omega Rx or Eico RX. Your dose is most likely at least 5 grams daily because of you hip pain (2 teaspoons or 8 capsules). There's a price comparison on the Omega 3 page of this site. You'll be amazed by the results of taking it. In the case of fish oil, you get what you pay for. There are only a couple brands which consistently meet the high standards that Dr. Sears sets. It's unlikely you will find more than one "brand x" which meets the criteria necessary to yield results, and it's price is comparable to Zone Labs' oils. There is actually a difference between Zone Labs and this other high quality brand, which is not apparent when looking at the price comparison chart. Zone Labs fish oils are ethyl ester based while the other brand is triglyceride based (don't ask me the difference; I can't fully explain, but it made a huge difference for me, the difference between results vs no results) I speak from experience regarding lack of results from other brands. I tried 3 other brands prior to the availablilty of Omega Rx, with no results. The switch to Omega Rx gave me results literally within an hour of the first dose (in my case blood pressure related). My cousin had severe arthritis in both knees and was in line for a knee replacement. She was taking Celebrex and still in a lot of pain, and hadn't been to the 2nd floor of her house in several years because she could no longer use stairs. She was literally pain free and off Celebrex a little less than 3 weeks after beginning the Zone diet with Omega RX. 5 years later she finally did the knee replacement, but for reasons unrelated to pain, because she's remained pain free since beginning Omega RX. My son, one of my daughters, my mom, and my husband have had equally astounding results with it for their various concerns (you can probably find their results with a search of my old posts).

In addition to fish oil there are other dietary measures you can be taking each day to help lower inflammation, to name a few, OG extra virgin olive oil, OG sesame oil, moderate amounts of alcohol (Mai Tai, lol!!...how was Chinese BTW?), turmeric, fresh ginger, and aloe vera. You can read more about these and other related things in "The Anti-Inflammation Zone".

Sue and Cran,

All good information - thanks very much - I think I'll have to bite the bullet and give it a try.

Chinese worked out great, Sue. Had beef/chicken teriyaki on a stick, broccoli with garlic, and, of course, a good dose of pain killer in more ways than one, the infamous Mai Tai.

Thanjs again,
Rich

You're welcome Rich!

Rich, you are welcome! Glad you enjoyed the Chinese! It is nice that there is such a diet that allows us to adapt almost any kind of food to stay in the zone.

Sue -
It's been almost a weel since I started taking 4 caps of OmegaRx daily and I haven't really noticed any difference. Should I up my dosage to 8 caps? How long until i should expect to see some positive effects?
Thx,
Rich

Rich,

When you already have existing pain (chronic pain) Barry Sears recommends taking 7.5 g Omega Rx, daily (3 teaspoons or 12 capsules). Once at the correct dose (and combining it with the Zone diet), you should notice a big difference by the end of a few weeks , a month tops. This dosage info is found in "The Anti- Inflammation Zone" (page 81), and can also be found by clicking on the Anti- Inflammatory Medicine Monoghaph link on the Resources page of DrSears.com. Here's the address for the monograph: http://www.drsears.com/portals/6/Do...ochure.pdf

Keep us updated. Have a nice weekend!

Richard, I would also recommend upping your dose. However, some people don't tolerate an abrupt increase very well. I think it would be appropriate to work yourself up to the recommended dosage. And, if you notice positive effects before you arrive at the recommended dose, then you could probably stop there (you don't want to take too much).

Rich, in regard to Cranberry's advice to work up to that dose, it would be fine for you to increase from 4 to 12 caps all at once. When Barry does suggest incremental increases, in my experience he usually does so in increments of 2 teaspoons (8 caps) at a time, with increases once a week. For example when one begins fish oil and requires a dose of 2 tablespoons daily, he'll sometimes advise to begin with 2 teaspoons for one week, then up it by 2 tsp to 4 tsp the next week, and at the end of this week (2 weeks from beginning) up it by another 2 tsp to the full 6 tsp (2T). I have personal experience with him directing members of my family to do this, and have heard him advise others to do the same (in a phone qn/answer session with Barry, that the Zone presented a few yrs back).

Well, obviously, Sue does not happen to believe me, but I have had personal experience with "abrupt" increases in fish oil, and the negative effects of that. And, I would bet that Sue would not fare well with an abrupt increase, either!

Rich, you should do what you are comfortable doing. I personally feel that fish oil dosing is very a very individual experience, and should be based on your individual response. Sear's recommendations are based on his studies, and I don't have any argument with that. But, his studies do not tell anything about why I don't fit into that mold, nor does it tell why Sue doesn't fit into that mold, either.

Hi Everyone,

[quote]Posted By Cranberrycat on 03/21/2008 11:16 AM

...nor does it tell why Sue doesn't fit into that mold, either. [/quote]

Au contraire. In my case I have a very good AA/EPA (my last AA/EPA test was less than a year ago); and I have no obesity, no arthritis, and no chronic pain (the presence of any one of these three conditions would indicate an increased need for fish oil). Barry Sears explained to me that my AA/EPA is very good due to my many years of strict adherence to the Zone Diet. He said that because of this I require only a small maintenance dose of fish oil.

Taking more fish oil than I require upsets my eicosanoid balance, as it would for anyone who takes more than they require. Barry advises that you control your inflammation with diet as much as possible, and then supplement with fish oil only to the extent that you need. He also explained to me that the better you control inflammation through close adherence to the Zone Diet, the less fish oil you require.

[quote]Posted By Sue on 03/21/2008 5:13 PM
Taking more fish oil than I require upsets my eicosanoid balance, as it would for anyone who takes more than they require. Barry advises that you control your inflammation with diet as much as possible, and then supplement with fish oil only to the extent that you need. He also explained to me that the better you control inflammation through close adherence to the Zone Diet, the less fish oil you require. [/quote]

Hello, Everyone!

Seems as though Sue's statement actually helps me to make my point!

The better that we do with diet, the less fish oil that we need. Then, I would assume that it is possible that someone who is trying to control hip pain (or other type of pain/inflammation) may not actually need the fish oil in the dosage that Sue had suggested earlier in this thread. As I said, it is a very individualized dose, and an individualized approach.

Hi Everyone,

[quote]Posted By Cranberrycat on 03/21/2008 7:16 PM

...the dosage that Sue had suggested earlier in this thread.

[/quote]

Let's give credit where credit is due. 7.5 grams of fish oil daily is Barry Sears' recommended dose for a person with chronic pain.

And "suggested dose" are the key words in your post, Sue.

No one is suggesting that Sears is wrong, I certainly have not done all of the research that he has. Rather, I am just suggesting that the whole idea of adjusting a fish oil dose needs to be based one each individual's response to fish oil, and how well he/she follows an anti-inflammation diet.