I just received my AA/EPA test results from EICO Labs. My AA/EPA ratio = 0.6 (AA is 3.56, EPA is 5.76)

I've been taking 7.5g of OmegaRX (= 12 capsules) for 2 months and I've been eating about as low of an Omega 6 diet as is possible. I took the extra fish oil, originally, to see if it would help my chronic neck pain. I didn't help.

The Book "OmegaRX Zone" says the ideal ratio is 1.5 to 3 so I've taken it too low which I think is just as bad as having the ratio too high. I'll save some $$$, too, buy not having to buy all the fish oil and extra polyphenols.

Since I'm getting no benefit in pain relief from it, I'm thinking that returning to the normal dosage of 4 capsules + 1 oz SeaHealthPlus is what I should do and then retest in a few months.

Any advice??

I'm sure glad we have this free testing service since the Eicosanoid Status Report really was no help to me.

Hi larry

Going to run this question over to lab... But off the Top of my head.. I say your thinking is correct. Dr Sears has mentioned as your diet becomes more tuned you will require less Omega3. Not many can achieve the balance you have with our crazy lifes and access to foods.

Again I want to hear the answer form the Lab.. I will get you that ASAP.

I am thinking backing off to maintenance amount (4 caps) is the correct action based on your levels. (maybe even below stranded 4 caps for a short period) but we will have an answer soon

Nice results, Larry!

I would concur with techie that you could probably back off on the fish oil dose. If you continue to eat the way you are now and stay in the Zone, then you will not require as much fish oil.

Sorry about your neck. Fish oil can only do so much for it, but if there is a structural problem, that can't be fixed by fish oil, and the fish oil can only do so much for the inflammation.

I'm starting to get some pain relief from taking MSM. I'm at 8g working my way up to 10. After 30 days at 10g you're supposed to be able to back off to about 4g. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I do tend to a get short-lasting placebo effect with everything I try.

Though I had hoped the fish oil would help my neck pain, I realized going in that it might not. It's good to know for sure.

Seeing now from the blood test that I don't have an inflammation problem means I might be able to save a little money by not buying additional anti-inflammatory remedies, like curcumin, raw chocolate, etc.

Larry

Here you go.

Very good question: This is why we encourage people to test their levels of cellular inflammation. In your case you are doing an incredible job reducing the Arachidonic Acid in your diet, but perhaps too aggressively. With the finger stick test we tell people to aim for between 5-7% for their AA levels and for their EPA to be greater than 4%. You are correct that the ideal ratio is 1.5 to 3, but we like to have the AA/EPA no less than 1.25. Reducing the amount of omega-3s you are taking would definitely help to raise your AA/EPA ratio levels and you even have a little flexibility to an add an egg yolk to your diet here or there. You can always retest after changing your dosage or dietary intake as well.

Thank you, Tech.

To get my AA up from 3.56 to 5, I think I'll need to replace macadamia nuts with slightly higher omega 6 fats (avocado, peanut butter, almonds, olive oil). I had been getting at least half of my fat from macadamia nuts, and that's what made the AA too low. Or I may try egg yolks, instead.

The EPA guideline of above 4 doesn't look like it has an upper limit. I am now at 5.76 so reducing my fish oil from 7.5g to 2.5g should be a good start. I'll retest in a few months to make sure it doesn't drop below 4.

So the basic guideline of 4 fish oil caps and eating all of the acceptable fats is what I'll be going back to.

It sure is nice to get this detailed advice of the ranges of AA and EPA, as well as the ratio, because I could theoretically get the right ratio by just lowering my fish oil intake since my Omega 6 and AA intakes are low. But that would put both AA and EPA out of their acceptable ranges.



Very interesting......

[quote]
Posted By larry on 18 Oct 2012 03:50 PM
To get my AA up from 3.56 to 5, I think I'll need to replace macadamia nuts with slightly higher omega 6 fats (avocado, peanut butter, almonds, olive oil). I had been getting at least half of my fat from macadamia nuts, and that's what made the AA too low. Or I may try egg yolks, instead.

The EPA guideline of above 4 doesn't look like it has an upper limit. I am now at 5.76 so reducing my fish oil from 7.5g to 2.5g should be a good start. I'll retest in a few months to make sure it doesn't drop below 4.

So the basic guideline of 4 fish oil caps and eating all of the acceptable fats is what I'll be going back to.

It sure is nice to get this detailed advice of the ranges of AA and EPA, as well as the ratio, because I could theoretically get the right ratio by just lowering my fish oil intake since my Omega 6 and AA intakes are low. But that would put both AA and EPA out of their acceptable ranges.



Very interesting......
[/quote]



Larry

It truly is interesting and rather amazing in many ways. I work here and work for Dr Sears but I have to say. I feel this test and gaining the balance is a very important part of a healthier well lived life. My opinion .

i'd like to get a sanity check on how best to get my AA up. I was planning to just eat more omega 6 by reducing the macadamia nuts and increasing avocado, olive oil, peanut butter & almond butter, thinking that the omega 6 gets made into AA in the body (I think I read that somewhere).

--OR-- would it be better to keep my fats the same and increase AA by having egg yolks, and animal proteins that contain some saturated fat? My main protein sources have been fat free (egg whites, non-fat yogurt, protein powder, soy meats).

Thanks

Larry

While discussing your previous post.. Egg Yokes were mentioned.. So if you like yokes.. That would be perfect.

thank you. I love egg yolks. I also asked Dr. Sears because I wanted to know how many egg yolks. I just got a reply this morning and he suggested two a week and then to retest in 2 months.

I'll also be getting more Omega 6 since I'm cutting back on the macadamia nuts and omega 6 converts to AA. I was curious if that would give me enough AA and fortunately I can find out in 2 months when I retest. I think it is best to add the egg yolks to make sure the AA goes up enough and then I can tweak later, if need be.

thanks,

Sounds like a good plan, Larry.

I THINK it was the National Institutes of Health who agrees with you and Sears that the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is important to health. They didn't say AA/EPA, but I'm sure they are close enough.

Don't know what the EAA percnetages are ofr sunflower seeds, but I think these are a great choice to raise omega-6's. They are one of the highest nutrient foods. Or try pumpkin seeds, also very nutrient dense. They are very easy to carry as a snack along with your soy shake powder. Convenient.

thanks for the idea. I don't see those listed as favorable fats, Wynn. I looked them up on nutritiondata and the Omega 6 is only about 50% higher than peanuts which are favorable. ?? Maybe Dr. Sears considers peanuts to be at the high end of acceptable Omega 6 content.

I got too little AA by restricting omega 6 and AA too much in my diet. I don't want to overdo it in the other direction, either. I'm sticking with the favorable fats, for now, (mostly peanut butter, almond butter & olive oil). If my next AA/EPA test shows I'm still low in AA, I'll have to evaluate adding either more egg yolks or fats with a little more Omega 6 like the ones you mentioned. thanks.

I think I saw in another post of yours that you eat Soy Zone. I eat a lot of soy, too, but still like egg whites and yogurt.

I'm too lazy to cook egg whites and dislike the way the chickens are treated...their feet often grow into the wire the same way a wire fence can get inside of a tree next to it. The taste isn't so great, either. Not bad, but not great. Guess I'll look up peanuts. Love peanut butter. Peanuts can get aflotoxin, but it is monitored in p.b. The other nutrients in sunflower seeds are high. Peanuts are nutritious, too, though. I haven't gotten that test yet. Will in a few months, when I get money. Not taking omega-3 supplements, either. Wanna take the test first to see the change.

Hi, Larry
I have been in the Zone for 2 years. I am taking OmegaRx for almost the same period of time. I always wanted to check my blood to see how am I doing. I feel great, but want to take it to the next level, and see these good results in my blood test. So basically , my question to you and to everyone in the forum is, where can I get this Eico lab test
Thanks in advance for the response

Roman, the test is available at zonediagnostics.com

Hi Sue, and thank you for the quick response. I know that this test is a new service for the Team of the Zone. A year ago I received a test kit for free, because it was still in early stages of development , and because I was an auto- ship member. I am happy to know that finally, they have it out, so we can monitor our blood characteristics. Do you know if they offer the test for free for an auto ship members, or if there are some kind of discounts. Also I think I still have the test kit laying around somewhere. Do you think there is some kind of expiration date, and if not I can use this one.
Thanks again!
P.S. can you tell me with a few words if it is difficult to use the kit, or I have to go to a physician and do it in a doctors office:D

Hi Roumen,

It would be best to call Zone Labs with those questions. I don't know if there's an expiration date on the usage of the kit you received last year.

There is one place to go to purchase this amazing and exciting offering from Dr Sears..

http://www.zonediagnostics.com/

Spread the word because this is going to benefit all.

Thank you Sue

The link that techie posted is great!

Finally, the test is becoming much more economical--and is almost within my budget to consider purchasing a test kit. Hopefully, and with a good marketing team, perhaps the test will be easily accessible for those who would have otherwise not been able to do it.

I don't know if there is a link to this site anywhere on this website, but it might be a good idea to put one there, if it is not. I would not have known about this test without taking the time to go through the list of unread messages, and this being a reply rather than its own post, I may have easily ignored it.

Also, I normally get the monthly email newsletters and I am subscribed to the Zone on Facebook. I have not seen this introduced in either of those places, either (although, I don't recall if I have read a recent newsletter, seems like it got lost in my email and I never opened it...).

I haven't posted in quite a while. Everything's going great on the Zone. I got another AA/EPA test

My previous test was in October 2012 - AA=3.56%, EPA=5.76%, AA/EPA ratio=0.6

-----My ratio and my AA were both too low but my EPA was good. To get the ratio up to where it should be, I reduced my fish oil to 4 caps, added 2 egg yolks per week, and changed my primary fat from macadamia nuts to peanut butter.

The May 2013 test is AA=5.23%, EPA=2.86%, AA/EPA ratio=1.6.

----My ratio is now just barely above the 1.5 lower limit and about equals the Japanese population (yippee! I'm no longer at risk for infections and hemorrhagic stroke, according to Dr Sears). My AA is about 25% below the ideal of 7%-9%. My EPA is also 25% below the ideal of >4%.

QUESTIONS - Should I keep my diet & supplementation as is even though I'm about 25% low on both AA and EPA, or should I try to increase either AA alone or both AA and EPA? If increasing is recommended, how many egg yolks above my 2 per week? How many more fish oil pills per day?

Thanks

correction - my AA/EPA ratio is 1.8 in the new test.