Just found out that there’s some evidence taking higher amounts of fish oil is associated with causing atrial fibrillation:
I thought it would be the other way around: taking fish oil would lessen the risk of atrial fibrillation.
As part of a lower inflammation protocol, to potentially treat autoimmunity, I’ve been taking fish oil, though not much per day. I guess I’ll have to keep it at a low amount per day.
This is interesting and surprising. I have taken fish oil supplements on and off (mostly off) for years. I go on tangents of taking a ton of supplements or none. I’ve decided I can throw money at healthy food and call it good.
OOPS… Except collagen and magnesium. I will take those forever.
And Vitamin D for me.
Yes, taking supplements for me has always meant that I usually can’t tell what’s good. I CAN tell what’s bad, but I can’t tell what’s good.
Collagen seems good, as I have age spots that have gone away, but didn’t until I started taking collagen.
Magnesium seems to help sometimes with cramps.
Now, I’m taking fish oil, tumeric/curcumin, and black seed oil to reduce “inflammation”. I will get a CRP (c-reactive protein) test to see if this regimen helps lower CRP. But if my CRP doesn’t change, there’s no way for me to know if the regimen does any good. (Heck, even if it DOES go down, I won’t know whether this regimen caused it or not.)
But the fact that fish oil might cause Afib is troubling.
Anyone eating a whole-food diet is probably getting enough of the essential fatty acids in a good balance, and doesn’t need to worry.
The problem lies with the standard American diet, which provides far too much ω-6. Since ω-3 and ω-6 fats are taken into cells by the same receptors, too much ω-6 outcompetes the ω-3 for the receptors. It is impossible to get enough ω-3 on the SAD to get the ratio of ω-6 to ω-3 down to 2:1, where we want it, so the strategy has to be to lower ω-6 intake. Fortunately while these fats are essential, the quantities we require are quite small.
That’s a good point… I always forget these studies are based on your average Joe’s diet.
As an AFiber I find this interesting. I don’t take any fish oil supplements so it doesn’t really concern me. I try to get my omegas naturally.
The thing with AFib is, according to my cardiologist, nobody knows what causes it. They “think” there is some correlation with alcohol, sleep apnea, caffeine and diet.
In my case, I’ve stopped drinking alcohol. I am on a bipap breathing machine when I sleep for moderate to severe sleep apnea. I’ve stopped drinking coffee but I do drink one cup of tea in the morning. Then there’s the diet. I believe the diet is the biggest factor for me. Time will tell but since I’ve been carnivore my blood pressure has come down to normal levels and I’ve noticed recently and big reduction in PVC’s and my heart flutters are greatly reduced. My cardiologist is thrilled with my progress and has already taken me off of one medication and is talking about reducing the other. There are several different types of AFib and mine is paroxysmal so I’m not in AFib on a regular basis, I just have massive attacks. Not fun. I’ll do just about anything to never have another one.
I think diet is a big factor in almost everything. In particular, the heart likes ketones, so going carnivore or keto should lead to an improvement in functioning of the heart.
I’m taking one pill per day of fish oil, and it’s about 1250 mg. So, I’m not near the 4mg. a
But at one time, I took high daily amounts of ethyl esters (doctor’s orders) and I believe around that time, got an episode (the only one I know of) of Afib. Unfortunately, I can’t remember how correlated in time they were.