brucecohen wrote:Fish oil was added last year after the vet got a study which found that fish oil increases the beneficiary effects of glucosomine. I always buy the food and supplements on sale.
Be careful. I don't know if these caveats apply to fish oil/glucosamine to treat arthritis in dogs but FWIW at least for we humans...
The efficacy of fish oil in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in humans is tenuous at best. But worse, fish oil oxidizes (goes rancid) rapidly and can promote cardiovascular disease. Make sure that any fish oil you buy, especially on sale, is as fresh as possible and is used up as quickly as possible. Buying a large bottle that's on sale because the expiry date is rapidly approaching could be harmful to your health if not your pocketbook.
See e.g.
CBC:
Omega-3: Why your fish oil supplements might not be fresh "Fish oil is a polyunsaturated fatty acid; it has multiple double bonds. So it's very vulnerable to oxygen, light and other conditions," says Preston Mason, a biochemist at Harvard Medical School.
"Fish oil that has oxidized above the maximum limits is highly unlikely to have any health benefit, and in fact, such oxidized lipids contribute to cardiovascular diseases and should be avoided," Mason says.
Some experts say that oxidized oils are more difficult for the body to process, and could be especially difficult for people who have a history of heart problems. But little research has been done on oxidized fish oil.
PBS:
How Beneficial is Fish Oil? But there are two big problems when it comes to fish oil: Researchers still cannot definitely say whether it actually lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke. And even if they could, there can be big differences between the fish oil that is prescribed to patients by their physicians, and some versions of the supplement that are available over-the-counter...
Even if oxidation weren’t an issue, some say there is still no conclusive evidence that the supplement can ward off a heart attack...
“I think for cardiovascular disease, one has to say, there is no compelling evidence that taking fish oil protects against the first heart attack or a second heart attack,” Grey told FRONTLINE in an interview for Supplements and Safety. “And so, people who are advised to do that, or are doing it, are wasting their time. And their money.”
If there's further interest in this perhaps we need a separate thread (titled "Is fish oil the 21st century snake oil?"
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Sedulously eschew obfuscatory hyperverbosity and prolixity.