Hello daniella,
I am a vegetarian with a strange sense of humour, and multiple nutritional disorders and other problems (see my thread on Errors in Pathology). You need to take my comment about mercury-flavoured oily fish in that context. There are, however, real concerns about contamination of fish, not so much the oil, and a worldwide shortage of fish.
I intend to post a list of links to references, on this thread soon. These might help you.
In answer to your questions:
1. According to my understanding of the most recent post by mrsd, the quantity of 1200mg a day of fish oil is safe. I have not done my own research on this because I prefer my fish to be swimming in the sea.
2. There are conflicting claims about the risk of heavy-metal contamination of fish oil. As mrsd has correctly pointed out, the processing should remove any mercury. I suggest that you look up your brand on the Internet; the supplier is likely to say so if it has been tested. Here are links to reports on this subject (they found no contamination in any brand tested):
http://www.spectroscopymag.com/spect...01/article.pdf
http://arpa.allenpress.com/arpaonlin...C%3E2.0.CO%3B2
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/408125_print
Note the caution in the conclusion of the second report:
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Finally, it should be cautioned that we tested only 5 preparations of fish oil for mercury content. It is possible that other brands may have more mercury, depending on the source of fish. To circumvent this possibility and to eliminate any risk of mercury toxicity, we recommend that routine labeling of fish oil preparations should include mercury analysis to ensure safety and efficacy.
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And in the third report:
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While this is positive health news, it cannot be assumed that every brand is free of mercury.
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3. What is called flaxseed in North America is the same as what we call linseed in Australia.
4. Linseeds are an excellent source of ALA but, unlike fish oils, do not contain EPA or DHA. As previously mentioned by mrsd, females can convert much more ALA to EPA and DHA than males. It is possible to take ground linseeds instead of fish oil if you are able to convert them. I am initially using walnuts because they are an excellent source of both LA and ALA, although not as much ALA as the linseeds.
5. Before commencing any EFA supplements, I suggest that you have your EFAs measured. You need to consider my advice on this in the context of my strong belief in "evidence based medicine", probably the result of my background in applied science and engineering. By this I mean that I ask for scientific evidence of existence of disease or deficiency, and scientific evidence of effectivenesss and safety of any treatment. Others might advise you differently; you need to make your own decision. Here is a quote that I agree with (source:
http://www.explorepub.com/articles/nutrition2.html):
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It is prudent to define the exact aberrations in individual patients through laboratory data rather than administer medication or a handful of "just try this". The exploration of the characteristic features of aberrant fatty acid metabolism and alteration of the blood chemistries of adults and children with neuropsychological disorders is a bold frontier that is merging traditional science with biological medicine -- Brave New Medicine.
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If you are in North America, these labs can do the tests (there are probably others that I have not found yet):
Genova Diagnostics
Metametrix
6. I will post the results of my "walnut therapy" after I receive them, in about three weeks.
Paul