I am hoping to continue this topic on this forum. This first post is going to be a bit of history (nostalgia for me) as an introduction.

Just over 10 years ago we bought our first computer. This opened the internet to me through my son. At that time I was struggling with some health problems, which I found were related to nutrition and diet. A friend was told by her physican to read "Enter the Zone" a nutrition book by Barry Sears, PhD.
In it were 2 chapters on the chemistry of fatty acids and how they work in the body. Well, a lightbulb went off in head, and I started reading other authors. My friend asked me to read this and explain it to her.

Another one I found was Dr. Donald Rudin, MD--"Omega 3 Oils, a Practical Guide". At that time, the older version of his work was the only one available.

So fortified with this knowledge I started in earnest to provide these oils for myself, son, and husband. Within 3 mos, my GERD was gone, my asthma in remission, my stress symptoms gone, energy up. My son who wanted help with acne issues, tried them and no longer needed his ADHD medication (which he had been on for 5 yrs). His acne also improved dramatically. So I used the internet to search for more information. And what I found, turned my private life and professional attitude completely around. I was just ahead of the herbal "revolution", the complementary movement in medicine. I attended seminars, continuing ed courses and some programs given by one of my employers.

I found OBT forums, and began to look for ways to help others. The data were there, but not commonly in forms readily available to the public. It was still pretty complex, ivory tower stuff. I was attacked, and flamed regularly, for my enthusiasm. Those days, however, have passed.

Today this information has made it to psychiatrists, and medical doctors.
We have RX version of fish oil called Lovasa (previously called Omacor).


We have 2 prenatals now to help new mothers and the developing baby.
PrimaCare
Duet DHA
http://www.primacareefa.com/

We finally have DHA and AA added to infant formulas in USA. (we were just about the last industrialized nation to do so).

We have OTC DHA supplements easy to find:
Neuromins (the original) and
Expecta http://www.meadjohnson.com/professio...ectalipil.html

We have common easily available Omega foods now.
Omega-3 eggs
Smart Balance Peanut butter
Smart Balance spreads (2 types)
Smart Balance mayo
Nutrition bars with Omega-3 (eg: ZonePerfect)
Flax oil cereals
to name but a few

More physicians understand this concept today than before. The family of anti-inflammatories called NSAIDs block the formation of molecules derived from ALA (from flax)--cox-1 and LA (from most other vegetable sources) cox-2. The introduction of cox-2 inhibitors on RX like Vioxx and Celebrex (which are now considered not totally safe for long term use), have also opened the educational doors. The reasons for their negative impact are directly associated with fatty acid chemistry. In fact there are now warnings for all NSAIDs RX and OTC about long term use and possible harm to the cardiovascular system (they suppress an important Cox-2 cytokine that dilates blood vessels).

People still do not understand Omega-3 importance because of this complexity of the chemistry.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/71/1/343S

edit: 1-29-14--removed one dead link, but here is another new
one from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenti...d_interactions

Suffice it to say, you don't have to UNDERSTAND it all, but just be aware that documentation that is trustworthy does exist, and therefore we need to take advantage of this knowledge to improve our health, and futures.

So the journey for us/me this past 10 years has been very very exciting.

I am going to be adding to this thread, some of the data from my old EFA threads from the other forum. And new information as it becomes available.
I hope to see others here post on this thread, their experiences, as well.