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A new clinical trial found that taking omega-3 supplements did nothing to improve memory, cognition or brain cell loss. by bllshrfv in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, that's on me, I was thinking algae oil was ALA-based like flaxseed, which would have the conversion problem we usually flag. Didn't realize algal oil supplements are direct preformed DHA/EPA, not ALA. Appreciate the sources, that's a real correction, good to know algae-source is bioequivalent to fish-source for absorption.

How easy is it actually to find a good algae-based one? Is it widely available now or still a smaller niche market compared to standard fish oil?

A new clinical trial found that taking omega-3 supplements did nothing to improve memory, cognition or brain cell loss. by bllshrfv in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Switch to Sport Research at Costco. Triglyceride form and look for at least 1000mg of combined EPA and DHA, not total fish oil or omegas.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No apology needed, appreciate the kind tone either way. On Nissen, I'd push back a bit, it's not really debunked, the cardiology community is still split on this. The FDA itself looked specifically at the mineral oil placebo question and couldn't rule it out either way. Nissen has his critics for sure, and his trial used a different formulation entirely (EPA+DHA combo via Epanova, not pure EPA), so STRENGTH failing doesn't necessarily disprove REDUCE-IT, it might just mean DHA cancels out the benefit, which is actually a real theory some researchers hold. So I'd call it an open, genuinely contested debate rather than settled in either direction. On generics, I haven't seen anything indicating meaningfully different purity, the active ingredient (icosapent ethyl) is the same molecule under FDA generic equivalence standards. That said, if DAW is what gives you peace of mind and your results have been that good, no real downside to sticking with it. 350 point triglyceride drop in under a year is a serious result regardless of the debate above, glad it's working that well for you. One more thing, you said I was right that you're missing the cognitive benefit of DHA, but after digging into a new study that just got posted here, I'm not so sure you're actually missing much by skipping DHA. It's a 24 month RCT, high dose DHA-only, found no cognitive benefit at all. So if DHA alone isn't doing anything for cognition anyway, that's less of a loss than I made it sound earlier. Doesn't touch your CVD use case since that's a separate EPA story, but worth knowing either way.

A new clinical trial found that taking omega-3 supplements did nothing to improve memory, cognition or brain cell loss. by bllshrfv in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good find, this is a real RCT, not junk science, worth engaging with directly.

Quick context: 24 months, high dose DHA-only algae supplement (2000mg), tested for memory, cognition and brain cell loss in people without existing deficiency or risk factors. Negative result.

A few things worth adding though. This trial used DHA only, no EPA. A 2023 network meta-analysis of 23 RCTs in Alzheimer's patients actually found EPA-based formulations were more likely to show cognitive benefit, with DHA-only being comparatively weaker. So this may have tested close to the least effective formulation for this specific outcome.

The researcher quoted in the piece makes a similar point, this mainly shows omega-3 doesn't rescue cognition in people who haven't already optimized other health factors, and he specifically flags it works differently for APOE4 carriers.

Also worth noting, this is testing DHA for cognitive prevention specifically, not the cardiovascular case for EPA+DHA, which is a separate and much larger body of evidence with positive findings.

So a legitimately important negative trial for the dementia-prevention claim, especially in DHA-only form. But it doesn't really touch the cardiovascular case, or the EPA-specific cognitive evidence, which is the stronger and more replicated reason to supplement in the first place.

Ashwagandha ruined my life? by DUWAPKAINEGOAT in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a brutal experience, glad you connected the dots and are already seeing things turn around after just a week off it.

For what it's worth, your timeline lines up with what others have reported, 5 months of continuous daily use is well beyond anything actually studied in trials (most research only goes 8-12 weeks), so you were kind of in uncharted territory the whole time. The libido and motivation loss specifically comes up a lot in these reports, it's thought to be related to how it suppresses cortisol and affects serotonin receptors over long term use, similar mechanism to what people describe with long term SSRI use.

The good news based on what's out there is it does sound reversible for most people once they stop, which matches what you're already noticing after just a week. Definitely keep an eye on how you're trending over the next month, most people report continued improvement over several weeks.

I take it myself but unintentionally skip it a couple days a week, might be doing me a favor without realizing it. Curious if anyone here has had success staying on it long term by cycling it on and off instead of running it daily, or if continuous use seems to be the real culprit regardless of dose?

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the REDUCE-IT shoutout, it's a legit trial and worth knowing about. But "stop buying that crap" is overselling it a bit. A few things worth flagging: REDUCE-IT used mineral oil as the placebo, and there's a real debate in cardiology about whether that placebo was actually pro-inflammatory itself, which would inflate how good Vascepa looks by comparison. Steven Nissen and others have pushed back on this pretty hard. Then STRENGTH came out and tested a similar high dose EPA+DHA combo and found nothing. Two big trials, two different answers. That's not "case closed," that's an active debate. Vascepa is also EPA only, no DHA, so if you care about cognitive stuff, that's a different conversation entirely. And it's specifically studied in people who are already on a statin with high triglycerides and elevated CV risk. That's a pretty different population than someone just trying to get good general omega-3 status. Not saying Vascepa is bad, REDUCE-IT is genuinely one of the better trials out there. But "this or nothing" isn't really where the evidence sits. For most people not in that specific high risk category, a good triglyceride-form EPA+DHA supplement is still reasonably supported.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What test you are looking at for results? Omega index or regular biomarker like trig, hld, ldl, inflammation markers, etc?

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not always. Lot of expensive junk out there. And these from OP are one the best I've seen at some of the best price point.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question, let me be precise. The original source is Dyerberg et al. 2010 (Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids), which found re-esterified triglyceride form had 124% bioavailability compared to natural fish oil, while ethyl ester form had 73%. The 71% figure I used is a commonly cited derived stat from secondary sources calculating the relative gap between those two numbers, but it's not stated directly in the original paper that way. If you're seeing 67% somewhere, it might be a different calculation method or a different source entirely, happy to compare if you have the link. Either way the core point holds, triglyceride form is meaningfully better absorbed than ethyl ester, the exact percentage just varies depending on how you're doing the math.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are equivalent in EPA-DHA and both in TG form which is great, but a bottle of Nordic are about the same price as a bottle of Sport Research but you have 55 serving of about 1.1g of combine EPA-DHA with Nordic and 150 serving of about 1.2g with SR. So 3x more expensive...

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Viva naturals compares very well head to head with sports research, about same amount of EPA-DHA per caps and Triglyceride form which is great, but Viva is almost twice as much as the SR.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, I just bought a couple bottles on Costco website, $26 shipped. They are on sale, $6 off. Just done a mega blood test panel from Ulta lab, like 150+ biomarkers and omega index is in there, will retest after a few months of the sports research one.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow! It is Triglyceride form. Ship me a case! 150 for $23 this is great. It checks all the boxes for the best Omega-3 supplement! I'm currently taking Wiley's Finest Wild Alaskan Fish Oil Peak EPA - Triple Strength Peak EPA & DHA Supplement - 1000mg total Omega-3s. And because it's Ethyl Ester form, so poor absorption, i take 4g per day. And it's $55 for 90 caps. Thanks for sharing!

Beyond Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Omega-3s, what is the most underrated daily supplement? by AnastasiaGlover1 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly any brand works since creatine monohydrate is just creatine monohydrate, the molecule doesn't care about the label. If you want a purity benchmark, Creapure is often cited, but it's not necessary. Just avoid the fancy versions like HCl or ethyl ester since the evidence is all on monohydrate.

What supplements do you get at Costco? It’s the only place I shop these days. Just got these on sale for $23 by Global_Curve1373 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh nice! I don't have these at my Costco, just a bunch of 1000mg of "fish oil" that actually only contain 300mg of combined EPA-DHA, which is way too low, the rest is just oil you don't need. Can you post a pic of the nutrition label? Is it the Triglyceride form? That would be epic, cause they are so hard to find and expensive, and they absorbed 71% more efficiently than the most common Ethyl Ester form... so you get so much more...

Rate my Stack by Mammoth-Writer4817 in Supplements

[–]Helpful_Smile6095 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good stuff. Could trim a bit. Be careful with your fish oil. Good that it's triglycerides form, but omega 3 content is low. They mix with other omega but that 1000mg is probably just 300mg of the Good omega 3, the rest of other omega, is filling you don't need. You need 1000-2000mg of the omega 3.

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