Re: Fish Oil, Anyone?

[Guest guest]

Has anyone read or heard anything in the news today about fish oil? This

morning as I was dashing about, not paying much attention to the radio news

broadcast, my attention was suddenly caught by the words, " A new study shows

that fish oil may increase the stability of the heart beat. " That's all I

heard and haven't been able to find any more information today. Because

anything that increases stability of heart beat should be of interest to this

group, I thought I should mention it.

Since I am virtually living on fish right now, my heart beat should remain

stable if the news of this " study " is true. Because I have eliminated so

many foods from my diet since they were afib triggers, it would be reassuring

to know that I will be able to continue eating fish. For example, I was

eating oatmeal bread before I gave up dairy, but I had to give up the oatmeal

bread because I couldn't find a type without milk solids. Most cereals and

breads do contain milk. Perhaps I will end up baking my own bread, an

activity for which I don't really have time. Right now I am afraid to change

any aspect of my diet because my present food choices seem to be effective

although quite boring and limited. I am literally living on salmon, tuna,

occasional halibut, wheat, molasses (for electrolytes), nuts, peanut butter,

occasional free range chicken or turkey, and many supplements (calcium

citrate, magnesium, multivitamins, vitamin E, and vitamin C). I have cut all

fresh fruit and vegetables. This is not a diet that I would advocate for

anyone else because it is not balanced. It's just a system that evolved out

the foods remaining after I threw out offending food triggers. Also, I am

now eating only twice a day, in the morning and in the late afternoon. I

found that I had fewer palpitations after going to bed if I had not eaten

after 4-5 p.m. It seems like a very Spartan existence, but I will go to any

lengths to stay out of afib. Anyway, it would be great to know that the one

food that agrees with me, fish, is also helping my afib.

I scarcely dare to hope that my sinus keeps running. I'm on day 25 today of

straight sinus rhythm. Although I've had long runs of sinus before, this one

is unusual because it happened after I had more than two months of the most

frequent, lengthy afib of my afib career. It seems to be such an unexpected

turnaround after I had been resigning myself to permanent afib when I was in

afib for more than half of the month of January. I keep emphasizing this

partially because it should give hope to others in demonstrating that an

apparent trend toward worsening afib such as I experienced should not be

taken at face value. My experience with this current sinus run tells me that

I should not assume in the future that an apparent trend toward permanent

afib will end in permanent afib. Given this experience, I would say that we

afibbers should never give up hope. In January and February, I was in afib

for 28 days total. Since March 1, I have been in afib for three days. It's

truly amazing and perhaps validates my cardiologist's belief that I am not

headed for permanent afib because he thinks that after nineteen years of

paroxysmal afib, I I would be permanent by now it were going to happen. I

hope he's right.

Best wishes,

in sinus in Seattle (Day 25!)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/9/2002 11:11:48 PM Central Daylight Time,

Starfi6314@... writes:

> Has anyone read or heard anything in the news today about fish oil? This

> morning as I was dashing about, not paying much attention to the radio news

>

> broadcast, my attention was suddenly caught by the words, " A new study

> shows

> that fish oil may increase the stability of the heart beat. " That's all I

> heard and haven't been able to find any more information today. Because

> anything that increases stability of heart beat should be of interest to

> this

> group, I thought I should mention it.

>

>

I too heard about the fish oil and heart beat stability--there was an article

in the Wall Street Journal this morning. It's not clear to me that AFibbers

might benefit since the article talked about a " reduction in the likelihood

of arrhymias which cause sudden death " which, to me, sounds like ventricular

fibrillation. Nonetheless there seem to be other heart benefits from the

omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. I'm already taking flaxseed oil

capsules which contain these fatty acids I believe, but gingerly because I am

also on Coumadin and I understand my INR might be affected. I'll know next

week since I go for a Pro time then.

Brenta

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/10/2002 6:38:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

B6426@... writes:

> I too heard about the fish oil and heart beat stability--there was an

> article

> in the Wall Street Journal this morning

This was also on CNN Headline News this morning

at approx. 7:10 am..Pacific Time, but I did get in toward

the end of that segment. Hope they repeat it.

If it is in the WSJ and on CNN they should be in many

local newspapers and New York Times as well.

Best wishes,

Bill

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/10/2002 6:38:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

B6426@... writes:

> I too heard about the fish oil and heart beat stability--there was an

> article

> in the Wall Street Journal this morning

I just found that the New York Times has an article

about it this morning. Just go to www.nytimes.com

and register (free) then scroll down a bit and you should

find it ...... here is one paragraph from the article....

Bill

<<

The fatty acids help ward off sudden death by being incorporated into cell

membranes in the heart, where they have a stabilizing effect on heart rhythm.

When the heart is under stress — from lack of oxygen, for instance — it has

a tendency to develop abnormal rhythms, which can be fatal. The omega-3's can

help keep the rhythm normal even when the heart is under stress, Dr.

Rosenberg said. >>

[Guest guest]

That diet sounds very much like mine. Drink a lot of water! Try baked salmon

encrusted with sesame seeds!

>From: Starfi6314@...

>Reply-To: AFIBsupport

>To: AFIBsupport

>Subject: Re: Fish Oil, Anyone?

>Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 00:09:41 EDT

>

>Has anyone read or heard anything in the news today about fish oil? This

>morning as I was dashing about, not paying much attention to the radio news

>broadcast, my attention was suddenly caught by the words, " A new study

>shows

>that fish oil may increase the stability of the heart beat. " That's all I

>heard and haven't been able to find any more information today. Because

>anything that increases stability of heart beat should be of interest to

>this

>group, I thought I should mention it.

>

>Since I am virtually living on fish right now, my heart beat should remain

>stable if the news of this " study " is true. Because I have eliminated so

>many foods from my diet since they were afib triggers, it would be

>reassuring

>to know that I will be able to continue eating fish. For example, I was

>eating oatmeal bread before I gave up dairy, but I had to give up the

>oatmeal

>bread because I couldn't find a type without milk solids. Most cereals and

>breads do contain milk. Perhaps I will end up baking my own bread, an

>activity for which I don't really have time. Right now I am afraid to

>change

>any aspect of my diet because my present food choices seem to be effective

>although quite boring and limited. I am literally living on salmon, tuna,

>occasional halibut, wheat, molasses (for electrolytes), nuts, peanut

>butter,

>occasional free range chicken or turkey, and many supplements (calcium

>citrate, magnesium, multivitamins, vitamin E, and vitamin C). I have cut

>all

>fresh fruit and vegetables. This is not a diet that I would advocate for

>anyone else because it is not balanced. It's just a system that evolved

>out

>the foods remaining after I threw out offending food triggers. Also, I am

>now eating only twice a day, in the morning and in the late afternoon. I

>found that I had fewer palpitations after going to bed if I had not eaten

>after 4-5 p.m. It seems like a very Spartan existence, but I will go to

>any

>lengths to stay out of afib. Anyway, it would be great to know that the

>one

>food that agrees with me, fish, is also helping my afib.

>

>I scarcely dare to hope that my sinus keeps running. I'm on day 25 today

>of

>straight sinus rhythm. Although I've had long runs of sinus before, this

>one

>is unusual because it happened after I had more than two months of the most

>frequent, lengthy afib of my afib career. It seems to be such an

>unexpected

>turnaround after I had been resigning myself to permanent afib when I was

>in

>afib for more than half of the month of January. I keep emphasizing this

>partially because it should give hope to others in demonstrating that an

>apparent trend toward worsening afib such as I experienced should not be

>taken at face value. My experience with this current sinus run tells me

>that

>I should not assume in the future that an apparent trend toward permanent

>afib will end in permanent afib. Given this experience, I would say that

>we

>afibbers should never give up hope. In January and February, I was in afib

>for 28 days total. Since March 1, I have been in afib for three days.

>It's

>truly amazing and perhaps validates my cardiologist's belief that I am not

>headed for permanent afib because he thinks that after nineteen years of

>paroxysmal afib, I I would be permanent by now it were going to happen. I

>hope he's right.

>Best wishes,

> in sinus in Seattle (Day 25!)

>

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

Greetings, I am new to this list, but unfortunately not to Afib. I was formally

diagnosed about 18 months ago, but I have been experiencing the symptoms for at

least 8 years. Sometimes it's hard to get the Dr. to listen. The best I can

figure is that I have Vagal Afib, for what that is worth. I mostly manage it

with diet and supplements, and an aspirin per day.

Regarding Fish Oil, I first saw an article about 2 weeks ago in a newsletter

from a Dr Mercola. If you go to his web page at http://www.mercola.com/ The

article was in the " eHealthy News You Can Use Mar 27, 2002 - Issue 310 " or do a

search for " fish oil " .

Regards

Tom Cohrs

[Guest guest]

Thanks to all who posted answers to my questions about fish oil. It seems

that although the study results are related to dangerous arrhythmias rather

than afib, fish oil might have a beneficial effect on afib rhythms, also.

Since I have been eating fish daily, I certainly have seen improvement in my

rhythm, which has been sinus for the past twenty-six days. Of course, there

is no way I can attribute the improvement to the fish oil, but I think it

could be having some influence.

in sinus in Seattle (Day 26!)

[Guest guest]

> Thanks to all who posted answers to my questions about fish oil.

It

seems

> that although the study results are related to dangerous

arrhythmias

rather

> than afib, fish oil might have a beneficial effect on afib rhythms,

also.

> Since I have been eating fish daily, I certainly have seen

improvement in my

> rhythm, which has been sinus for the past twenty-six days. Of

course, there

> is no way I can attribute the improvement to the fish oil, but I

think it

> could be having some influence.

> in sinus in Seattle (Day 26!)

I eat fish once per month max .Just thought you should know.Angus:)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/10/02 12:11:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

Starfi6314@... writes:

> Has anyone read or heard anything in the news today about fish oil?

There is a story in the New York Times of April 10 on page A18, which lists

fish according to omega-3 content (the highest are herring, pacific or jack

mackerel, atlantic salmon, and sablefish). It also discusses mercury

contamination. Tuna seems not so good on both counts (it has high mercury

and not so much omega 3).

A lot of things seem to be coming together. Not only does it appear that

omega-3s help stabilise the heart electrically directly but they also are

generally good against inflammation (therefore also beneficial against

arthritis).The diet recommended for arthritis also includes vitamin D (which

helps calcium absorption and also helps magnesium absorption -- low levels of

magnesium being one of the things than can bring on AFib). There appears to

be a connection between inflammation and AFib, so it may be that this

antiinflammation diet recommended against arthritis also is good for AFib.

It also involves high amounts of beta-carotene, which is found in sweet

potatos, which are also a component of the diet discussed in the Okinawa

Program (came out in a book about a year ago -- Okinawans have the highest

longevity of any group on Earth). So this diet, high in fish rich in

omega-3s, high in fruits and vegetables, seems to be a winner on several

counts. (This diet also corresponds to the criterion of food along an

acid-alkaline scale as shown on a chart my doctor gave me -- things like

sweet potatos and seaweed were way on the good side of the scale). It is no

gimmick. Without looking at it in detail, it seems like the diets

recommended by the Tufts group for arthritis and by the Okinawa Program book

also work well for AF: indeed this diet (which ideally contains very little

meat other than fish and very little dairy) works well for a whole host of

ailments. All of these studies seem to be pointing to the same type of diet

as beneficial. I haven't fully implemented it yet but I am certainly moving

in that direction.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/22/2002 6:13:14 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

victortt@... writes:

<< A lot of things seem to be coming together. Not only does it appear that

omega-3s help stabilise the heart electrically directly but they also are

generally good against inflammation >>

Victor,

Thanks for the really interesting post. Coincidentally, one of the reasons I

started eating fish daily is that I read that fish oil helped fight

inflammation. About the time I asked about ginger on this board, I was

looking for some natural deterrents to inflammation because I went through a

period of great suffering with aches and pains in joints and just about every

part of my body after I discontinued dairy products. I figured that the

aching was due to an immune system response with resulting inflammation

similar to that which occurs in allergy. The daily fish may have helped

because the aches and pains are gone, and I generally feel better than I have

felt for months. I didn't realize when I started eating salmon daily that it

could help to stabilize the heart's electrical system, but that is a great

plus. Here I am in my thirty-eighth day of continuous sinus, and perhaps the

salmon is a contributing factor. Maybe my sinus stretch is the result of a

confluence of events, with avoidance of dairy being highest on the list.

Your mention of fruits and vegetables is timely because I am more worried

each day about the current deficit of fruits and vegetables in my diet. I

think I will try adding sweet potatoes, which I haven't eaten for ages,

because according to your information, they may be more innocuous than some

other vegetables which have stirred my stomach to rebellion.

I am finally seeing light at the end of a long, dark tunnel, but I just hope

the tunnel doesn't close up on me again.

in sinus in Seattle (Day38!!)