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Relief for Inflammatory Diseases

Dr. Barry Sears
Zone Living

CBN.com The first published journal article on the benefits of high-dose fish oil as a treatment for arthritis appeared in 1775! The oil used in that study was a very crude form of cod liver oil. Patients who could stomach the horrific tasting oil enjoyed spectacular relief of pain. But the taste of the oil was so putrid that they soon abandoned the fish oil for other, more pleasant tasting elixirs, like alcohol.

Some two hundred years later, fish oil finally returned to the arthritis scene. In the 1980s, positive research findings ushered in claims that fish oil was a “new” miracle cure for arthritis. Since fish oil was now more refined and could be consumed in soft gelatin capsules, the taste was not so bad. Early studies used only about 3.6 grams of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, so although the results were positive, they were not spectacular. Also, this fish oil was health-food grade, so higher doses would not have been tolerable. Because such a low dose of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids was used, it is not surprising that the benefits were not too dramatic.

On the basis of my experience, I’m confident that using high-dose, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil* for patients with severe pain (such as from fibromyalgia and gout), especially when coupled with improved insulin control, will have a significant role to play in the treatment of chronic pain, including arthritis.

Arthritis, however, isn’t the only inflammatory condition that can be relieved by high-dose fish oil. Autoimmune disorders, in which the immune system begins attacking the body as if it were a foreign invader, can also be alleviated with fish oil.

Multiple sclerosis is one autoimmune disorder that can be positively affected by high-dose fish oil. Lupus, a life threatening autoimmune disorder that causes kidney failure, has also been shown to be positively affected by high-dose fish oil. In animal studies using rats that were bred to develop lupus, significant increases in their life spans are observed if their standard diet was supplemented by high-dose fish oil. However, infections of “good” eicosanoids- which fish oil is known to boost- have a spectacular effect on the life spans of the same types of inbred animals. In fact, at the end of 13 months, all of the control rats had died, whereas all the rats injected with “good” eicosanoids were still living, even though the injections of the “good” eicosanoids started well after lupus had been established in the animals.

As you can see, high-dose, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil has a remarkable ability to decrease a broad spectrum of inflammatory mediators, resulting in a reduction in pain associated with seemingly hopeless chronic conditions.


*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. As with any natural product, individual results will vary.

For more information about Dr. Barry Sears, his incredible fish oil supplements, or the popular Zone Diet, please visit www.zoneliving.com.

If you purchase any Zone Labs, Inc. products, part of the proceeds support CBN ministries.

Dr. Barry SearsDr. Barry Sears is a leader in the field of dietary control of hormonal response. A former research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Sears has dedicated his efforts over the past 25 years to the study of lipids and their inflammatory role in the development of chronic disease. He holds 13 U.S. patents in the areas of intravenous drug delivery systems and hormonal regulation for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

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