How do omega 3s help rheumatoid arthritis?
Sue Brennan: Well, the omega 3’s is an important component in balancing out an inflammation
problem that’s going on with rheumatoid arthritis. In our diet, if we’re getting too
many omega 6s—that’s pro-inflammatory—if you add back in the omega 3s, via
your fish oil products or dietary source and supplements, then you can see a
balance occur. You can get back, closer to a 2:1 balance versus, sometimes, the
15:1 balance that we’re seeing now. There’ve been some studies in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis where they were taking, on average maybe 2 to 4 grams a
day, and over a course of 12 weeks, they started to see less pain in the morning in
their joints, less stiffness and better mobility. In some cases, patients were using
the omega 3s with the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents—medicines like
naproxen or ibuprofen—and they were actually able to decrease the amount of the
drug they were taking because they were getting benefit from the omega 3.
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