Grey Areas In Supplements: Caffeine Example

It’s difficult to say whether caffeine is really good or bad. There are arguments in both directions–like with chocolate. We’ll see shortly that supplements and omega-3 foods share this quality.

There are proven and legitimate concerns that taking a lot of caffeine may increase your risk of heart attack. Caffeine can also lead to psychological problems, including depression, the aggravation of bipolar disorder, mood swings and anxiety.

At the same time, caffeine and coffee are able to reduce instances of gout and in even some cases relieve the pain associated with arthritis. You may not have known about the evidence backing these uses.

This duality creates a lot of confusion for consumers. And ultimately everyone knows that they have to make their own decision regarding caffeine. It’s the same with fish oil, except this time you probably don’t know about the dark side.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Side Effects

There is a sense of duality associated with omega-3 fatty acids because taking too much does have negative side effects. These side effects include blood that is too thin, bleeding in the liver and brain, and the potential for stroke. Note that these side effects are actually extreme forms of the desirable effects of fish oil, and an example of way too much of a good thing.

The chance of developing these side effects is remote, and you have to eat a lot of fish oil capsules to even worry about them. There’s a reason you don’t hear about fish oil overdose too often.

So, unless you already have serious heart problems, you would have to consuming many times the recommended dosage for fish oil. We’re talking about five grams in one swallow everyday, unless you’ve already had a heart attack or are on heart medication.

The problem for consumers is that the range of positive benefits is so great that it’s tempting to take handfuls. Everything from preventing the chromosomal degradation to preventing heart attacks fish oil has been shown to dramatically improve the quality of life for many consumers.

So we see that every person must make the choice whether or not to accept the risks of the bad in order to retain the good. In my case, the choice was obvious. It’s not always safe to expose yourself to the mercury in omega-3 foods, so keeping a supplement handy is a good idea.

Relieving the pain of arthritis has been the primary reason for me to drink coffee, and to take fish oil supplements. Still–not everyone is ready to live in the gray area where supplements are concerned.