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Hello all. A few months ago I mega-dosed on fish oil (7g a day). After 4-5 days I suddenly got the 'flu' or at least flu like symptoms with brain fog, heavy depression and so forth. It lasted for a whole two weeks and finally went away when I stopped taking fish oil for a few days and took 30g of vitamin c.

A week later I started back on the fish oil and the 'flu' came back. I cut it down to a reasonable dose and it went away.

Do I have chronic low level inflammation? Is this what it is?

After my 'flu' most my symptoms improved and I was able to function better at work than I did before the flu. I've had IBS, CFS, acne and atypical depression in the past and low carb paleo manages all these conditions. But if I eat any junk/SAD food my atypical depression comes back. I occasional get very light flu symptoms after taking my modest supplements, just added vitamin D3 (10kIUs) and this seems to do it. I am (very slowly) getting better though.

Was my body detoxing? Or did I suppress my immune system so much I saw the real me? :(

Thanks.

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IDK but you can have too much omega 3. It can cause brain hemorages and excessive bleeding. – Jamie Jul 11 at 9:16
What's up with the vit c mega dosage & why so much fish oil? – Acumen Athletics Jul 11 at 13:08
You might have just OD'd on fish oil is all. Like Jamie said, you can get too much of a good thing -- especially if you had no "ramping up period" and all of a sudden one day downed 7g of fish oil and did the same for several days. Big shock to your system! – Amy B. Jul 11 at 13:13
I regularly took 8 grams of fish oil daily for months, felt better than ever. But YMMV. Closer to 2 grams daily now. – Matt Jul 11 at 15:25

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I can't comment on your situation specifically. But generally speaking taking too many antioxidants can be harmful. The view that inflammation = bad and antioxidants = good is too simplistic. Inflammation is vital for immune response and sirvival. What matters is that it's kept under control. So I wouldn't go overboard with any antioxidant supplements.

Furthermore several studies have now shown possible harm from antioxidant supplements. A massive study showed increased stroke (if I remember correctly) from supplementing with vitamin E and selenium. I also remember another study that showed that antioxidant supplements negate anti-inflammatory effect of exercise.

So all good things in moderation :)

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Let's keep in mind that n3's aren't antioxidants, and when they oxidize, the end products are nasty. Also there's a link between consuming n3's and alcohol with cancer. – raydawg Jul 11 at 10:52
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 Certainly too much vitamin e, or selenium can cause problems. Too much omega 3 stops blood clotting which can be pretty dangerous. Too much polyphenol anti-oxidants probably cause cancer. Take home message is dont go too mad on supplements. They are dose limited in foods, and highly concentrated in pill form. – Jamie Jul 11 at 12:45
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First off, 7g of fish oil is not much at all. I am guessing that deep down the fish oil and your symptoms are unrelated, unless you had oil that had gotten rancid, which is easy to happen to any pufa given their chemical structure. If the oil is bad, then your body will just burn excess for energy, but like I said 7g is not much. More than that is prescribed to people as a natural blood thinner, or in bi-polar people to help with stabilization. Go eat a large piece of salmon and you will have consumed far greater than 7g of Omega-3.

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hmm, id usually take less than that, if I use it at all over fish, but actually your right of course. 7oz salmon fillet has 5 grams PUFA, 4 grams MUFA. Good point. – Jamie Jul 11 at 15:17
Agreed. 7 grams is not really all that much. Probably just coincidental correlation. – Matt Jul 11 at 15:27
For me a serving of Salmon is about 12 oz. I eat about 12-16 oz of meat, whatever the meat, at pretty much every dinner. – RaiseFitness Jul 11 at 15:42

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