Dad,
You mentioned to be careful using too much fish oil. That it could be damaging to the liver. Do you have any links for this? I met a mom who gives high dosages to her child (recommended by her pediatrician), and wanted to pass along any research that might inidicate this could be a problem. Thanks!
Re: Question 4 Dad ~~ EFAs
Thanks Dad!!!
That’s extremely helpful. I believe she’s giving her child the same brand as I’ve given my son and in looking on the bottle I see that 1/2 tsp. has 438-975 IU of vitamin A!!!!! At a recommended dosage or even doubled that’s not terrible, but if she’s using it much more (and it sounded to me like she was), that’s probably not a good thing. The recommended adult dosage is 5000 IU and I would think a young child would be less. Also, one would need to consider if they are getting A from other supplements.
I believe she is working with a competent medical doctor (who did recommend the large dosages!), so a bit of reading on the side is definitely invaluable. I do appreciate your help! :-)
Most brands of fish oil are made from fish like Cod, whose liver is high in vitamin A. Vitamin A is fat soluable, and therefore can concentrate in the body (unlike water soluable vitamins like C which it is extremely hard to get too much of).
There is a possibility that the brand her ped has her child on is one of the few which does not have vitamin A in it. There is also a possibility that she is not getting nearly enough fish ouils prescribed to push her child into the danger zone, even tho it appears to be massive doses of fish oil.
Here is one link to explain this problem:
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2382.htm
As always, when treating your child for metabolic problems, etc. it is important to work closely with a competant medical professional (and perhaps also do a bit of reading on the side as well).