CRF and omega-3 EPA supplements

"5cats" wrote in message
...
Thanks Steve. My cat is already eating k/d. Do you think there's any harm
in adding some EPA to what she's already getting in her diet?

The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is important, too- probably just as if not
more important than the actual amounts. Omega-3 supplementation could cause
partial omega-6 deficiency. Since the enzymatic conversion of omega-3's is
4 times faster than omega-6's, try to find a supplement with a 4 or 5:1
ratio of n-3 to n-6. You should probably add a little vitamin E, too, for
antioxidation of the additional EFAs- otherwise the diet's vitamin E will be
used and create a vitamin E deficiency.

Supplementing an already balanced diet is like pulling a loose string on a
blanket!

Phil

Phil P. wrote:


"5cats" wrote in message
...
Phil P. wrote:


2. I read over what you sent and it seems like k/d didn't actually
produce the best results, rather Leo FKW did. Am I reading
something incorrectly?

You're right. I looked over the study again and saw the diets
weren't listed in order of efficacy as I thought.

I don't think Leo FKW is even available in the US.


If my conversion is right, the EPA in Leo works out to about 197mg of
EPA / 100 kcal.

My cat is eating somewhere around 200 kcal / day. So theoreticaly,
she might need about 400mg EPA a day, with 360mg being the amount in
some of the common human supplements. She'd gladly take more, she
cleans the plate when it's offered, I'm inclined to indulge her so
long as there's no evidence that's it's harmful.

As a matter of fact, there is. There was a study in the Compendium for
Continuing Education
for the Practicing Veterinarian by Dr. Jean Hall:
Potential Adverse Effects of Long-Term Consumption of (n-3) Fatty
Acids.

If you can't find it, I'll try to dig it out.


I found the abstract for that one and I'll add it to the other stuff I'll
print & give to the vet. She may have access to that one.

There's also "Manipulation of Dietary (n-6) and (n-3) Fatty Acids Alters
Platelet Function in Cats"(online) and I'm still looking for other
references.

Ah, why can't this stuff be simple? The thing is, the human studies for
omega-3, and EPA in particular, being useful in a variety of conditions
are so strong that I feel I have to continue digging.

Thanks so much for your help in researching this!

Phil P. wrote:


"5cats" wrote in message
...
Thanks Steve. My cat is already eating k/d. Do you think there's any
harm in adding some EPA to what she's already getting in her diet?

The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is important, too- probably just as if
not more important than the actual amounts. Omega-3 supplementation
could cause partial omega-6 deficiency. Since the enzymatic
conversion of omega-3's is 4 times faster than omega-6's, try to find
a supplement with a 4 or 5:1 ratio of n-3 to n-6. You should probably
add a little vitamin E, too, for antioxidation of the additional EFAs-
otherwise the diet's vitamin E will be used and create a vitamin E
deficiency.

Supplementing an already balanced diet is like pulling a loose string
on a blanket!

Phil


Yes, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is important and some of the human
studies are sugesting that the ratio of EPA to DHA and other fats is just
as important.

Steve Crane wrote:


5cats wrote:
Steve Crane wrote:

Thanks Steve. My cat is already eating k/d. Do you think there's any
harm in adding some EPA to what she's already getting in her diet?

5cats,
Like anything in life - you can always add too much of a good
thing, even plain old water. Neither do I think you would cause great
harm as long as what you added was very judicisous. I always fear that
people will assume if 1 part of something is good that 2 parts or ten
parts must always be even better. I also doubt you would gain
anything by adding additional EPA.


Now that I've had a chance to read that dutch study more carefully, it's
really influencing me to supplement Pookie's diet (90% KD, 10% TD) with
the level of EPA that's in the Leo FKW. It's not that she hasn't done
well on K/D, because she has, her BUN and creatinine levels have been
stable. But she's also has (probable) allergy issues and that's what
first got me started looking at EFAs.

I decided to start taking Omega-3 supplements for my own allergies, it's
seems easier to make that decision for myself than it is to figure out
what's best for the cats.

Phil P. wrote:
Supplementing an already balanced diet is like pulling a loose string on a
blanket!

Phil

Oooh - that's a terrific analogy - I may steal it from you down the
road somewhere.

Steve Crane wrote:

I also doubt you would gain anything
by adding additional EPA.



Do you doubt the results of that Dutch study? I'm having trouble
disregarding the numbers I see there. 29.7 vs. 18.8 months. 11 months is a
big deal in the life of a cat.