Dr Mike's Krill oil/fish oil/curcumin regimen

[ew1]

Hi, I just re-read his blog entry-am I missing something, he doesn't seem to say what potency he is taking, only for the curcumin (sp)?

[cmcole]

Did you ask him on the blog?

[Mitra]

I take two ProOmega caps made by Nordic Naturals along with two krill oil caps (all krill oil originates in one place–Neptune Technologies–so they are all the same. Mine comes from Thorne.) along with a 500 mg curumin capsule (curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory derived from turmeric).

Has anyone tried this?

Dr Mike originally mentioned in a blog (Ditch your NSAID meds (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=261)) that he'd been using the krill oil/fish oil/curcumin combination for pain relief, then did another entry with some more info on krill oil (Why Krill Oil (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=262)).

I was reminded of it the other day when I saw this article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061108110658.htm) about the role of antioxidants in pain relief.

[mcsblues]

I've added regular 'doses' of turmeric to my regular fish oil or CLO supps. I feel that it has had some effect (very difficult to tell in an experiment where n=1 and the response may take a month or so to be evident. I fully intend to do a slightly more scientific study with krill oil and curcumin .... soon!:p

I did work out I would need 10g a day of turmeric to get an equivalent curcumin dose to that Mike was taking/recommending, and I don't! - there are only so many things you can add it to!;)

[Mitra]

I don't do much Asian cooking, so turmeric is an occasional rather than a regular seasoning - I definitely don't want to eat 10g a day of it!

What sort of effect do you think it might have had?

I started taking curcumin a couple of days ago, and my krill oil arrived this morning, so it will be a while before I can see if there are any changes.

[Billie]

Please let us know, I would love to hear more about it!

[Mitra]

I'm not looking for pain relief, because I don't have chronic pain problems, but I'm wondering if the antioxidant properties will help reduce my sensitivity to allergens.


J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2002 Sep;110(3):349-56.
Oxidative stress in allergic respiratory diseases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12209079&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_DocSum).
Bowler RP, Crapo JD.

There is ample evidence that allergic disorders, such as asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, are mediated by oxidative stress. Excessive exposure to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species is the hallmark of oxidative stress and leads to damage of proteins, lipids, and DNA. Oxidative stress occurs not only as a result of inflammation but also from environmental exposure to air pollution and cigarette smoke. The specific localization of antioxidant enzymes in the lung and the rapid reaction of nitric oxide with reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide, suggest that antioxidant enzymes might also function as cell-signaling agents or regulators of cell signaling. Therapeutic interventions that decrease exposure to environmental reactive oxygen species or augment endogenous antioxidant defenses might be beneficial as adjunctive therapies for allergic respiratory disorders.

This one didn't offer much encouragement:
Clin Exp Allergy. 2006 Aug;36(8):993-1000.
Associations between antioxidant status, markers of oxidative stress and immune responses in allergic adults (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=16911355).
Dunstan JA, Breckler L, Hale J, Lehmann H, Franklin P, Lyonso G, Ching SY, Mori TA, Barden A, Prescott SL.

CONCLUSION: There was no evidence that higher antioxidant levels were associated with reduced allergen responsiveness in allergic adults. If anything, antioxidant status was associated with increased immune responsiveness. The significance of this needs to be addressed in future intervention studies.


Anyway, I'll let you know if I notice any effects.

[mcsblues]

What sort of effect do you think it might have had?I have had a really bad run with my back this year (I damaged a disc a few decades back, on top of slight congenital scoliosis this has produced occasional massive back spasms and sciatica only relieved by lengthy 'horizontal time' more recently combined with NSAIDS like Vioxx and Voltaren - Vioxx is now banned because of some piffling heart attack side effect :p and it seems prolonged use of any NSAIDs might be similarly suspect)

While my back hasn't been super bad this year (no umm 'girlish' scream inducing spasms) ... touch wood ... it has been a source of almost constant pain which has curtailed a lot of exercise options ... which in turn is not good from a maintenance POV ...

Anyway, while not exactly doing cartwheels I am back to walking and even jogging without much pain and I am in some sort of pseudo training for an annual (well I did it last year!) half marathon hill climb in a couple of weeks (mostly walking) so, as I say, the turmeric may have been at least partially responsible.

[David Ellis]

I take 900 mg of curcumin a day(obtained at lef.org). My CRP dropped from 3.27 to 1.32 mg/L(lab ref range 0-3). Maybe it had an effect on my homcysteine because it dropped to 7.9 from 11.1(lab ref range 4.3-15.3). and maybe it was an increase in the B-vitamins taken. I am going to double up on curcumin and B vitamins to see if I can get CRP and homocysteine down to the low part of the lab's reference range.

For my back pain I take fish oil, 10 grams a day(for 3 grams of omega3) plus 1 gram of borage oil for GLA. I take enough omega 3's so am not worried about what 243 mg of GLA in the borage oil will do to my omega3/6 ratios. Dr Eades thought that the GLA was unnecessary . So I experimented and have dropped GLA twice. Both times the back pain came back, so I use both GLA and fish oil for arthritis pain. 10 grams gives me a tiny bit of nosebleed so a vitamin K tablet/day controls that. I was taking curcumin during these exercises and can report that the curcumin didn't affect the pain one way or another. I worked up to 10 grams in steps of 2 grams. 10 grams is judged safe by Physicians Desk Reference.

I read about the krill oil and was tempted to try, but put off by the cost. Maybe in the future I will switch.

[Mitra]

I've thought of another thing this might help - I tend to get soreness in my right index finger and thumb if I use the mouse too much, and that's happening a bit at the moment. I think the websudoku has to go :o . I'm afraid, though, that even in the interests of advancing human knowledge, I'm not prepared to carry on provoking the RSI just so I can tell whether it's the fish/Krill/curcumin that's helping, or reducing mouse use.

[crr107]

guess you wouldn't need to take glucosamine condroitin msm then (krill oil would replace this?)