ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Omega-3 Side Effects - Are They Dangerous?

Updated on June 27, 2011

Researchers now believe that having a diet high in omega 3 fats may help prevent many health conditions Some of these conditions include high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, cancer, asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and ADHD. 

If you have any of these conditions or are interested in taking omega-3 to prevent them, you've probably heard about how beneficial omega-3 is to your health. It's true that omega-3 is good for you, but it's also true that you should never take any supplement without first investigating it and its possible side effects. With that in mind, let's take a look at omega-3 side effects and weigh the risks and benefits.

Omega-3 Side Effects

Enjoy the Benefits of Omega-3 without the side effects.
Enjoy the Benefits of Omega-3 without the side effects. | Source

Omega-3 Side Effects

The most common side effects of omega-3 are belching or 'fishy burps', nausea, bloating, gas, and diarrhea and you can avoid many of these altogether by using a quality omega-3 supplement.

Fish oil can also has thin your blood. Therefore, it is not recommended for anyone taking blood thinners like Coumadin, Plavix, Wayfarin, or taking any over-the-counter blood thinners such as aspirin, without talking to  your doctor. 

If you have a bleeding disorder, you should consult your physician. High doses of omega-3 can thin your blood and cause excessive bleeding.

Avoiding Omega-3 Side Effects

If you want the benefits of increasing your essential fatty acids without the side effects of omega-3, what should you do? First, buy only quality omega-3 supplements. The most popular and common omega-3 supplements are fish, cod liver, or flaxseed or krill oil.

Try switching brands if you're having trouble with nausea, burping, or diarrhea. Also, start taking the supplement in low doses and gradually increasing to see how you tolerate it, never taking omega-3 supplement on an empty stomach.

It's very important that you talk to your doctor before taking omega-3 supplements if you are currently on any type of blood thinners. Thinning your blood too much can be extremely dangerous and this is one side effect you definitely want to avoid.

You'll also want to be sure that the omega-3 supplement you choose selected is fish oil, and not fish oil liver. Fish oil liver contains two fat soluble vitamins A and D. If you take too much of these vitamins, it can possibly cause toxicity and have dangerous side effects.

Enjoying the Benefits of Omega-3

As you can see, the side effects from omega-3 are minimal unless you are on blood-thinning medication. Reap all the benefits of omega-3 and its essential fatty acids by taking quality, pharmaceutical grade and purified supplements produced only by reputable manufacturers. By doing so, you can enjoy optimal health and not worry about omega-3 side effects.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)