Doctor Klaper, WFPB & Vegan Speaker: Interesting DHA Update March 2023 

Do whatever keeps you healthy and able to keep helping so many people. We need your knowledge and compassion in this world.

This is a man of integrity.

Thank you Dr. Klaper for this. I appreciate your work and your honesty on this supject. I hope you test again in one year and report back.

please give us an update, we are out here listening!

Thank you so much for your updated thoughts on this confusing subject. I trust your judgement on all things vegan,I am very grateful for your guidance. Your thoughts about supplementing make sense,so I will follow your lead and start taking a DHA supplement also. Thank you for everything you are doing for the Vegan community.

Thanks Dr Klaper. Very helpful!

I would like to see you share an update of your levels after taking the supplement. I feel that it’s an important measure. Thank you.

God bless you dear Dr. Klapper… i started on DHA/EPA based on Dr. Fuhrman’s recommendation… we need your bright spirit around for a long long time! stay vibrant!

Great video! Thank you for sharing your findings.

Thank you Dr Klaper. Very much appreciated

This is a great Doctor and human being. It takes a wise soul to research facts and rectify opinions.

I encourage everyone who is mighty of the German language to read the book „Das erschöpfte Gehirn“ (= the tired brain) by Dr. Michael Nehls. Unfortunately, the book is not out in English yet. However, he explains his lifework which is Alzheimer research and explains a lot about algae omega 3 besides other important topics. Thank you for sharing your insights, Dr. K! Better be safe than sorry! Stay healthy 🌱💚

Best wishes, Doctor Klaper. Thank you for sharing this decision with us even though it was a personal one. Blessings to you.

Thank you, Dr. Klaper! Please make another update if future research makes you change your mind (again). 🙏

Thanks Doctor! I'm a big fan of yours and appreciate all your contributions to Vegans. I am curious to know if your numbers are better now that it is March 2024?

"Those of you who have been following my work for a while". Well, yes indeed we have!! You rock!

Hope to hear updates with your omega 3 levels after the supplementation thank you

Thanks SOOO much, Dr K! Will you consider reporting back to us with any subsequent test results after a period of 3-4 months (or longer) of supplementation? I truly value your integrity and honesty and the extensive research you have done on this. I deeply appreciate your passion for helping people to achieve optimal health so we can all be here for our family & friends and to live our lives' purpose!

This man never ceases to amaze!! Dr. Klapper's video " foods that kill" put me on my plant based journey and it's been incredible! Appreciation to all!!

Thanks for the update. The DHA/Oi3 blood level relaxation to physiological values for non-consumers of exogenous DHA is not surprising. It is however known that DHA/EPA in the blood has strong anticoagulation "blood thinning" effect. In that KORA study most (~70%) of that (very old) population had hypertension, also overweight - thus clogged up arteries, CHD risk factors. Low-dose ASS blood thinnger also strongly reduces dementia risk in such context, e.g. recent study PMC9145441. Even stronger: "low-dose ASA for 10 years or longer (who likely use it because they have CHD or a related diagnosis putting them at an increased risk for cardiovascular events) demonstrated a strong protective effect on all dementia outcomes, especially for VD (HR [95% CI]: 0.48 [0.42 to 0.56])" Anticoagulation can easily and alone explain effects here - as far as the effects are real in certain contexts. And ASS may be more safe - for those (non-vegans) who really need it. It should be also noted that the effect in the KORA study comes mainly from an age-adjustment effect. Because of high age differences in the Oi3 groups. That makes things very dubious. (The age group ORs are much higher than the calculated outcome effect). And as mentioned in the study the effects are not well confirmed in many other studies / other contexts. Best RCT data for cancer & LCn3 supplement: The huge VITAL RCT PMC6392053 found borderline significant 13% risk increase within only 5 years (!) for total invasive cancer (HR 1.13 ; CI 1.00-1.28). And a prior huge meta analysis of RCTs on (LC)n-3 & cancer, Zhang 2014 PMID 24568238, confirms that with similar statistical power: HR 1.10 near significant. Combined meta analysis yields clearly significant cancer risk at some 0.005 p-value - which is a massive brick, unlikely to dissolve with future data. For younger people with more years to go this is very serious, as cancers (usually) form over decades. And LCn-3 also suppresses the immune function, which is important to block cancer development. The "blood thinning" of hyperphysiological blood LCn-3 / supplement also increases hemorrhagic stroke risk and other bleeding risk. Interestingly Dr. Fuhrman, which pushes & sells LCn-3 supplements, explains (correct) in other context that whole-food vegans are at higher risk for that bleeding because their artery vessels are not "protected" by fatty cholesterol layers. So LCn-3 supplement may even further raise that hemorrhagic stroke risk in such vegans while at the same time they don't need the anticoagulation w/o clogged arteries, but rather need the opposite effect, effective coagulation. Plant-based diets are associated with lower risk for cognitive impairment: E.g. recent PMC9392533, odds ratio = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.52 So there is no problem in the first place? Wonder if unsubstantiated hysteria may cause, not solve problems here? So far I am as reluctant as before regarding LCn3 supplementation - particularly at younger age.

what a superb analysis of risks and benefits and the science. You point out there is no perfect science. Even though over the years I've watched research related to Omega 3 index and am familiar with the tests, never did I understand their limitations. What an excellent, thorough and insightful discussion. You didn't comment on whether a fish based "clean" dha/EPA supplement could be acceptable. I'd be curious on that. Thanks.

Most interesting. And for me a confirmation that I am doing the right thing and will continue taking an algae based Omega 3 supplement (250 mg DHA, 125 mg EPA) every day. Done that since being on a WFPB diet for the last three years. Thanx to Dr Klaper for being open minded and honest.

Very good Dr. Klaper. Thanks for the honesty and transparency.

I’ve closely watched you evolve on EPA and DHA supplements for vegans over the past few years. I am a vegan and an RD student studying nutrition in college myself. I did my main research paper for a nutrition class last semester on this exact topic. I personally supplement with algae oil to get preformed DHA/EPA and I also eat ground flax seeds/walnuts daily to get ALA through my diet. I like how you talked about the Omega-3 index and explained the “ghosts” of red blood cells. I knew that index level was linked to brain health in research studies but I did not know how it was actually derived by breaking apart red blood cells so this video was educational for me even after studying the subject for a college class. Thanks for the update and information!

My understanding is the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio is important. Having a higher ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 is helpful. One challenge for vegans is that many vegan foods contain a lot more omega 6, including sunflower seeds, tahini, soya beans and walnuts. Flax seeds are very beneficial for vegans because they have a high ratio of omega 3 to 6. This begs the question: if we reduce omega 6 intake and consume 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds a day , is this sufficient or is omega 3 EPA/DHA supplementation still necessary?

Thank you Dr Klaper! We always learn so much valuable info from you and appreciate you so much. ❤

Jeff Nelson just did a take-down of Dr. Klaper's video; I would like to see a response. ("Klaper's DHA Endorsement: What's the Evidence?" - VegSource on RU-vid 4/12/2023)

Dr. Klaper, thank you so much for your video! We are raising 3 kids on a vegan diet (oldest 6), and we sort of think the same, better not to supplement if we don't have to. I've been following your thoughts on DHA and really appreciate this update. Clearly, there is absolutely no lacking in your cognitive ability, especially given your ability to keep us updated on your own self experiment (even if it didn't quite go as you maybe expected.) Thank you for looking at research and self-experimenting and teaching us what you learn. My husband's levels were low when we checked for the first time 6 months ago. And we are very high in walnuts/chia/hemp/flaxseeds daily, healthy lifestyle, no alcohol or coffee or smoking, exercising and sleeping well, and whole food plant-based 95% of the time, so decided that he start supplementing then. We never stopped supplementing with the kids or myself (since I am breastfeeding and pregnancies), and I now feel even better about that decision having received this update from you, Dr. Clapper. All the best to you. And thank you for your work.

I really admire that you used evidenced based science and are willing to change your mind. This is important and the mark of a good scientist and doctor.

Thank you for your thoughts and thoroughness

You’re so cool, Dr. Klaper. Thank you for all you do. You are appreciated!!! 😊

Hecis the absolute angel of the plant based and whole food plant based community!!!

Thank you Dr K.

I'm in a parenting group for delayed speech. Many parents on there swear that their children started talking a lot more when they supplemented with DHA. I was curious if this was just timing, that their children started talking because they were ready, or if it was the supplement. Thanks for the video.

We need an update on this. The DHA supplement prices have only been skyrocketing and no reasonable evidence that any brand is real.

Thank you for this explanation, Dr Klaper.

Thank you for the update! I like and have been taking the brand name DEVA OMEGA-3 DHA-EPA 500mg from Algae for years now. I get my fatty acids tested once a year and am always in optimal range. I take one softgel every other day. I eat Whole Foods Plant-Based also, 5 years.

The problem is that these tests are usually based on the average person, who probably eats meat or fish and maybe the SAD diet. So it's difficult to compare that with a long term vegan, who may require much less omega 3 than the average. I recall going on a juice fast for a week and then having a blood test done. The GP said he was very concerned about my low white cell count, as it could be a sign of leukaemia. I got retested after a month of normal eating and my white cell count was normal! I also did a juice fast after I broke my elbow falling off a bike. I had an x-ray to see how it was doing 2 weeks after the fracture and the radiologist was shocked. He said he'd never seen such rapid bone healing in his life! So, we are so used to our 'normal' life that living either side of the bell curve just throws spanners in the works. I do hope that this experiment works and that we can all learn from it :)

But those studies were not on vegans. So any fear based on that study seems irrelevant.

Thank you Dr Klaper, very informative video. We need your knowledge and wisdom on these issues.

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for your transparency and honesty Dr. Klaper. I am at a similar age to you and likely dealing with the same concerns.

At least from my perspective, this is a BIG "I told you so" from the followers of BOTH Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Michael Greger. Glad to have you back in the club, Dr. Klaper. And, of course, your transparency and honesty about your journey is an inspiration to us all. Best of health to you.

Thank you Dr. Klaper for your data-driven analysis of DHA/EPA supplementation based on currently available literature and your personal test results.

What I did notice is that th ALA stores are incredibly high, so your conversion rate of ALA to DHA EPA is inevitably going down. So you eventually need to supplement EPA DHA in your later years if you’re not going to eat fish unfortunately..

very valuable info! Thank you for sharing. We are plant based eaters and as we get older we find we are absorbing fewer nutrients thru our plant based diets. It was recommended we take omega 3 supplements so I was very interested in your experience and I value your opinion.

Well reasoned, Doc. We can’t wait around for rcts with samples of 10,000 and decades of follow up.

Thanks so much for these updates!!! So helpful

Thank you. (Edit: Jains are lacto vegetarian not vegan, although probably the largest percentage of vegetarian people in any religion are in Jainism, a survey reported on Wikipedia says 92%. Another 5% are vegetarian on certain days.) I have been following your videos on this subject, omega 3 supplements, and was looking forward to this video as you had said you would communicate your findings. My regards and good wishes.

Anticipating a future follow up vid on EPA/DHA levels, post supplementing? Thx Dr. K!

I feel like ive been privvy to Dr Klapers personal health consult with a trusted, knowledgeable & compassionate practitioner who knows his mature patients biomarkers & baselines are shifting in a trajectory that may compromise that patients future brain function - a function that is integral to the patients essence. Reliance on a cadre of research, labs, self testing, a 12 month focussed dietary strategy etc & an absence of panic are things i can & will mimick as i age given my own risk factors. Best of health Dr Klaper. You always bring inspo to the chat x

Thanks, fascinating. I might also get back to using DHA supplements. Would you please consider telling us about your levels in 12 months?

Keep us posted on your levels, good luck appreciate your work.

Thank you for covering this currently hot topic. I was waiting for this sequel to your last post on this topic. God bless all your hard work and your ability to be so thorough in your efforts to reach your conclusion.

I just hate the idea that anyone levels diet-war attacks on you over this. Especially in the plant-based and Lifestyle Medicine community. You're a good doctor making considered decisions and are always transparent as an influencer and open-minded. Don't anticipate blow-back and pay it no mind, I say. Godspeed

Thank you Dr. Klaper.

Thank you for this video and sharing your data and thoughts. Looking forward to your updates and stay well! I appreciate you! 😊

Great presentation Doctor. I will be curious to see where your DHA levels are one year from now.

Dr. Klaper: Could you please clarify whether you had been supplementing with EPA/DHA prior to your first test in 2020? Thank you for sharing your experience.

I really look forward to your NEXT UPDATE of how your EPA/DHA is doing after taking supplements again. Thank you!!

I don't blame you and I hope it does all good things. Very curious about the 6 v 3 pathways and wondering if there hadn't been walnuts and hemp, just the flax and chia, if that wouldn't have allowed the 3s to flourish. I've been experimenting myself that way but haven't been tested yet, one tablespoon flax and seven of chia most days in my pitcher of very green smoothie in addition to my WFPBNSOS vegan high raw foods which for a while now have not included other nuts or seeds in order to see what happens. Appreciate your sharing

Thanks for this clear, no nonsense explanation!

I wonder if Doctor Ellsworth Wareham took dha supps, he was sharp as a tack until the end after 50+ years vegan...I will probably start too as I noticed some slight decline in sight after 5 years wfpb, which could also be from normal aging.

Thank you so much for this update information! I will start to follow the suggestions. It's really valuable

Thank you for sharing this

Thank you for sharing this!! Interesting!

Great Dr. Klaper. I've been following you since you started this experiment and the results are fascinating. I now realise that the index is not definitive but I'd be really interested to see what happens after you've been supplementing for a while. I've started to supplement again now. I've been taking lots of sprouted flax for some years, but feel that at 60 years and in the light of your experience and wisdom, it might me good to just supplement as well as eating ALA. Thank you for the information and for putting across so well

I love to listen to Michael! Always wise words. I’m turning 50 and stopped taking omega3 supplements because of the prostate cancer risk related to it. This situation is concerning so I don’t know what to do.

I'll be on the same boat with you next week. It's my first time on this cruise and I'm really looking forward to meeting you!

Please show us a study that says children need to supplement DHA EPA. The RDA is for infants, beyond that it is ALA. Rather than just say someone says children should supplement, this seems a bit like an appeal to authority without any science backing it up. As far as I know most vegans from conception don't supplement DHA EPA and don't have any evidence of problems with their sperm, retina or brain. It seems like if we want our children to adapt to eating plants properly then we would not push supplements on them that bypass the metabolic processes are body is engineered to do on its own.

@DoctorKlaper Now that it's been about 6 months, can you recommend a brand? How are your results?

The problem with using walnuts and hemp for omega 3 is they're also high in omega 6 and the two omegas compete for the same enzyme. But age could be a factor as well I'm sure!

Maybe you should factor in your age as well. It could be that our ability to synthesize DHA from ALA declines with age.

Muchas gracias doctor por sus sinceras palabras como siempre. Esperamos su nueva actualización en unos meses con los futuros resultados de sus estudios personales. Saludos cordiales. Juan Esteche (Nutricionista), Argentina.

Thank you. Very helpful.

Thank you doc!

I appreciate Dr. Klaper's sincerity and willingness to change his opinion based on research (as well as bloodwork)-- but this is not exactly based on new information. Dr. Fuhrman' has been a long-time ardent advocate of DHA supplementation based on years of solid research as well as his lifelong experience treating the vegan community. And he got ridiculed for this by several of the charismatic leaders in the vegan community. And , Yes, Dr. F sells his own DHA supplement but that's because he's passionate about their role in neurological health and he wants to provide the best to his patients. DHA/EPA supplements can easily go rancid if not properly manufactured or stored. It's Dr. Fuhrman who deserves thanks, (if not apologies from some!) or at the very least, recognition. Of course, Dr. Greger has advocated for supplementation of DHA for years as well.

Check the work of Axel Montague PhD, who is an authority on blood brain barrier and impacts of various lifestyle factors. He concludes that higher O3 helps the brain via maintaining the BBB and thereby lower chance of dementia. As does a good diet and exercise. As a WFPB eater for 10 years, with nuts and lots of olives, and DHA/EPA supplements (~ 200 mg/d algae based), my O3 index was 7.8% last year. I'm 68 yo. Will test again this summer. I too, am concerned about brain health as well as heart health.

Thank You for your research and thoughtful video.

Are you going to post a follow-up video with your new Omega 3 Index number? Thanks

Thoughts on udos choice omega capsules ?thank you Dr klaper ❤

I have leukemia, LGL and follicular lymphoma. WFPB. You just helped me decide to go on supplementation. I think the web diet is helping with q of life, btw.

I agree with the lengthy comment of @xcast 1. My take is that when a research project is looking for casual connections like this, consideration has to be made for the diet and health of the participants. If the people suffering memory problems have low DHA, but also eat Western meat and dairy diet, they also will have the disease risk that go with it. And that includes dementia. The independent research, both laboratory, controlled testing and population studies, find that the closer a person's diet approaches WFPB, the less their risk of dementia. This debate is like the soy debate. Some say the phytoestrogen in soy protects against cancer, some say it can cause cancer. Populations who use soy and are plant based have virtual no breast cancer. But so do plant based populations that do not use soy. So soy neither causes or protects against breast cancer. Based on everything I've heard and read, l believe dementia is more of a compromised circulation induced hypoxia problem. IMHO.

I hope he tests again in 6 months or so and posts his results! ....and which brand he decided to take. I took Deva brand, but when I broke it open, it tasted slightly rancid, even though refrigerated. I switched to Dr. Fuhrman's drops (more expensive) but taste great. I stopped taking them for 6 months to get a test. Then I'll start again depending on the test results.

Thank you I value your information and will do the same.😊

Thank you very much. I was looking for this information.

Dr. Klaper: what about marine phytoplankton? My hubby and I started taking this. We have been Plant-based for 11 yrs and our Omega3 numbers were crashed, esp hubby’s (per the Omega Quant test). Even with Dr. Fuhrman’s supplements! 💚 we’re going to retest soon.

How does a regular person who is not a doctor know how much to take?

I take a (quite small) amount of DHA / EPA, and let the debaters continue to debate. :-) I believe Dr Klaper has gone back and forth on this topic over the years.

This subject is one I've been giving much consideration to lately, but haven't yet purchased a supplement. I am going to however be getting one soon, and have one already in mind.. It seems it wouldn't hurt anything but perhaps a small pocketbook dent which is worth it, imo. TU for your valuable insight.

I love your open minded experimentation. We would all be better off to approach issues this way.

Our society believes the only way to get Omega 3 is from fish. But newsflash: fish get their Omega 3 from algae. Nothing wrong with people doing the same thing. Algae oil for the win!

Omg I love this Dr !! He is amazing in knowledge ! My question is , B12 related .. Can me ranges causes sinus issues ? Clogged ears ? Thanks for any info

I read that the conversion of ALA to DHA decreases with age.

How’s your book coming along Dr. K?

Please give more information, like how did you consume your flaxseeds= freshly ground whole flaxseeds without getting them hot, consuming them cold not on hot cereal? Did you have more omega 6s than you did omega 3s when you consumed them? Those type of details please 🙏

I’m always fascinated with my own bloodwork results. Thank you for walking us through your own experiment. After watching your other video I decided not to supplement but now with this video, I’m going to supplement until we have good reliable studies out there. Thank you for your honesty and sharing all perspectives to help us come to our own conclusions.

Would one need to worry about quality of algae oil, storage?, how processed.. is there a most stable brand? Not rancid? Effective? Thanks for update!!

So what are his levels after 1 year of supplemental omega 3 from algal oil?

Fascinating - regardless of the stores in the body or food-base supplementation, there is an inescapable downward trend. Can you update in a year (recognizing anecdotal evidence may not transfer to others)?