Norwegiansealoil.com

Research if seal oil can prevent or linger the outcome of diseases has taken of lately. Now new results are released, and this can mean a lot, especially for people with types of rheumatic pain.

Source: Rheumatic number 2/2005

Text: Helge Fagerlie Nilsen

Rheumatics have earlier written that seal oil can reduce the outcome of rheumatism. Two research projects that can help people with joint pains and rheumatic pain is finished, but for now only one of the results are published.

Nourish biologist Tormod Bjørkkjær newly published a study where the effect of the seal oil and soy oil on joint pain caused by inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, was researched. -Patients received treatment with either seal oil or soy oil. The effect of seal oil was especially good, and lasted several months after the short treatment period, he says to Rheumatics.

He is educated and works as a scholarship recipient at the University in Bergen. Second place is the National institute for nourishment and sea food research, NIFES. The scholarship recipient says that the soy oil gave some, but not significant, for more joint pain. Patients received 10 ml oil, three times a gay in a period of 10 days through a tube in the intestine. This was a relevant study, with 19 IBD- patients with joint pail. 10 of these had arthritis. 10 patients (from the treatment group) received seal oil, while 9 patients received soy oil. The patients did not know what type of oil they got. This controlled study confirms the positive results from a open pilot study in 2002. 

Nourish biologists will now start with his doctor degree. – I will research effects and mechanisms of short term treatment with seal oil through patients with these types of problems, and will watch recordings of the seal oil after the patients have swallowed it. Also wants to complete new controlled studies where the effect of the joint pain is examined.

Cross studies

Seal oil research started in 1998 by Livar Frøyland, research boss for seafood and health at NIFES and professor at the institute for bio medicine at the University in Bergen, had an idée about testing the seal oil on patients with stomach and bowel disease. In an earlier interview with Rheumatics he told that in the beginning he did not know that these patients could also have joint pain. At this point he contacted professor Arnold Berstad, Gastroenterologist at Haukeland University. In aftertime it is established a research group that work with nourishment at the hospital. In this work seal oil and other marine omega-3 sources are focused on. 

 The research group has already received a doctor degree. Also, a nourish biologist is wrapping up his doctor degree this year, and a bachelor student is working with seal oil and subjective food sensitivity. NIFES researches have also worked with several projects. A mater student has used seal oil and other marine ad vegetable omega-3 sources in his study. Doctors, nourish physiologists and nurses at hospitals are also partly involved in the work.